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Choosing the Right Raceway

Although many types of raceway are similar, each exists for


particular reasons. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of
each before making a final selection.

In addition to the cable Articles, Chapter 3 of the NEC contains a


sequence of Articles pertaining to raceways. The Art. 100 definition
of raceway indicates that it is an enclosed channel designed expressly
for holding wires, cables, or busbars. When viewing the types of
raceways included in this definition, it can be broadly divided into
circular raceways and non-circular raceways, such as wireways. Two
specific types of circular raceway are conduit and tubing
(see Sidebar: Conduit vs. Tubing below).

Intermediate Metal Conduit


Intermediate metal conduit (IMC) is a circular metal raceway with
an outside diameter equal to that of rigid metal conduit (RMC). The
wall thickness of IMC is less than that of RMC, so it has more
interior room for conductors.

IMC is lighter and less expensive than rigid metal conduit, but you
can use it in all of the same locations as RMC. Though IMC has
thinner walls than RMC, IMC is actually the stronger of the two —
because of the steel alloy used to make it.

The NEC has long required that raceways be secured within 36 in. of
enclosures. Although it was generally accepted that this allowed
raceways less than 36 in. to be unsupported, some inspectors
required these short raceways to be supported, because there was no
allowance for an unsupported raceway.

A revision to 342.30(C) in the 2008 Code required support for any


length of raceway that’s coupled or terminates in a ringed knockout.
It also decreased the 36 in. to 18 in., without substantiation.
Subsequently, the 2011 NEC deleted this subsection. Now the
language matches that used in the 2005 NEC.

IMC requires a bushing wherever the conduit enters a box, fitting, or


other enclosure, unless the design of the box, fitting, or enclosure
provides some sort of protection. The protection afforded has long
been required to be “equivalent” to that of a bushing, but some Code
users had a hard time understanding what “equivalent” meant.

Section 342.46 in the 2011 NEC clarifies how this protection should
be provided: To protect conductors from abrasion, a metal or plastic
bushing must be installed on conduit termination threads, regardless
of conductor size, unless the box, fitting, or enclosure is designed to
provide this protection [342.46] (click here to see Fig. 1).

Rigid Metal Conduit


RMC, commonly called “rigid,” has long been the standard raceway
for providing protection from physical impact and from difficult
environments. The changes we discussed for IMC in Art. 342 were
also made for RMC in Art. 344.

Flexible Metal Conduit


Flexible metal conduit (FMC), commonly called “Greenfield” or
“flex,” is a raceway of an interlocked spiral metal strip. Although the
length of an FMC installation is not limited, it’s primarily used for
the final 6 ft or less of raceways between a more rigid raceway
system and equipment that moves, shakes, or vibrates. Examples of
such equipment include pump motors and industrial machinery.

Over the last few Code cycles, Art. 348 has been revised to allow for
greater lengths of unsupported FMC in installations where flexibility
is a concern. While these changes have gone a long way toward
uniform understanding and enforcement, not all NEC users agree on
how to measure these raceways. With the revisions introduced in
2011, it becomes clear that measurement begins at the last point of
support for these systems.
The NEC requires equipment to have an equipment grounding
conductor (EGC). It’s been common to use the metal strip in FMC as
the EGC. But what about vibration? It can be argued that an
unusually high amount of vibration can compromise the integrity of
FMC’s ability to act as an EGC, so now 348.60 requires an EGC of
the wire type in those instances (click here to see Fig. 2). This
change provides consistency with the requirements contained in
250.118(5).

Liquidtight Flexible Metal Conduit


Liquidtight flexible metal conduit (LFMC), with its associated
connectors and fittings, is a flexible raceway. Where vibration or
frequent relocation is an issue, LFMC is often the solution for
connecting the equipment. LFMC is of similar construction to FMC,
but also has an outer liquidtight thermoplastic covering to provide
protection from moisture and some corrosives.

The changes we discussed for FMC in Art. 348 were also made for
LFMC in Art. 350.

Polyvinyl Chloride Conduit


Rigid polyvinyl chloride conduit (PVC) is a rigid nonmetallic conduit
that provides many of the advantages of RMC, while allowing
installation in areas that are wet or corrosive. PVC conduit is an
inexpensive, easily installed raceway. It’s lightweight, easily cut, and
relatively strong.

On the downside, conduits manufactured from PVC are brittle when


cold, and they sag when hot. PVC is commonly used as an
underground raceway because of its low cost, ease of installation,
and resistance to corrosion and decay.

The changes to support requirements we discussed for IMC in


342.30 were also made for PVC in 352.30. Another change was to
take the exception from 352.12(E) — it addressed conductors rated
with higher temperatures than the raceway — and put it in 352.10(I),
as shown in Fig. 3 (click here to see Fig. 3). So rather than state it
as an exception to uses not permitted, it’s restated as a permitted
use. This change is consistent with ongoing efforts by the Code-
making panels to convert exceptions into positive text.

Electrical Metallic Tubing


Electrical metallic tubing (EMT) is a lightweight raceway that’s
relatively easy to bend, cut, and ream. Because it isn’t threaded, all
connectors and couplings are of the threadless type and provide
quick, easy, and inexpensive installation compared to threaded
metallic conduit systems. Consequently, EMT is very popular. EMT
is manufactured in galvanized steel or aluminum; the steel type is
more commonly used.

While 358.10(B) permits you to install EMT in corrosive areas (if you
use corrosion protection approved as suitable for the location), the
time seeking such approval — and the cost of implementing it —
would certainly add significantly to the project cost. Therefore, it’s
usually much more effective to choose an alternative raceway, such
as PVC.

The changes to support requirements we discussed for IMC in


342.30 were also made for EMT in 358.30.

Metal Wireways
Metal wireways are commonly used where access to the conductors
within the raceway is required to make terminations, splices, or taps
to several devices at a single location. High cost precludes their use
for other than short distances, except in some commercial or
industrial occupancies where the wiring is frequently revised. Both
metal wireways and nonmetallic wireways are often called “troughs”
or “gutters” in the field.

With the 2011 revision, the “Uses Permitted” section was changed to
recognize wet location use [376.10]. You can use metal wireways:
 For exposed work.
 In any hazardous (classified) location, as permitted by other
articles in the NEC.
 Wet locations, where the wireway is listed for the purpose.
 Unbroken through walls, partitions, and floors. The catch:
Access to the conductors must be maintained on both sides of
the wall.

This Code section was in desperate need of cleaning up. Previously,


376.10(3) included both hazardous (classified) locations and wet
locations, causing confusion as to the relationship between these
locations. This 2011 NEC change eliminates the wet location
confusion and enhances the readability of the NEC.

If you’re planning to use metal wireways in hazardous locations, see


501.10(B), 502.10(B), and 504.20 for the requirements.

Preventing Raceway Overload


Chapter 3 addresses many other types of raceway in addition to the
ones we discussed here. We started with Art. 342 and stopped with
Art. 376. But we skipped quite a few Articles along the way.

With so many types of raceway, how can you keep all the
requirements straight? Well, there’s a pattern that’s usually
consistent from Article to Article. In fact, many of the requirements
are the same, and the Articles are laid out in a similar manner.

For example, say you are trying to decide between IMC and EMT for
a particular application. Turn to Sec. 10 of Art. 342 and Art. 358, and
read the Uses Permitted. Then, read the Uses Not Permitted in
Section 12. This will tell you if you can use either wiring method for a
particular application. If both pass this test, then you can work
through each Article and compare the requirements of the two
raceways.

Sidebar: Conduit Vs. Tubing


Many people erroneously refer to electrical metallic tubing (EMT) as
“conduit.” EMT is actually a tubing rather than a conduit. Conduit
and tubing are two different wiring methods that differ in
application and installation requirements, although neither is
defined by the Code.

In the NEC, the phrase “conduit or tubing” appears multiple times,


indicating a choice between two different things. To see an example
of this, look at Table 4 of Chapter 9.

The term “raceway” can be used to refer to an enclosed wiring


method, including both conduit and tubing. Just remember that
there are other types of raceway as well, such as wireways.

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