Round House

do0f4i

im not to sure if that is the correct term but how many round house's(blk,red,blue,white,green thhn) can i put into a 3/4 conduit by code im not to sure of how many current caring conductors can be in the same conduit

macmikeman

Hey doof, what size wire are you talking about?

jbfan

The amount of current carrying conductors can fill the pipe to a cross section of 40%. Of course after derating they may only be good for 10 amps. What size wire are you talking about?

BTW What is a round house???

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Speedy Petey

Mr. Doof,
Your profile says you are an electrician. Are you seriously asking this question? Especially the way it is worded?

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do0f4i

im not an electrical contrator im a aprentice my boss quizes me randomly since we are starting my first commercial job i just want to make sure i just want to make sure a can answer his question correctly the wire size is # 12thhn

mdshunk

"Round House" is a regional slang term. Some of us may be more famaliar with the more popular term "full boat". Either slang phrase means a full 5 wire pull, consisting of a black, red, blue, white, green.

Exactly house many "round houses" doesn't make any sense in the context of the question. You only need one ground, sized to the largest conductor in the pull. Actually, you don't even need that if you're using a metallic raceway system, but current good trade practices dictate that you pull one.

You may have up to 16 #12 THHN conductors in a 3/4" pipe. Once you have that many, you'll need to derate the ampacity of the conductors.

macmikeman

Ok then Doof the apprentice, it depends on wire size and type of raceway. You said #12, so now look in a current code book at annex C (back end of the book) in the appropriate table for each type of raceway. Annex C is not a mandatory thing, it is an informative table worked out so you don't fill past 40% conduit fill which is mandatory as another poster said. And once you fill this here conduit up, you now will have to consider de-rating issues, which in a nut shell means there will be less amps allowed on your #12 wire depending on how many more than three conductors are in the conduit. I bet your boss doesn't have all the different types of conduit/fill allowances memorized, so now is your chance to turn the tables on him. You memorize maximum fill for #12 for several types, then try quizzing him on liquid tight, flex, schedule 80, and so forth. When you are an apprentice you should try reading the code book for about at least 1/2 hour per day every day. And keep asking questions. You won't be a doof very long this way.

do0f4i

thanx for all your advice guys i appreciate it

by the way the do0 is my nick name
and a f4i is the type of motorcycle i ride but i can settle for doof lol

wackman

Very good advice.

steveprichard

Also, if you can, take some night classes. They should count as work time for your journeymans' requirements. And read everything you can.

Peace out.

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Steve

"Keep thee thy airspeed, lest the earth rise up and smite thee!"

Bkessler

How about nine. current carrying conductors that is. So nine if your using #12 and still going to put them on 20 amp breakers. So that is only two full round houses. unless of course you have balanced loads and do not have to count the nuetral then it's three. ...............go wings!

wildwood

Mr. Doof, You would probably be best to pick up a copy of "UGLY'S" (check with your local bookstore or electrical supply house) and you can start to answer the bosses questions on your own. If you are going to be a good electrican than you need to become resourceful. It is much easier to pull out your book and find the answer (1-2 minutes), than to get confused by multiple answers. The last time I checked - the book was about $8 and it is small enough to fit in your back pocket or tool pouch - and it doesn't lie. Also, thhn is not a size of wire it is a type of insulation or jacket. You will also need to know what type of conduit you will be pulling through (rigid, imc, emt, pvc sch40, pvc sch80, sealtight, flex, etc.) because the maximum # of conductors may vary. By the way, aprentice is spelled apprentice and should be preceded with "an" instead of "a". Also, it is carrying not caring. Good Luck Dude - ak

wavector

The neutral counts as a current carrying conductor on nonlinear loads.