Stranded wire vs. Solid wire

[d.reinhart]

My walls have purlins on them which I was thinking of running conduit underneath the Pearl on to my Outlets boxes before I drywall I was wondering what your guys's opinion is versus running the solid wire and not conduit or running kind of stranded wire inside the wall

 

[pizza]

i associate conduit with quality, but it's honestly a waste of time and money if used where not required.

i always try to do conduit, though. romex is only for hidden retrofit pulls where conduit doesn't already exist ;p

 

[sparky 1971]

I use stranded almost exclusively because it's easier to pull by myself. It can also create a helluva tangled up mess in a hurry. If you have help pulling, use solid.

 

[u2slow]

The smallest stranded I bother with is #10.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

i wouldnt use solid in conduit. stranded is way easier to pull

 

[Dagny]

But harder to terminate

 

[wyliesdiesels]

But harder to terminate

Thats subjective, depends on the device being terminated to and the skill of the electrician

 

[haveissues]

But harder to terminate

If you use the better devices they have built in clamps that make terminating stranded super fast. I just did my whole shop in emt and stranded since I had a bunch of rolls left over and romex is so stupidly expensive right now and rather enjoyed working with it.

 

[Bert_]

#12 and #14 I usually pull solid.

 

[Terry D]

If this was exposed work, I defiantly would use conduit. But since it is inside the wall, I would use NM-b or MC. I guess the practices are different across the country, stranded is all that gets put in pipe here these days. I honestly don't think I have ever bought a roll of solid THWN. It is slightly cheaper than stranded though. If you do go with the EMT and stranded wire route, use back wired devices. Those are the correct devices to use for terminating stranded wire.

 

[finn]

For a shop, exposed conduit and solid for 10, 12, or 14, but stranded for 8 or heavier.

I hate hidden circuits in shops, and stranded is definitely harder to terminate unless you’re a skilled electrician.

 

[alfredeneuman]

For a shop, exposed conduit and solid for 10, 12, or 14, but stranded for 8 or heavier.

All #8 is stranded, except for bare grounding wire. (Even NM)
Solid wire larger than #10 can't be used in conduit per the NEC.

 

[sparky 1971]

For a shop, exposed conduit and solid for 10, 12, or 14, but stranded for 8 or heavier.

I hate hidden circuits in shops, and stranded is definitely harder to terminate unless you’re a skilled electrician.

Anyone that uses #10 solid in conduit is a much tougher s.o.b. than me. Terminating stranded is actually easier than solid when using the proper devices.

 

[Terry D]

For a shop, exposed conduit and solid for 10, 12, or 14, but stranded for 8 or heavier.

I hate hidden circuits in shops, and stranded is definitely harder to terminate unless you’re a skilled electrician.

Use back wired devices with pressure plates. I am not a big fan of striping stranded wire and leaving the insulation on the end and twisting it before wrapping it around a screw.

 

[Bert_]

Pipe in the wall does take a little skill. I actually really like doing it. Often I'll do a hybrid, Smurf tube where it runs through studs and EMT from the rest. I've done a couple buildings with 100% EMT but it does add some labor

 

[billconner]

I would assume pulling of stranded or solid in ENT (Smurf) is easier than in EMT. Does ENT offset the stranded advantage in EMT?

 

[Norcal]

But harder to terminate

Not if you know what you are doing. While that is a true statement, I had to have a little fun with that statement.

 

[billconner]

Having to know more makes it harder

 

[engineer2]

Conduit makes future modifications or upgrades much easier.
If I were building a shop, I would use 3/4 EMT for home runs where it makes sense.
If I were building a house, I would use 3/4 EMT for home runs that pass between floors.
We use solid wire in conduit with no problems as long as you follow established conduit fill rules. Solid is a little cheaper than stranded.

 

[alfredeneuman]

We use solid wire in conduit with no problems as long as you follow established conduit fill rules.

If you're talking about the NEC fill tables; 9 - #12's will fit in 1/2"EMT. It's almost impossible to do with stranded, let alone solid

 

[Dagny]

Depending on the device the price goes up many times.

 

[engineer2]

9 - #12's will fit in 1/2"EMT. It's almost impossible to do with stranded, let alone solid

Yea, that's going to be torture to pull over a distance with bends. I can't think of a situation where you would do that except maybe a residential kitchen if local code requires it, but two home runs would be smarter or Edison circuits to the rescue! Industrial you would run 3/4.

 

[dscheidt]

Yea, that's going to be torture to pull over a distance with bends. I can't think of a situation where you would do that except maybe a residential kitchen if local code requires it, but two home runs would be smarter or Edison circuits to the rescue! Industrial you would run 3/4.

It's pretty common in retrofit situations. The conduit is in a finished wall, so you have to use what you have. My house (built 1920, rewired 2016) has two or three 1/2 conduits like that. They split up at the first box, so it's not very far, but it does lead to some strange circuit sharing.

 

[finn]

Anyone that uses #10 solid in conduit is a much tougher s.o.b. than me. Terminating stranded is actually easier than solid when using the proper devices.

Now that I think about it, the 10 is probably either stranded or Romex. There’s only about five feet of it for a compressor, and it’s been there behind the wall for years.

I do have #8 stranded in a conduit, and that wasn’t much fun.

 

[engineer2]

I pulled three #6 stranded a total of 60 feet in 3/4 EMT. Had a J-box every 20 ft. It wasn't bad and I used plenty of lube.

 

[sparky 1971]

I pulled three #6 stranded a total of 60 feet in 3/4 EMT. Had a J-box every 20 ft. It wasn't bad and I used plenty of lube.

Why the boxes? 60' isn't very far.

 

[engineer2]

Why the boxes? 60' isn't very far.

One was for future use near the garage wall (probably will never use it), the other was the LB where it came to the outside. It was a pretty easy pull, only four 90°s not including the LB. The underground was 1" RMC. I didn't even need to get my wife to feed wire like she usually does.