pudgybear
Well-known member
how many 14-2 w/ground wires can i run through 3/4 PVC schedule 40 conduit,,, i am running conduit in the garage to run plugs and switches and back up to the light fixtures?
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how many wires
- Thread starter pudgybear
- Start date
CrackedHead
Active member
There is a table at this site:
http://electrical.about.com/od/wiringcircuitry/a/allowablemaximumelectricalwiresinconduit.htm
http://electrical.about.com/od/wiringcircuitry/a/allowablemaximumelectricalwiresinconduit.htm
matt151617
Well-known member
Are you talking about running Romex in conduit? I don't think you can because it'll overheat.
I've looked at the wire fill tables, and it's pretty darn difficult to get in as many as allowed. Especially in J-boxes. If you don't need a mallet to get them into the box, you're not overfilling.
For that reason, I haven't looked at the tables in years.
Also, stranded vs solid - for a given gauge size, stranded is slightly bigger, but easier to pull. Solid wants to kink, catch, and doesn't like corners. Pulling lubricant (wire ****) helps a LOT. There's some new clear stuff from Ideal that's a lot less nasty than the yellow-snot stuff.
For that reason, I haven't looked at the tables in years.
Also, stranded vs solid - for a given gauge size, stranded is slightly bigger, but easier to pull. Solid wants to kink, catch, and doesn't like corners. Pulling lubricant (wire ****) helps a LOT. There's some new clear stuff from Ideal that's a lot less nasty than the yellow-snot stuff.
Stuart in MN
Well-known member
how many 14-2 w/ground wires can i run through 3/4 PVC schedule 40 conduit
This infers you are planning on using Romex, instead of individual wires. There are conduit sizing calculators online, you would have to use the largest (wide) dimension of the Romex for calculating. I'm not going to run the calcs but I suspect even a single 14-2 is pushing the limits in a 3/4" conduit.
It's not against the rules to put Romex inside a conduit as long as you meet the sizing requirements, but it's a bear to pull the stuff through. You would probably be a lot better off to use individual wires instead - look for THHN/THWN wire at your local store.
One other thing you have to take into account is how many current carrying wires will be in the conduit, if there are more than three you have to start derating the wire's current capacity.
edit: the chart in the link above is in fact for individual conductors, not for Romex.