Can ENT (Smurf Tube) ever be used for 110v power wires?

[miamicanes]

Oh, of course not (makes note to flip breaker off before leaving for work tomorrow...)

 

[CORT]

Is it ever legal under NEC to run power wires through BLUE (not orange) ENT conduit ("smurf tube") that's dedicated to that use (ie, NOT shared with low-voltage wires)? I spent a really frustrating hour at Home Depot this afternoon trying to buy conduit to use for power wiring. Frustrating, because every single conduit option I explored required at least one thing they didn't have in stock:

Yes, it is permissible to run power through blue ENT tubing. However, the requirements for a conduit system are different from those of a standard NM / Romex system. There are lots of little bits and pieces that you must get right for your conduit system. For example, you must use the appropriate wire in a conduit system, generally THHN, and not Romex. Plus, it is all too easy to reach maximum allowable fills in the conduit system. Many homes are wired with Romex, and the transition from Romex to conduit is not very elegant. NEC does allow for Romex to be passed through a sleeve, which is not well defined, but generally considered less than a section of conduit. Thus, there is a difference between a simple sleeve and a conduit system with respect to code. I don't think the ENT affords much additional protection beyond NM / Romex, and unless you have a real reason for doing it (i.e. pouring a concrete floor over the smurf tubes), it's not worth the hassle. My personal bias is to stay with Romex. If you are talking about going to Greenfield or rigid metallic tubing, then it's a whole different ball game. One good resource for research is the Mikeholt.com forum. You will find that running Romex through an ENT conduit system is discussed there ad nauseum.

 

[ano]

Actually the color does matter and you can't spray paint them to change the color. Blue is for power circuits, yellow is communications, and red is fire alarms and emergency circuits. What you find at HD or Lowe's is not blue because they are making a fashion statement. They don't usually carry red or yellow because demand is lower. If the color is not correct, the inspector won't likely approve it.

Seeing as you sound in the know what is the orange for that is usually found at HD?

Orange is designed for low-voltage and communication wires going through air ducts or in walls. Normal you need in-wall/plenum wire for this application, but orange ENT offers this same protection. DON'T use this for 120V.

 

[Neurorad]

Orange Carlon Riser Gard, Resi Gard, and Plenum Gard are only UL listed for low voltage.

Clear the conduit with the inspector first, if inspection planned for after. Some inspectors are unfamiliar with the LV conduit.

 

[jcrack_corn]

As mentioned above, and i think this is the take-home message.....dont do any of what you are considering without getting licensed help first.

I strongly doubt you want to run your entire project with THHN (which is the wire you put in conduit, NOT ROMEX)...and if you had the skills to run individual conductors, you wound be asking the ENT question here!

Safetey first.

 

[miamicanes]

As mentioned above, and i think this is the take-home message.....dont do any of what you are considering without getting licensed help first.

I strongly doubt you want to run your entire project with THHN (which is the wire you put in conduit, NOT ROMEX)...and if you had the skills to run individual conductors, you wound be asking the ENT question here!

Safetey first.

Actually, I finished the project a few days ago, and I think I did a very nice job with it. The whole thing (except for one segment behind a wall I didn't have access to from behind) was done with 1/2" ENT, terminated at Raco old-work gangable metal boxes. The one segment I mentioned was run with a 14/3 and a 14/2 Romex cable. The rest was all AWG14 THHN:

brown: unswitched hot
yellow: switched hot #1 (the "main" room lights)
orange: switched hot #2 (the "light up the room like a stadium" extras)
white: neutral
green: ground.

I made a point of using 14/3 and 14/2 so I could run neutral inside each Romex, instead of trying to use 14/2 x 2 and using both cables in one for the two switched hots. Every wire has 8" of slack at both ends, and adjacent outlets were pigtailed instead of daisy-chained. There's even a GFCI on the outlet I use when building electronic projects. Where wires were pigtailed with a wire nut, I bundled them together below it with electrical tape for added stress-relief.

All in all, I'm quite proud of the wiring job. I can definitely say it turned out a lot nicer than it would have if ENT hadn't been an option. I just wish I'd known I could use ENT for things besides low-voltage wiring a year ago. It would have saved me a LOT of grief on my living room remodeling project. The next time I have the plastic sheeting down on the bathroom side fo the wall (where the drywall is gone), I'll take a pic & post it here to show it off