flexible conduit, CAN YOU WIRE A HOUSE WITH IT?

[Engineer54]

So you can rewire a house in single insulated cable?


Consider yourself very ''Wrong'' then!! lol!!

Have you ever wired plastic conduit with insulated and sheathed singles then?? lol!!

This thread is just getting dafter as it goes along!!

God knows how much such an install will cost in terms of the extra labour involved, ...and all for very little to no gain. Can't imagine trying to install a complete conduit system (rigid or flexible) as a rewire, it'll be hard enough on a new build!! As i say, totally Daft idea all round!!

In fact this has got to be a wind-up, no-one but no-one that is an experienced electrician would ever contemplate runing in metal flexible conduit in a domestic installation....

 

[rich.250]

Unless it's steel conduit, it would have to be the double insulated singles like used on lighting in many homes. As I'm sure cables have to be double insulated unless protected by steel conduit. But probably wrong lol

They are insulated and sheathed!!! Not double insulated.

 

[Deservices]

Only just woke up was having a mental blockage lol. Running metal conduit under floor. Wouldn't even consider it. All because op don't like bends in twin and earth. Odd is all I can say.

 

[R G]

Flexible conduit is used in the Mediteranian region in concrete floored construction for a good reason , Ground movement i.e. seismic activity , and also the ease of installation through the steel mesh before pouring concrete , unless those are your building perameters then I see no need for this sort of installation,,,

 

[GMES]

The bloody world as gone mad, get it wired in T&E and do it right, if installed correctly by a competent electrician there should be no issues!
oval conduit down to switch drops and sockets, job done.
Why do people try to over complicate a simple job that as worked perfectly well for decades.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

My spider sense is tingling with this thread

 

[GMES]

My spider sense is tingling with this thread

Get ya sen to a doctor then!!!

 

[D Skelton]

Have you ever wired plastic conduit with insulated and sheathed singles then?? lol!!

This thread is just getting dafter as it goes along!!

God knows how much such an install will cost in terms of the extra labour involved, ...and all for very little to no gain. Can't imagine trying to install a complete conduit system (rigid or flexible) as a rewire, it'll be hard enough on a new build!! As i say, totally Daft idea all round!!

In fact this has got to be a wind-up, no-one but no-one that is an experienced electrician would ever contemplate runing in metal flexible conduit in a domestic installation....

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the yanks wire their houses with singles and steel flexi-con?? I know very little indeed about the American NEC so I could be way out here.

 

[davesparks]

I think they have a cable called MC which is like a corrugated metal tube on the outside.

They also use something similar to T&E called romec I think, comes with different coloured sheaths to denote cable size.

YouTube is full of many interesting and scary videos of merkin electrics!

 

[Pete999]

Unless it's steel conduit, it would have to be the double insulated singles like used on lighting in many homes. As I'm sure cables have to be double insulated unless protected by steel conduit. But probably wrong lol

It's not strictly double insulated it's insulated single cable with mechanical protection, sorry had a hard day and need to take it out on someone no offense intended

 

[shanky887614]

I think they have a cable called MC which is like a corrugated metal tube on the outside.

They also use something similar to T&E called romec I think, comes with different coloured sheaths to denote cable size.

YouTube is full of many interesting and scary videos of merkin electrics!

just had a look on google and it looks like it comes in metal flexicon.

if I was going to go completely overboard in uk I would do everthing in swa.

but the price doesnt make it worth while in the uk

 

[telectrix]

i'd never wire a house in flexible conduit. the conductivity is crap compared to the copper that you find in cable.

 

[Engineer54]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the yanks wire their houses with singles and steel flexi-con?? I know very little indeed about the American NEC so I could be way out here.

As stated by others, they use MC cable and the flat cable with an uninsulated earth, similar to the UK's T&E, but the CPC isn't of a reduced size....

 

[davesparks]

They also seem to have, at least in their domestic stuff, a tendancy to use a 15A MCB = X wire size, 20A MCB = Y wire size approach to cable sizing.

Again this is based on information gathered from the internet so may not be entirely accurate.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Why do people try to over complicate a simple job that as worked perfectly well for decades.

Don't knock it until you've tried it. It's easy to fall into a groove, thinking that the way you do something is the only way or the best way. In fact there are many ways to skin this cat and just because the UK is pretty good all round with electrics doesn't mean that there aren't a few equal or better ideas in use elsewhere. The wiring system is often dictated by the type of structure but in any case conduit has a lot going for it.

The first time I looked in a modern lighting junction box in Foreignland was a revelation. About 5 lighting points were fed from it, some 2-way switched, all wired in singles in flex conduit. The box was recessed in the wall, easy to get at, and a quick pull confirmed that most of the cables at least were free enough to pull through to the points. All the lines were colour coded by function, at a glance I could see which cables were feeds, switch lines and strappers. If Mr. Householder had wanted an extra s/l put in to a dual-circuit chandelier, or a 2-way modified to control a different point, or any troubleshooting was required, it could all have been done without an ounce of disturbance to anything. Over here we'd have been prising up floorboards, drilling joists, hunting junction boxes tucked under noggins...

 

[Engineer54]

It only takes one crushed/collapsed flexible conduit and the system is buggered as far as pulling additional cables in.... Seen that orange ribbed flexible stuff used all over Europe, Asia, Middle East, it's pot luck if they are actually rewirable... To my mind, it's Crap with a capital C ...lol!!

 

[vmgbarra]

1 I have never seen orange conduit
2 yes the original outlay and first fix is a little more expensive, but second fix is quicker
3 the customer always wants something extra once the floor is down, now you can give them what they want.
I used to be set in my ways thinking t+e was great until I saw eu installations

 

[vmgbarra]

I feel that we are being left behind, in our domestic installations

 

[R G]

1 I have never seen orange conduit
2 yes the original outlay and first fix is a little more expensive, but second fix is quicker
3 the customer always wants something extra once the floor is down, now you can give them what they want.
I used to be set in my ways thinking t+e was great until I saw eu installations

I think he means the old Gilflex which was used in the 70s and 80s , it's a flat ribbed oval tube with 3 sections with singles inside

 

[Engineer54]

I feel that we are being left behind, in our domestic installations

So what country in Europe have you been resident in then??