#1 DIY Electric Mistake - Can you use Romex Wire in Conduit?

What do you think? NM Code Info: bit.ly/3VCAm7R Damp Location Guide: bit.ly/3VL75rX - My Amazon top tool pics: www.amazon.com/shop/silvercymbal

Thank God! Someone who got TO THE POINT and didn’t yammer on and on for 20 minutes!

I love how this was a short, informative, accurate video that wasn't stretched out into 20 minutes. I wouldn't of watched it then. I like smart people.

A couple of minor nitpicks: You can run NM cable inside conduit in a damp location as long as the NM cable is rated for damp locations (i.e. it needs to be NM-C). Basically, conduit vs not conduit has nothing to do with it. You can only run anything in a damp location if it's rated for damp locations (which ordinary NM cable isn't, but some other kinds are). Also, technically, the wires inside NM cable are just THHN, and have exactly the same insulation/protection that individual THHN wires do. The only problem is that the manufacturer has not explicitly stated that they can be used in that way, so even though there is actually nothing inherently unsafe about doing that, the code just doesn't allow using things contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, so you can't do it, really because of a technicality in how things are written. It's not that it actually wouldn't work fine, though. It's more a letter-of-the-law thing.

All info and no background rock concert! Excellent!

No topic brings out the internet electricians like NM in conduit. 😂

Good vid and most important, accurate. Fun fact, back in the day the company I worked for, due to a conflict with an inspector, actually contacted one of the bigger wire manufacturers and asked what type of insulation they used on the wire they put in NM cable and they said it was thhn. Also, I've in the past have pulled the conductors out of the jacket and noticed that on the conductors insulation had lettering and upon looking much closer, it read that it was thhn /thwn. Therfore I wasn't hesitant about using them for any conduit application, even in a wet location. But I've also done that and there was no lettering on the insulation therefore being hesitant to use it in a wet location but not so much in a dry location.

Wow, I have seen this topic bandied about on YT dozens of times. Never have I seen it so perfectly answered as here. Thank you!

Thanks for settling this debate. I appreciate that you got right to the point & kept things moving. I appreciate your editing time. I’m guessing other viewers do too. Great job.

dude thank you for keep it straight to the point and facts only. Cant stand videos where they go into a main character back story arch.

If it's not compliant in your jurisdiction you can always run the NM romex cable to a metal j-box then splice in the box and run conduit out with rated individual conductors. As I understand it there are special circumstances such as foundation wall drops (not framed) where it's permitted (with limitations) but generally frowned upon because of the possibility of overpacking/lack of free air and heat dissipation with all of the extra sheathing, but conduits are not the only place where overpacking is regulated, such as cable trays in commercial applications where you also have to follow a strict packing density with spacing. Generally and practically speaking difficult for me to understand how a single NM drop in a conduit is going to overheat relative to the myriad of NM cables most homes have in their attic bundled with insulation in the dead of summer, seems relative. Great video covering this topic though.

A good explanation without commercials !

I decided to learn how to bend EMT correctly and just bought spools of THHN to do all of my shop lighting. It was a frustrating but rewarding experience. Untold numbers of bad bends I had to cut out and redo, but I did it.

Great video and very valid points. I would like to add something. Another reason that you can not pull the individual wires out of the NM cable and pull it through the conduit is because the wires are no longer labeled on the insulation like THHN, THWN, THWN-2 ( Voltage, gauge etc)

Thanks. I run individual wires in conduit, and often leave room for extra runs. The inspector flipped out when I ran a two inch and an inch and a half conduit sixty feet from the house to the garage. When I bought an electric car, I was mighty glad that I could run an extra 50 amp circuit.

Just bought a new house, was fixing a bad gfci outlet today that supplies power to an outdoor refrigerator, while replacing the outlet noticed they used romex. And boom this video pops up. Thank you, I’m going to be looking now to fix that too. Your videos are great, keep doing what you do.

You are allowed to run UF-B (and other equivalents) outside and in Conduit. It is rated for direct burial in no conduit. Want more protection - Conduit is allowed. It is a 'romex' style - but really is a hard flexible plastic surrounding all the wires. So no paper, and no water leakage into any conductor.

I agree the brief no long dialogue is appreciated

Great summary! Thank you. I now know that I've definitely not followed code on that issue for a couple of non-permitted outdoor connections. (Properly done otherwise.) This makes it clear that they need to be removed or permitted and redone if I ever sell.

I knew 90%, but think I'm the exception. Learned 10% (didn't know you couldn't pull the wire out of romex and use it). Only took 3 minutes. Excellent job!