I am in the process of rewiring a flat. It is run in imperial metal conduit. In the kitchen there is an old socket complete with imperial metal conduit 2 lengths and a single metal backbox at about chest height. This has to be removed to accomodate a cupboard. I need to maintain continuity with the conduit but I am not sure how I am going to acheive this. A colleague has told me about knock on couplers (to convert imperial to metric) but wholesalers are shrugging their shoulders. Can I cut the conduit and solder on a join(inspection elbow etc..)? Can anybody help, all suggestions would be most welcome.
Need help with imperial metal conduit
- Thread starter wizards-sleeve
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I have some 20mm to 3/4 adaptors (20mm Female-3/4 male) for use on old stuff in our factory but I havn't seen anything the other way but I'm sure there must be some somewhere
is it heavy conduit with threaded ends and screwed-on fittings like gaspipe, or is it thin black stuff with pinch bolts? Does it appear to be a tube, or does it have a seam where it has been bent to shape from strips of steel sheet?
First of all, make sure you draw in a sepaarte earth this time
And secondly, do you need to remove box, just run the cables through the box unbroken and get a piece of flat metal plate and screw that on using the M3.5 screws that normally hold the socket on
It is conduit, isn't it?, and not rolled slip tube?
And secondly, do you need to remove box, just run the cables through the box unbroken and get a piece of flat metal plate and screw that on using the M3.5 screws that normally hold the socket on
It is conduit, isn't it?, and not rolled slip tube?
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You can't solder steel.
My local wholesaler does imperial > meric adaptors both ways.
Infact, have a look at the bottom two items on this page
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Conduit_Steel_Index/Reducers_20MM/index.html
My local wholesaler does imperial > meric adaptors both ways.
Infact, have a look at the bottom two items on this page
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Conduit_Steel_Index/Reducers_20MM/index.html
You could weld it if you really want, but how many DIYers have the equipment to do that?
Thankyou all for the instant reply. I will try and reply to all your comments. Firstly Its conduit threaded ends, couplers and fixed to metal box with a bush and I am sure it is tube as apposed to seam. I am happy to use the existing metal box simply as a through box so long as It does not obstruct the cupboard. Thanks for the link to the TLC website, thats very useful to know. However the problem I have is I have to lose this conduit, it has to be removed for a cupboard. Both legs to the box are coming from underneath the floor and I do not have a lot of space to play with. If i attempt to bend the conduit I am worried it will snap. One of the legs returns to the board which is close. I was thinking I could lose the leg back to the board and fit metal copex?. But I still have not worked out how I am going to modify the conduit to accomodate this cupboard.
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PIX??
I can get pictures tomorrow, but I am supposed to be sorting it tomorrow. Oh well these things cannot be rushed
Metal kopex can not be relied upon to provide a proper earth.
Can you take some photos of the conduit etc. so we can get a better idea of what you could do to get round the problem?
Click my signature to find out how.
Can you take some photos of the conduit etc. so we can get a better idea of what you could do to get round the problem?
Click my signature to find out how.
Thanks all. I will get some pictures tomorrow and post .
Metric screws in imperial conduit fittings?
They will probably be 4BA screws, not M3.5
You could re-tap the holes to M3.5
Put a metric screw into an imperial thread, and it will probably bind and shear the screw, creating more problems.
the knock on adaptors mentioned had a small blade inside that gripped onto the conduit after they had been tapped onto with a hammer, they were a fad around the 70's which saved you having to cut a thread onto the conduit, you merely cut the tube and deburred before slipping the adaptor on.
You can soft solder mild steel. That's how lead filling on car bodywork used to be done.
You'd probably need something like Bakers Fluid for a flux to tin it properly first, then sweat it together.
It's even possible to soft solder stainless steel with the right flux.
The old line is that if he used the right flux, the right temperature and the right alloy, a good tinman could solder a cat's a**e to a brick wall.
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