Apprentice path · Stage 18: Raceways · Lesson 57

PVC raceway

Nonmetallic raceway is not metal raceway in a different colour. It behaves differently and it is joined differently.

Why this matters on the job

PVC moves with temperature and it is joined chemically rather than mechanically. Both of those are easy to ignore on the day and impossible to ignore a year later.

How to think about it

  1. Expect different properties from metal -- nonmetallic raceway is its own thing.
  2. Use compatible listed materials and the joining methods specified for them.
  3. Account for temperature movement and physical protection.

Worked through

The joint is the part people improvise. A PVC raceway joint is made with a specific product under specific instructions, and the joint is what holds the run together and keeps it sealed. A general-purpose adhesive from the van makes something that looks like a joint. It is not the joint the system was designed around.

Check yourself: You are out of the specified joining product and there is something similar in the van. Use it?

Answer: No. Follow the specific joining instructions; do not improvise a substitute adhesive.

The joining method is part of what makes the listed materials a listed system. A substitute has not been evaluated with these materials, so nothing is known about the joint you just made.

Watch out for: Treating it like metal on length. PVC moves with temperature, so a run fixed as though it cannot move is a run that will find somewhere to move anyway.
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Written from the owner's poster for this lesson. Nothing added beyond what the poster states.

Written for Texas apprentices as free study material. The Texas apprentice licence is an application, not an exam (Occupations Code 1305.161), and nothing here counts as apprenticeship hours or continuing-education credit. VoltMark is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, PSI, TDLR, or any state or local licensing authority. Always follow your employer's safety programme and your supervising electrician.