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Old 07-20-2004, 07:20 PM   #1
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, Minnesota
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Rewiring methods

I'm upgrading the wiring in my '59 tradewind. I'm thinking of using ENT (blue corrugated plastic) conduit instead of rubber grommets. I will keep the 120Vac and 12Vdc circuits separate.
Is this 'legal' and has anyone had good or bad experiences with ENT?
And what does Airstream currently use?
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Old 07-20-2004, 08:25 PM   #2
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My guess is...

Don,

I don't claim to be an expert on this topic but a couple of things occur to me based on what I have seen in my trailer with the inner skins all off and from some basic knowledge of electical codes.

1.) The 110 and 12 volt systems do not seem to be isolated from each other much at all.

2.) The rubber grommets would be just for the purpose of protecting the wire insulation as it goes through a hole in the frame or the inner skin. If your conduit does the same that should be fine.

3.) It seems to me that conduit of any kind is designed to either organize wires, protect them, or protect people and things from them. The reason that there isn't any conduit in the walls now on my unit is probably because the wires are protected sufficiently by the rubber grommets in the only places they really need it and because the aluminum inner and outer skins themselves act as a sort of conduit protecting the wire and the people from the wire.

I guess I said all the above to explain why I think the conduit may be redundant. You are going to have to spend a fair amount of time fishing all your wires through it too. My suggestion would be to not bother and rather just get some good wire ties with an adhesive backing on them to help organize and locate the wires in neat bundles by attaching them to the inside of the outer skin. That is what I intend to do with my wiring before I put the inner skins back on. I found some suitable adhesive backed wire ties the other day at Home Depot.

Malcolm
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Old 07-20-2004, 08:27 PM   #3
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I would run the conduit if you are thinking you may want to run more wires later. If the wiring is done, I would leave the way it was. Airstream still does the grommet and duct tape thing as far as I know.
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Old 07-21-2004, 04:39 PM   #4
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Run conduit for future wire pulls and for safety reasons. Attaching wires to the inside of the skin is not a good idea because, depending on the type and style of wire you use, over time the heat will cause the wire insulation to get brittle and crack, possibly causing a short in the wiring. Better to invest in doing it right the first time.
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