Running Conduit / EMT

[Handyandy23]

Is there a "standard" practice for where on the wall to run your electrical conduit or EMT? My garage has a 100a panel in the front corner, and I need to run some surface wiring for my compressor and a couple additional receptacles.

I'm just wondering if there's a standard or best practice for getting from point A to point B? Do I just run it on the shortest way to get where it needs to go? Do I run it up to the ceiling, and along the top corner of the wall, and then back down again?

In one case I need to go over an exterior door that's standard height. The ceiling is about 12.5 feet. Do I just go the ~8 feet to get around the door, or go all the way up?

Or is there really no standard and you just put it where you think is best? It doesn't need to win any beauty contests, but I'm also a little OCD so I don't want it to look "sloppy" either. So any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bobj49f2]

I would run it where it needs to go. If it's a straight run to the air compressor without any other outlets in the run run it high over the door and straight back to the compressor. If you think it looks better up at the ceiling then run it up that high. The only consideration I'd be worried about is potential damage if you run it low like if there's a possibility of something running into it or snagging on it by a vehicle like a truck or forklift but in a private garage I doubt you would have such a concern.

 

[matt_i]

Its a good idea to think of future needs.

The first conduit is easy but the second and third can get messy with a lot of offsets if that wasn't baked into the plan. Been there and did better the second time around.

Also you can think of the conduit as a wireway if its built with enough diameter, so you can either put in some tees as you build it or roll back the wires and cut them in later.

I try to stay out of nesting the conduit inside corners, it makes bending and the connectors difficult.

 

[BillK]

My shop is about 15' to the roof trusses. The conduit is all run at about 11' with drops. That way if I ever want to add a cabinet or something else against the walls I have plenty of room. I would probably put it up around 10' if I was in your shop.

 

[Handyandy23]

Thanks folks, this is good advice. I'll try to run it in a way that leaves room for future additions.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, Planning conduit runs is an art form. I suggest you look at a lot of installations and read the Benfield book on bending conduit.

 

[nadogail]

Look on Amazon for Benfield conduit bending manual. There are other guides, but Jack Benfield wrote the first guide to bending EMT.

 

[sberry]

There is always a different way to do it after you are done. The beauty is you can change it.

 

[k1rodeoboater]

Sparky channel on YouTube has a bunch of conduit bending videos if you're a visual learner.

Personally I'd not run anything smaller than 3/4" conduit since you can stuff a good bit of THHN/THWN into it. Mind your conduit fill, Southwire has a decent calculator you can use.

Also determine what sort of boxes you want. Do you want plastic faceplates or metal? Ones that accept the plastic face plates are a bit more expensive. The ones that take the metal covers are a bit cheaper, but the plates cost a little more than the plastic version.

Also check electrical supply houses rather than the big box store. You can get stuff cheaper there generally speaking.