I am running a 6/2 NM-B Romex for approx. 45 feet from my service panel to my garage for a wall charger for an EV. No unfinished space in basement and and garage wall is on concrete slab of garage, so conventional run will be very difficult. However, my house has a central vac system with ~ 1.75" thin-walled PVC piping running to both my garage and a wall in the basement adjacent to the service panel(s). We don't use the central vac system. I was able to use my shopvac to pull a pulling rope from the service panel to the garage through the PVC pipe. Looks like it goes through 3 90 degree elbows and 1 T. Will it be OK to pull the 6/2 NM-B Romex through the PVC pipe inside the house if it is the only circuit?
Electrical – Run 6 AWG NM-B cable through 1 1/2 PVC pipe indoors
cable-managementconduitelectrical
Related Solutions
You should have no problem using Schedule 80 PVC conduit. It's easy to work with, and you can get pre-formed 90's for any corners (so you won't need a pipe bender).
You might be able to get away with Schedule 40, but since it will be exposed (and in a work area where it could get smashed with a wayward piece of lumber) I would go with Schedule 80.
Just make sure you do a better job than the previous "electrician", and use proper PVC conduit straps to attach the conduit to the wall / ceiling.
KeithS brings up a fair point. Make sure the first receptacle on the line is a GFCI receptacle, then feed the rest of the receptacles from the load side of the GFCI.
Pick up a middle of the road tone generator and probe kit from a company you've heard of. No need to buy the most expensive model you can find, it will likely have features you'll never use.
I've used this one Gardner Bender Wire-Tracker Wire Tracer, which can be purchased from Home Depot for ~$40.00.
It's not the best model on the market, but it worked very well for me. It was sensitive enough to accurately trace cables through both walls, ceilings and floors, and was able to attach to a variety of cables.
Make sure the power is off before connecting the tone generator. Some models can work on hot lines, but it's still safer to kill the power.
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Best Answer
The central vac PVC isn't listed for electrical use, so it won't fly as a conduit or raceway for electrical wiring.
But you aren't really using it as a raceway, just as a protective sleeve for the cable, so you could make the argument that if the cable could travel the same path without the pipe, it should be able to travel that path in the pipe.
The main sticking point would be the bends. You might have a very hard time pulling the cable around those bends and T's. The resulting install may even violate the bend radius requirements for the cable. If you cut out the elbows and T's and use those spots as pulling points, that should get around that problem.
You'd want to be sure that the pipes are protected by nailers where they pass through framing closer than 1-1/4" from the finish surface. That could be a gray area. You might assume that was the case when the central vac was installed, but if you're repurposing the pipe, your local code enforcement department may insist that it be re-inspected, which would mean removing the finish (drywall).