Liqua Tite inside Garage?

Jimsolar
Jimsolar Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭
in Advanced Solar Electric Technical Forum #1
Thanks to many of you for your advice on bare wire grounds I previously posted. One more question: I have brought up all my DC conductors from my ground mount solar field. They enter my garage wall, just about a foot from my inverters. I had planned to use EMT to route the wiring to the inverter knockouts, but the distance is too short for the prefab 90's, etc (I don't have a conduit bender). So, is it okay to use the grey, plastic, flexible conduit (I think it is called Liqua Tite, but not sure). I know you can use it outside the house, but not sure if it can be used indoors in the garage.

Thanks in advance for anyone who might reply!
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  • n3qik
    n3qik Solar Expert Posts: 741 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?

    If there is a fuse/circuit breaker at the panel combiner box, then you are ok to use plastic/PVC conduit. NEC calls for metal conduit between the source (panels) and the first fuse/circuit breaker (most of the time at the combiner box) when inside a building. From that point on the conduit can be either.

    If you want to stay with a metal conduit, they do make flexible metal conduit.
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  • tallgirl
    tallgirl Solar Expert Posts: 413 ✭✭
    #3
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?
    n3qik wrote: »
    If there is a fuse/circuit breaker at the panel combiner box, then you are ok to use plastic/PVC conduit. NEC calls for metal conduit between the source (panels) and the first fuse/circuit breaker (most of the time at the combiner box) when inside a building. From that point on the conduit can be either.

    If you want to stay with a metal conduit, they do make flexible metal conduit.

    I'd recommend that Greenfield (Flex, FMC) be avoided. It's great stuff, for the right application. For outside applications, nothing beats EMT. It dresses down to a surface very nicely and cleanly, is reasonably water tight, and can be painted without flopping around and not being painted evenly. For inside applications, Smurf (FNC, that blue flexible plastic stuff) is simpler to work with, doesn't require a special cutter (I own one, but I own all kinds of useless tools), and weighs a heck of a lot less.

    As for the OP's question, LiquidTite is hard to pull through. The interior surface has a lot of friction and can make pulling through even straight runs just about impossible. Stick with something like PVC (RNC), EMT, or Smurf. They all have a much harder interior surface with less friction.
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  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?
    Jimsolar wrote: »
    Thanks to many of you for your advice on bare wire grounds I previously posted. One more question: I have brought up all my DC conductors from my ground mount solar field. They enter my garage wall, just about a foot from my inverters. I had planned to use EMT to route the wiring to the inverter knockouts, but the distance is too short for the prefab 90's, etc (I don't have a conduit bender). So, is it okay to use the grey, plastic, flexible conduit (I think it is called Liqua Tite, but not sure). I know you can use it outside the house, but not sure if it can be used indoors in the garage.

    Thanks in advance for anyone who might reply!

    It's called "Liquid Tight". And yes, you can use it inside as well as out (generally, anything you can use outside is overkill when you use it inside - and so you can, of course, use it inside if you want to spend the money on overkill).

    There are two basic types of Liquid Tight - one is all rubber (plastic), and one is a metal flex with a rubber coating. I personally have never used the all plastic - I always use the metallic with plastic coating.


    Personally, I would probably use "flex" (as in n3qik's post). The thing with flex is to A) make sure it won't get banged or bashed and B) make sure it's strapped plenty so as to avoid it getting "broken" if something should snag it and give it a yank.

    And you'll need to do both with liquid-tight anyway...since it is also a type of "flexible conduit".
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  • halfcrazy
    halfcrazy Solar Expert Posts: 720 ✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?

    I like the liquid tite metallic conduit it is easy to make a very clean looking install. It is a little more money but when you are doing a professional solar or wind installation it is penny's in comparison and really looks good.
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  • newenergy
    newenergy Solar Expert Posts: 291 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?

    Tallgirl, why don't you like Greenfield? (for this application anyway)
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  • tallgirl
    tallgirl Solar Expert Posts: 413 ✭✭
    #7
    Re: Liqua Tite inside Garage?
    newenergy wrote: »
    Tallgirl, why don't you like Greenfield? (for this application anyway)

    I find Greenfield is harder to work with that pipe and doesn't create as finished an appearance.

    Smurf has a lot of the same problems, in my opinion, as Greenfield, but Smurf weighs less, costs less and cuts easier.
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