Conduit

Rigid Conduit, Fittings, and Accessories – Frequently Asked Questions
25701 Science Park Drive
Cleveland, Ohio 44122
216-464-3400
1-800-3CARLON (322-7566)
www.carlon.com
(2) Intermediate Metal Conduit
(3) Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit Suitable for the Location
(4) Electrical Metallic Tubing
(5) Other approved means
The only Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit suitable for the location (Area of Physical
Damage) is Schedule 80 Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit. In the 2002 NEC, they
replaced "(3) Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit Suitable for the Location" with "(3)
Schedule 80 Rigid Nonmetallic Conduit".
The only time schedule 80 PVC conduit would be required is when the service
cable is exposed to physical damage. The AHJ needs to determine if the cables
are exposed to physical damage since there is not a definition of physical
damage in the code. Some AHJ state if the cable is coming out of the ground
next to a house into a meter then it has to be in installed in schedule 80 conduit.
Other AHJ are not as strict.
Schedule 40 conduit can be used underground and transition to the schedule 80
(usually at the elbow).
When it comes right down to it the rule in the code has not been changed at all,
just the description.
We are a local inspection agency. As you know the use of schedule 40-pvc has
been greatly limited in the 2002 NEC. There is a story going around that
schedule 80 fittings are not available. We will be enforcing the 2002 NEC Code if
these fitting are not available that will mean that sales of schedule 40-and 80-pvc
just took a turn for the worst. If these fittings are not available why is that true
schedule 80-nonmetallic conduit is not a new product? What is the true story?
Carlon does not manufacture separate fittings for Schedule 40 and separate
fittings for Schedule 80 (except for the elbows which are formed from Sch. 40
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