The choice of plastic pipe for cable laying. Pipes for electrical wiring


Products made of polyvinyl chloride for electrical wiring are designed for hidden, semi-hidden or open laying of electrical, television, telephone and computer networks indoors and outdoors. Two types of products are produced - smooth and corrugated.

If we compare products made of polyvinyl chloride and metals, it should be noted that PVC pipes for electrical wiring have certain advantages:

  • - if the cable insulation is damaged, the risk of electric shock is eliminated;
  • - the cable is protected from mechanical damage, which eliminates interruptions in the network;
  • - easy installation and laying;
  • - incombustibility of polyvinyl chloride prevents the possibility of fire in case of damage to the cable;
  • - protection against corrosion and grounding is not required;
  • - allow to lay a cable underground, under water and in rooms with the increased level of humidity;
  • - small weight and long service life;
  • - installation facilitates the ability to bend the material and the absence of the need for welding;
  • - are not damaged by freezing;
  • - cheaper than steel and copper products.

Corrugated PVC pipe compliance standard - GOST R 51613-2000 and TU 2248-056-72311668-2007. Installation conditions are determined by GOST 30244. All manufacturers in the manufacture of PVC products must adhere to these standards. PVC corrugated pipe allows you to mount wiring in walls (including concrete), ceilings, floors, as well as in open form in industrial and warehouses, on open air.

Corrugated pvc pipe - specifications:

  • - made from self-extinguishing material;
  • - provides a degree of protection in accordance with GOST 14254;
  • - allows to make installation at a temperature from -5oC to +60oC;
  • - can be equipped with a broach that facilitates installation;
  • - heavy products have increased strength, which allows laying under a cement screed;
  • - packed in bays of 15, 20, 25, 50 or 100 m;
  • - can be stored in the package for two years.

Double wall corrugated pvc pipe has two layers - smooth inner and corrugated outer. Differs in high ring rigidity, increased flexibility, high degree of protection at high temperature, mechanical influences and vibrations. Corrugated non-combustible pvc double-walled pipe is equipped with a broach, which allows you to do without earthwork during laying, saves time and money when replacing communications, restoration work and maintenance.



Reinforced corrugated PVC pipe is made of a frame in the form of a spiral filled with soft PVC. These products are characterized by increased flexibility, which allows, with the use of appropriate accessories, to lay the pipeline at bends, spherical planes, at different levels. Most often, reinforced products are used to connect power panels with control panels and to connect technological equipment in production with an increased level of vibration.

Reinforcement increases resistance to moisture and aging.

Corrugated pvc pipe for electrical wiring according to TU 3464-001-42790588-99 and is indicated in the marking as:

  • L - light, with a small wall thickness;
  • T - heavy, with thick walls, installation underground and in a screed is possible;
  • 0 - without broach;
  • 1 - with a broach.

Due to the ability to bend, PVC corrugated pipe for cable makes it possible to mount the system in a limited space where it is impossible to use rigid products and boxes, withstand voltages up to 1,000 volts. It is convenient both when installing systems, and during reconstruction or repair.

The diameter of corrugated products varies from 16 to 63 mm. Corrugated materials are produced in gray and white.

Rigid electrical PVC pipe

This type of electrical PVC products is also made from non-combustible material in segments of two and three meters. The market offers two types of material

:
  • - hard;
  • - soft (cambric).


Rigid electrical pvc pipe is used for the same purposes as corrugated. Mainly used for open laying.

Installation of electrical systems made of PVC

PVC pipes for electrical wiring made of rigid and corrugated materials are mounted using a variety of non-combustible accessories that ensure 100% tightness of the system:

  • - coupling - for connecting rigid materials in the open air or in rooms with high humidity;
  • - box - for connection with a junction box;
  • - a square or a knee - for connecting elements at an angle of 90o;
  • - tee - for T-shaped connection of rigid elements;
  • - corrugated gray sleeve;
  • - transparent corrugated sleeve;
  • - fastening with a collar - for installation of the pipeline on a wall;
  • - holder with latch;
  • - polyethylene bracket.


The corrugated pipe made of self-extinguishing PVC is distinguished by the presence of an internal broach in the form of steel wire. When cutting, it becomes necessary to bite it. You also need to make sure that the wire does not slip inside. If a wiring harness is mounted, then it must be fastened with electrical tape, and the end connected to a broach.

Flexible corrugated pvc pipe is purchased based on the inner diameter. The catalogs indicate the outer value of the diameter, which is slightly larger. Therefore, when buying, you should choose a product whose diameter is larger than the diameter of the bundle.

The electrical wiring must be installed lower than the heating pipeline. If the systems intersect, then the distance between them should not be less than 0.5 m, and with parallel laying - not less than 1 m.

PVC pipe for electrical wiring has become an indispensable and popular tool when working with electrical wires. Cables are successfully located in such means and are considered to be reliably protected from mechanical damage. Such protective plastic cases have successfully begun to replace metal pipes for electrical wiring. Thanks to the installation of PVC structures, you will successfully protect your premises from fire in case of possible short circuits.

Laying cables in protective cases arose a long time ago, but the PVC construction served as the safest application. Its use is typical for the installation of hidden and open wiring, under the conditions if there is a box for electrical wiring.

Depending on the purpose, it is customary to divide the devices into straight and corrugated. In the second type of cases, a special broach in the form of a wire is usually completed; for the first option for protecting electrical wires, this condition is not necessary.

Rigid and soft pvc tubes are commercially available in various diameters. Typically, similar designs are sold only in separate segments of 3 meters. It is ideal to use tube options with a diameter of up to 16 mm in walls made of wood and concrete, as well as floors and all types of screeds.

Straight pipes are laid mainly in open areas where cables cannot be placed inside walls and other surfaces. Corrugated versions can be used inside walls as additional fire safety, they bend easily and are suitable for mounting on wall bends, when passing through corners and other surface irregularities. In both design options, cables can be placed individually or in whole bundles.

Attention! Under no circumstances should cable connections be made inside PVC pipes. This is not safe and can result in ignition and melting. For these cases, there is a special mounting box for outdoor wiring.

The correct algorithm for laying cables in protection

Under conditions of only mechanical protection of the cable, there is no need to install a full-fledged one-piece pipeline. Here you can get by with a non-hermetic type design. But for each condition, a single principle of laying wires is provided. See each step in this section of the post for more details.


  1. First of all, we prepare the desired section of the pipe, necessary tools and accessories. Make sure that the wire connections are placed in the wiring box.
  2. At the next stage, we proceed to marking the wall, on which it is planned to place corrugated protective plastic tubes. This is done with a dyed thread.
  3. Then, branching boxes are also mounted from PVC material, and then marks are placed on the stretched thread where clips or special ones will be attached.
  4. Then fixing clips are installed on these places. After that, PVC pipes are cut from solid ones into some segments.
  5. Then we place the protective structures in the clips, while the fasteners are adjusted to the size of the diameter.
  6. Using corrugated protective elements, you can easily make rotary segments for a reliable connection of cable channels to each other.
  7. After that, the wiring is pulled through the structures using wire (usually included) and the pipelines are finally fixed on the surface.
  8. Please note that cables can be wound in several pieces. Passing through the entire protective structure, lead the wires into the junction box and connect there to the intended consumers.

Attention! Installation of tubes for protecting electrical cables can be carried out both in rooms with a normal level of humidity and with abnormal parameters. Thus, the design prevents moisture from entering the inside of the cable. In this case, all connections must be as tight as possible.

Benefits of using pvc tubes

To date, plastic tubes for electrical wires are recognized as materials newest generation. Due to its qualities, the design has become very popular for home and industrial environments. Experts distinguish the following features as advantageous characteristics regarding protective tubes:



After analyzing a number of advantages, it is possible to freely purchase a device and install it to the surface where it is planned to lay the cable. Remember that in the case of such work, a box for electrical wiring must be present.

What other protective tubes are there?

As already mentioned above, the predecessors of PVC pipes for wiring were metal specimens, most often made of steel. Their placement is advisable only in conditions where excessive humidity is not observed, otherwise the installations will begin to be damaged and electric current will easily pass through them during a short circuit.


Among the disadvantages of this type of protection, the need for experience in welding work should be highlighted, only then can the tightness of such a design be guaranteed. It should be noted that the design is very difficult to bend, so its use at home is impractical.

Recently, the laying of electrical cables in pipes has become quite popular. You can mount these pipes almost anywhere. Most often, pipes are mounted in a floor screed or wall plaster. Electrical wiring in pipes has a number of significant advantages, which include:

  1. Significant reduction in line length. When laying the cable in this way, you can save your money on its length.
  2. The cable can always be pulled without destroying the integrity of the wall.

When laying wires in a pipe along the floor, you will significantly save the length of the route. All outgoing lines of wires should go down to the floor, and go to the places where sockets and switches are installed. With this type of laying, you should take into account that the line from the electrical panel must first of all rise to the junction box. In no case should you connect the box through a socket. If this happens, then when the load increases, the wires may simply catch fire. Sockets in this case must be connected using jumpers.


In this picture you can see information about the correct connection of the socket from the electrical panel. Corrugated pipe for electrical wiring is perfect for hidden wiring. It is more elastic than a metal product. PVC pipes are usually used for open wiring. Pipes can be with or without broach. Pulling is only necessary if you need to pull the cable quickly. To do this, a wire is tied to the broach and simply pulled. Retro wiring can also be done in a pipe.

Metal pipes are best used for wood flooring. They are able to provide reliable fire safety for your home. It is necessary to fasten metal pipes with the help of special brackets.

The preference for using PVC and HDPE pipes

Wiring in HDPE and PVC pipes has several advantages. The main benefits you can include:

  1. You no longer need to use a welding machine to fasten pipes.
  2. These products are lighter in weight.
  3. They do not corrode.
  4. Their service life can be up to 50 years.
  5. If necessary, pipes of small diameter can be bent.
  6. PVC pipes will look much better than metal pipes when laying open wiring.
  7. Plastic pipes have excellent insulating properties.
  8. This product does not collect moisture.

PVC pipes for electrical wiring

PVC pipe for electrical wiring is considered the best option. You can lay the wiring in the PVC pipe yourself.


You may need additional parts to route the wiring using this method: tees, connectors, crosses, and extra turns.


To mount them on a suspended ceiling, you can use a tie-down dowel. To fix the pipe in prominent places, it is necessary to use the building level. On the wall, the pipe will be attached with a clip.

Electrical wiring in a metal pipe

Metal pipes for electrical wiring have recently been considered less common. A lot of people are starting to give up. The use of these pipes is recommended for bases that can ignite. Their installation takes more time than similar installation of plastic products. The pipes must be connected to each other by welding or threading. In order to bend the pipe, you need to use a pipe bender.

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Wiring. System Security

Wiring and wiring is a rather laborious and exhausting process. The most difficult stage of laying the cable is compliance with the conditions for compliance with fire safety standards, especially when we are talking O wooden house, where the risk of fire due to a short circuit increases significantly. In order to provide reliable protection against a possible emergency, as a rule, metal pipes are used for electrical wiring. In addition, it is necessary to determine what material the pipe will be made of. It should be noted right away that plastic tubes or a corrugated analogue are far from always suitable for use.

The most difficult stage of laying the cable is compliance with the conditions and fire safety standards.

Actually, about which element to use, whether it is wiring in metal pipes or plastic systems, in which case this or that sample is suitable, we will talk in this article.

Application Benefits

The most significant advantage of laying a cable in a pipe is the ability to reliably protect the wire from mechanical damage. In addition, a properly selected pipe can reliably cover the wires on the street, thereby protecting them from an aggressive external environment.

But as already noted, it is necessary to choose the right material from which a kind of cable casing will be made, and, of course, to implement the installation. As for the material of the pipe, it depends on what kind of room we are talking about.

Types of existing pipes

The main advantage of plastic materials is excellent corrosion resistance, extremely low weight and a high level of flexibility.

As mentioned above, the choice of tube material will also depend on the room in which the cable is laid, its main features and conditions.

  • plastic pipes are quite well-known and familiar elements to all of us - polyvinyl chlorides;

The main advantage of plastic materials is excellent corrosion resistance, extremely low weight, high level of flexibility and relatively low price. If it is too early to talk about the price, then the excellent resistance to corrosion and the highest level of ductility in relation to cable laying are indicators that need to be paid special attention.

Also keep in mind that installation work with materials such as plastic pipes is quite simple and does not require special equipment and special skills.

Welding of elements can be done with conventional burners, especially since here, unlike plumbing, tightness is not so important.


  • steel;

In dry rooms, which are not characterized by high humidity and its penetration from the outside, you can use a more affordable route for laying cables - steel pipes. As a rule, a thin-walled sample of material is used, the cross section of which is approximately 15-20 mm. Steel pipes require the master to have special equipment for welding.

You can also use threadless couplings for connecting individual sections.

If steel pipes for laying cables go outside, it is better to paint them, because an unpainted pipe is susceptible to corrosion.

When installing a steel pipe, the following rules must be observed:

  • cleaning and subsequent painting;
  • bends no more than 90C;
  • if several bends are expected in the section, then its length should not exceed 5 meters, and when bending, it is necessary to avoid crushing or breaking the pipe;
  • complete tightness - in no case should open areas and cracks be allowed, since even air that has got inside the route can lead to oxidation of the contacts;
  • in the case of laying parallel lines, both pipes must be equidistant approximately 10 cm apart.

Some features of the application


Thin-walled copper pipes with a cross section of 15 mm for electrical wiring require the master to have special equipment for welding.

When choosing a pipe, it is necessary to pay attention to the structure of the cable itself.

  1. If this is an open aluminum surface of the wire, you should never use a steel or copper pipe! After all, when wiring in a metal pipe, the cable will come into contact with its inner surface, and due to the high degree of conductivity of steel, such wiring turns into an open threat to everyone who will be located in the room.
  2. It is forbidden to use itself for the reason indicated above. In addition to a large number of restrictions, the steel pipe is quite difficult to install.

Indeed, in this case, it is impossible to allow strong bends, it is necessary to use special equipment, and the cost of a steel analogue is not much lower than the cost of plastic pipes.

An aluminum part will help fix the installation problem. After all, its plasticity is much higher, and it does not need painting, even if the installation is carried out in an open area that is exposed to the external environment.

In addition, copper analogues are also appropriate here, which, in addition to the advantages of aluminum samples, are distinguished by a higher degree of reliability.

But then again - both aluminum and copper pipes lose a lot to their plastic counterparts. Firstly, this is a higher price, especially when it comes to a material such as copper, and secondly, all of the above materials are excellent conductors, and the wiring in such elements is the most unsafe.

Polyethylene products

Modernity, which dictates its own rules to each of us, offers consumers of any market segment the opportunity to choose. The object of our discussion is no exception - the wiring of an electric cable in pipes.

The choice is represented by plastic, copper, steel and aluminum samples. Each of them has a different market price. Much depends directly on the cable itself, and on the type of room.

But one of the materials is suitable for use in absolutely any environment under any conditions - plastic pipes.

In addition, the cost of a plastic analogue allows you to add one more tick to the column of advantages of this element, since it is actually identical to the cost of other types of pipes that were listed above.


  1. Another advantage that is typical for elements such as plastic pipes is the ease of installation. If it is necessary to use special welding machines to connect steel and aluminum counterparts, then plastic pipes can be connected using conventional burners or couplings, which are not in short supply on the market.
  2. Also, plastic lines can be laid at an angle, regardless of the number of bends. In order to realize the bend, you can resort to buying corner adapters. In turn, using plastic pipes, you can save a little and purchase a cable with insulation of not so high quality. After all, plastic is not a conductor, and even if the cable breaks for some reason, the wiring in a plastic pipe poses no danger.

For the above reasons, we can conclude that for greater economy and simplicity installation work it is best to use those that possess big amount advantages over the listed analogues.

But there are situations when such materials are not suitable, and only metal analogues are salvation. For example, when it comes to laying a cable in a concrete floor or in a foundation. In this case, strength comes first.

The types of cable laying inside the building are not new and something unusual for us, especially since in most apartments the wiring is implemented in this way. But these types of tracks have already exhausted themselves due to the complexity of installation and repair work.

So, for example, in the event of a break or other reasons that require wiring replacement, the household will have to resort to large-scale repair work - chiselling the entire highway. And it is difficult and not aesthetically pleasing. In addition, you need to take care of the presence of a puncher, things are not cheap.

In the case of using a tube cable for wiring, if repair work is necessary, it is not at all necessary to resort to the help of an electrician - all work can be done by yourself without the use of equipment and experience in this field. Due to the free movement of the cable through the pipe, it can be easily pulled out and checked for breaks or oxidation. In turn, understanding and knowing the cause of the breakdown indicates that half the work has already been done.

Conclusion. What fits best?

In order to understand which material is most suitable for laying an electrical cable in a particular case, it is necessary to know the properties and specifics of the structure of each element. Be it plastic or aluminum pipes, bare cables or high-quality windings - knowing all the basic concepts about physical properties material, it is possible to realize cabling at the highest level, ensuring maximum safety and quality.

Quality and safety, speaking of laying an electrical cable, are, of course, the components that need to be taken care of in the first place. But in the conditions of modernity, it is also necessary to observe such conditions as economy and aesthetics.

Again, knowing what types of electrical wiring are and how they differ, even if you call the master to implement the project, you will be able to save a lot on the purchase of the material itself, choosing the ideal option.

Metal thin-walled pipes are produced by different companies around the world according to a single standard.

The USA, Canada, China, Turkey and India are the main producers of EMT pipe today. The main sales markets are Northern and South America, Middle East and Europe. In Russia, this product is still little represented.


At a time when all progressive mankind has mastered the technology of wiring in steel pipes EMT standard, we have remained aloof from technological progress in this area.

The mission of our company is to fill this annoying gap. After all, this is a really necessary and useful product.

Thanks to the unique technical solutions of the EMT pipe wiring system, the installation of electricians in steel pipes will become easier, and the operation of electrical systems much safer.

So, let's start in order:

1 . Thin-walled steel electrical galvanized pipe EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing).

Manufactured from mild steel.

Galvanized inside and outside. The weld seam is additionally galvanized or not, depending on the manufacturer.

The EMT pipe is an excellent mechanical protection of cables and wires, combined with ductility when bending without creases and cracking of the seam, and ease of cutting.

Sizes up to 1” can be bent with a portable hand-held pipe bender.

.

These dimensions do not match standard sizes thin-walled electric-welded pipes of Russian production.

You can use a pipe with an outer diameter of 18 mm ( GOST 10704-91). The difference in outer diameter of 0.07 mm is not critical.

2. Reinforced steel electrical galvanized pipe RMC threaded.

(Rigidmetalconduit)




IN In this case, we have a complete match with native and familiar VGP pipes.

Galvanized outside and inside by hot dip galvanizing. The two ends of the pipe have G standard threads. Ordinary inch pipe threads. The pipe is supplied complete with a coupling.

Sizes up to 3/4” can be bent with a portable hand-held pipe bender.

Steel pipes for electrical wiring of the RMC standard are designed for harsh environments, including for outdoor wiring.


3. Intermediate metal pipe (IMC).

It doesn’t sound very familiar, but this is the literal translation: Intermediate Metal Conduit.

As the name suggests, this is a cross between an EMT and an RMC pipe.

The same inch thread at the ends of the pipe, the same is completed with a coupling.

Another outside diameter and wall thickness:



4. Pipes with metric thread BS4568


Available in three sizes - 20, 25, 32 mm. Both ends are metric threaded. Coupling included. Wall thickness - 1.6 and 1.35 mm.