PVC conduit alternatives [RE-wrenches]

[Darryl Thayer]

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There is now a PEX conduit.  We are seeing it in long
runs underground directly,  In concrete pours, I will
try to find more next time I use it.  It comes in
rolls.    
Darryl 
--- Brad Bassett <bsbassett at earthlink.net> wrote:

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> 
> I agree that another material would be preferrable
> to vinyl (PVC). 
> Building our new house we avoided vinyl almost
> completely except wire 
> insulation, I even used EMT in the walls to reduce
> the vinyl content and 
> exposure (and enhance flexibility and safety). But
> underground, metal 
> conduit is less than ideal. Copper conduit anyone?
> 
> So the question is there a plastic that offers the
> advantages of vinyl 
> or PVC for conduit? PVC is 1)cheap 2) fire retardant
> 3) relatively high 
> temp resistant 4) easy to join 5)cheap, did I say
> it's cheap. That's 
> what's going to make it hard to justify someone
> going to the trouble to 
> make something else and get it listed and marketed,
> it's going to be 
> relatively expensive compared to PVC and be a hard
> sell to most. 
> 
> One polymer I've thought of is polyethylene (PE),
> which is even cheaper 
> than PVC, but burns and melts easily. One form of
> polyethylene is PEX or 
> cross linked PE, used extensively for plumbing, is
> more temp resistant 
> than the regular PE and super tough, and is very
> easy to work with. I've 
> used it for underground comm cable where it's not
> inspected and needed 
> extra protection. PEX is the one polymer that I
> think might have a 
> chance. It might be able to have it's flammability
> enhanced. It's used 
> as underground gas piping, so maybe as only
> underground conduit. Anyone 
> want to try to get a PEX mfg (Wirsbo) to go for
> listing? PE is about as 
> benign environmentlaly as polymers get.
> 
> Another possibility is ABS (Acrilonitrile,
> Butadiene, Styrene), which is 
> maybe not as good as PE, but I'm sure is a lot
> better than PVC in 
> relation to the environment. It's high temperature
> performance is better 
> than PVC, it's pretty inexpensive, though more than
> PE or PVC. I don't 
> know the fire resistance of it. It's made for DWV
> piping, the black 
> stuff, (and is what I used to avoid PVC for our
> DWV). 
> 
> Brad
> AEE
> 
> 
>  
> Allan Sindelar wrote:
> > 
> > Wrenches,
> > 
> > We use a lot of PVC conduit, especially in our
> direct-buried runs from
> > arrays, generators, and the like. I am aware of
> its health/environmental
> > hazards (see below for a blurb on it by Bill Walsh
> founder of the 
> > Healthy
> > Building Network, taken ffrom Grist). I'd like to
> use it as little as
> > possible.
> > 
> > What alternatives have you found that are less
> toxic than PVC?
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Allan @+E
> > 
> 
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