A conduit body is a separate section of conduit tubing that provides easy access into the interior of an electrical raceway. It allows more space for electrical conductors to bend. Conduit bodies also add extra protection from weather and corrosion to your conductors.
Conduit bodies are available in different shapes and sizes. Browse through our conduit body fill chart to discover which is right for your project. You can also invest in conduit accessories for even more conductor protection.
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What Are Conduit Bodies?
Industrial electrical wiring systems need to follow local and federal regulation codes for safety and health. According to Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) guidelines, businesses must have metallic conduits to protect their wires. As an electrician, you need to know how to install this advanced wiring.
A conduit body is a component of an industrial electrical wiring system. Conduit bodies group wires together to save space within an electrical unit. The wiring runs through conduits and conduit bodies to guard against corrosion. They also allow you to maneuver the direction and bundling of a group of wires. Conduit bodies come in a variety of sizes, materials and moisture resistance.
Electricians use conduit bodies to connect different sections of a conduit. A conduit body contains a removable cover for easy access to the wires. You can pull wires to change their polarity and make your electrical system safer.
What Are Conduit Bodies Made From?
A conduit body consists of copper-free aluminum gaskets with covers. The aluminum covers stainless steel screws to protect wires from water and rust. The material of conduit bodies is lightweight and resistant to corrosion. Conduit boxes are also moisture-resistant, so they can withstand rain and snow outside.
Models with an epoxy powder finish have extra corrosion resistance. You could remove the neoprene gasket to accommodate your electrical preferences. You could use conduit bodies for EMT, IMC, threading, rigid or a combination of wiring. The various sizes and shapes will determine how many wires you could fit in the conduit body.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONDUIT BODY TYPES?
Choose your conduit body type based on the type of conduit included in your electrical system:
- Rigid Metal Conduit (RMC): An RMC accommodates wiring systems outside of a building. This conduit consists of galvanized steel tubing that fits with threaded wires and is used in many industrial applications.
- Intermediate Metal Conduit (IMC): An IMC is a thinner, lighter-weight alternative to the RMC. Since you can use it both indoors and outdoors, an IMC conduit is a good fit for new construction.
- Electric Metal Tubing (EMT): An EMT conduit is made of galvanized steel, but can also be made of aluminum. It’s used for indoor residential projects or light commercial construction.
- Electric Non-Metallic Tubing (ENT): An ENT conduit consists of flexible tubing made out of plastic used inside walls. Since it’s flexible and lightweight, it’s easy to install.
- Flexible Metal Conduit (FMC): A FMC conduit has a spiral construction that allows you to snake wires inside of walls. Standard FMC is used in indoor locations for short runs between appliances and a wall box.
- Liquid-Tight Flexible Metal Conduit (LFMC): If you’re in a humid, damp, or wet environment, a liquid-tight flexible metal conduit (LFMC) can protect the life of the cables and prevent electrical failures, keeping employees and customers safe.
- Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride (Rigid PVC): Rigid PVC conduit’s plastic piping can be watertight, so you can run wires underground.
To complement your conduit bodies, you need the right conduit for your project. At AerosUSA, we offer conduits of different materials for your building or equipment needs. Our conduits benefit a wide variety of industries, from the railway industry to industrial processing. With our different types of conduits, you can benefit from:
- UV resistance
- Protection against harsh weather
- Moisture resistance
- Flame resistance
Browse through our collection of conduits to find electrical production for your wiring.
What Are Conduit Bodies Used For?
Conduit bodies are one of the most versatile parts of electrical raceways. A conduit body is part of the raceway system that’s connected to the conduit. Conduits connect to the conduit body through conduit fittings.
Conduit outlet bodies in electrical raceway systems:
- Provide installed conductors with pull outlets.
- Make openings for taps and splices conductors.
- Combine sections of conduit wiring.
- Give you branch conduit run taps.
- Allow conduit runs to bend 90 degrees.
- Give easy access to wires for future maintenance and replacement needs.
IMC conduit bodies host threaded wires or EMT conduits. Non-metallic conduit bodies connect to PVC conduits to accept threaded adapters. Electricians use conduit bodies to house splicing or wiring devices. You can also use them as pull or junction boxes.
Conduit bodies provide pulling access to a run of conduits. Conduit bodies can bend conduit to conserve space. You could also use conduit bodies to split a conduit path into more than one direction.
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What Are the Benefits of Conduit Bodies?
A conduit body is one of several ways you could fit conduits together. Through the conduit body, you can access the interior of the raceway to pull, inspect and maintain electrical wires. When you’re able to control your wires better, your system can function efficiently.
They can also help move the direction of the electricity of your wires or bend them in a certain direction. You can also use conduit bodies to splice your wires. Wire splicing involves combining two wires so they can carry more current.
A conduit always stops at an electric box or some kind of box-like equipment. You can connect conduit bodies to the conduit with special fittings. The raceway is the box, conduit wires and connectors. You should connect conduit bodies depending on the type of conduit. Connect a plastic conduit with plastic boxes and a metal conduit with metal boxes.
Our fittings are easy to install and provide additional fire resistance for your electrical raceways. They are also self-extinguishing in case of a fire. Browse through our collection of conduit fittings to find the material that’s best for your conduit system.
How to Install Conduit Bodies
For the installation of conduit bodies, you will need another person to help you. One person will be the trainer, and the other will be a puller. The trainer feeds the wires through the access point of the conduit body, while the puller pulls wires from the other end.
- Group the wiring together: Instead of clumping the wires, group the wires together before tying them to the tool you use to put the wires in the conduit. Use fish tape to connect to the wires that need to go through the conduit body.
- Push the wiring through the conduit: Use lubricant so the wires don’t scrape against the hub. Push the wire through slowly, so you don’t obstruct the wires.
- Bending the wires: Create a pulling loop within the conduit body. You cannot exceed a total of 360 degrees of bend that is between two different pull points. Doing so could damage the insulation. Instead, make more of an effort to run your conduit in a straight line.
What Are the Different Types of Conduit Bodies?
The most common types of conduit bodies are:
- Form 7
- Form 8
- Mark 9
- Form 5
- Series 5
Different sizes and shapes of conduit bodies are available based on the rigid thread count of your wires. While there are different types of conduit bodies, all have similar components:
- Conduit outlet bodies: Conduit hubs protect threaded wires. Form 7 conduit bodies are fit to size for compact installations. Form 8 and Mark 9 offer additional room for bulkier sets of conduit wiring. Form 5 includes rollers to facilitate wire pulling. The conduit body type you choose depends on the number of conduits you have and the need for bending or grouping.
- Gaskets: Neoprene gaskets prevent moisture from damaging the wires within the conduit body. They also provide resistance to corrosion for extra wire protection. Solid gaskets are available with blank covers. They can also convert to open gaskets for Mark 9 and Form 5 types. Open gaskets are also available for Form 8 and Mark 9.
- Blank covers: Stainless steel cover screws are available on Form 7, Form 8, Mark 9, Series 5 and Form 5 covers. You can use covers with or without gaskets. Covers are reusable and can transfer from one conduit body to the other. Iron alloy covers are in a dome shape for extra strength and room for wiring. Form 7 conduit bodies use wedge nut screws on their covers for easy opening. Form 7 covers come without screws to save time and money on installation. On the Form 8 models, there are two cover screws on all sides to allow for tight cover and gasket assembly. The Mark 9 model uses self-retaining cover screws.
Conduit bodies provide access for wire pulling or straight lines. They also provide an opportunity for a bend where there isn’t enough space on the wall. The different types are all based on the shape of the conduit bodies. Each type of conduit body has an access, inlet and outlet. The location of the inlet and outlet in relation to the conduit body determines the body’s shape.
LR Conduit Body
What is an LR conduit body? With an LR-shaped body, the inlet aligns with the access, and the outlet is on the right. They attach to IMC conduit bodies when the conduit requires a change of direction. LR conduit bodies are appropriate for both indoor and outdoor use.
LL Conduit Body
With an LL-shaped body, the inlet aligns with the access and the outlet is on the left. You can use this type of conduit body for a 90-degree bend in the conduit run. The conduit body contains two conduit hubs, with removable gaskets for easy access to the wires.
LB Conduit Body
With an LB-shaped body, the inlet aligns with the access and the outlet is on the back. SLBs (service L-shaped bodies) are like L-shaped bodies, but shorter. The inlets are flush with the access cover. Electricians use these conduit bodies where circuits pass from an exterior wall.
T-Shaped Conduit Body
With a T-shaped body, the inlet is in line with the access and outlets on the left and right side of the cover. The cover is removable for easy access to the conductors. You can use T-shaped conduit bodies both indoors and outdoors.
C-Shaped Conduit Body
With a C-shaped body, the inlet and the outlet are on the top and bottom of the access cover. These types of conduit bodies pull conductors in straight runs. With C-shaped bodies, conductors don’t make a turn between the inlet and the outlet. C-shaped conduits are appropriate for indoor and outdoor use. They are compatible with EMT wiring and are fire-resistant.
X-Shaped Conduit Body
An X-shaped conduit body has four hubs for wire access. This type of conduit body allows for the easiest wire installation. Since you can feed a wire through one end and out another end, you won’t have to do as many additional fittings.
Do You Need Other Conduit Accessories?
Along with a conduit body, consider conduit accessories for your commercial electrical raceway. Our conduit accessories at AerosUSA include:
- Assembly tools
- Mounting accessories
- Clamping/support accessories
- Specialty adapters
- Liquid-tight sealing accessories
Browse through our collection of conduit accessories to get the most out of your conduit body installation.
Why Choosing the Right Conduit Body Size Is Important
The right conduit body size will provide the optimal performance for your wires. Your electrical raceway will be safe from damage, corrosion and malfunction with an adequate conduit body size. Use the National Electric Code (NEC) to help determine the right size for your conduit body.
For choosing the right conduit body size, you should know the number and size of conductors. You should also know the type of conduit. If you have too many conductors in the conduit body, you could damage them during the pulling process.
You need to know the cross-sectional area of each conductor. If you don’t allow enough space between conductors, your conduit bodies could overheat.
Follow NEC Standards
The NEC requires conduit bodies to be a certain size, depending on the number of wires you have and the size of your commercial space. There needs to be enough space for all the conductors within the body to have free space. If the conductors cross, they could set an electric shock in your building.
There must be enough space for conductors to bend without compromising their integrity. Electricians follow the six and eight-times rule to determine the right size for conduit bodies.
For straight pulls, the length of the conduit should be at least eight times the size of the hub accommodating the largest raceway. For angle or U pulls, the distance between each raceway and the opposite wall should be at least six times the length of the largest raceway.
Protect Your Electrical Raceways Further With Cable Glands
AerosUSA is a cable gland supplier. Our cable glands offer cable and wire protection to attach to the other parts of conduit systems. You could use our cable glands for the railroad, in the mining industry or in robotics. Choose from our selection of cable glands to discover the right size for your conduit body, including:
- Metallic cable glands
- Synthetic cable glands
- Specialized cable glands
- 90° cable glands
- Solid insert cable glands
- Stainless steel cable glands
- Fire wall safety glands
- Pressure balance elements
How Improperly Sized Conduit Bodies Can Lead to Conductor Damage
The wrong conduit body can damage the conductors in your electrical raceway system. Extreme cases of electric malfunction include electric shock, electric fire and power outages. Using the correct conduit size can help:
- Protect your employees from fatal injuries at work: Your electricians are the most at risk of a fatal electrical injury on the job. Between 2012 and 2016, 739 electrical workers died from electrocution. Workers in the construction industry made up 47 percent of those deaths. Twenty-two percent had jobs in the installation, maintenance and repair industries. Of the fatal injuries, 80 percent occurred while workers were in direct contact with an electric system. Others received electricity injuries from operating heavy machinery. Protect your employees on the job by ensuring they’re using the right conduit bodies.
- Save time and money from less non-fatal injuries at work: Electrical injuries are serious for employees who work in the electrical field. Between 2012 and 2016, 9,760 workers suffered from an electrical injury. More than one-quarter of workers required 31 or more days off from work due to electrical injury. With a faulty electric system, you could lose time from your hard-working employees. You could also lose money by paying for time off for employees that are recovering at home from an injury.
- Protect your local area from non-fire electrical incidents: Most non-fire electrical incidents occur outside of a residential area, with 58 percent occurring on major roads outside of homes. You could endanger a lot of people if you don’t get the right conduit body size.
What Would Happen if Wires Aren’t Installed Correctly?
If wires aren’t installed according to manufacturer standards, they could overheat. The wrong size, length or type of wire could affect the safety of your workplace.
To check your electrical installation job, make sure you turn off the power first. You need to polarize the electrical wiring, so power flows in the right way. If your wires aren’t polarized, the wiring could short circuit. You also have to make sure you have the right insulation for your wires. The electrical system could short circuit if you don’t measure the wire insulation correctly.
How to Avoid Electrical Problems When Installing Conduit Bodies
Installing conduit bodies that are the right size for your project will prevent electrical problems down the road, including:
- Code violations: While installing new wires, you should make sure your wires are up to code as you work. The NEC established codes to make sure electrical systems are safe for industry workers. Conduit bodies of the right size provide secure installment for your electrical conductors.
- Overheating: Improper wiring size can result in overheating. Too many wires connected to one circuit could overwork the circuit breaker. Overheating causes the electrical system to short circuit, resulting in fires, shock or injury. You can add a circuit to the panel board of the circuit breaker to increase your amps. Conduit bodies create junction points for the conductors in an electrical system for a greater distribution of power. More junction points reduce the risk of overheating.
- Harsh weather conditions: Electric wiring can also break if it’s exposed to harsh weather conditions. The right size conduit bodies can make sure your wires are protected outside. Instead of leaving a UF cable exposed, protect it with a conduit body.
Strip the wires to prepare them for an outlet box. Stripping too much wire can result in sparks and an electrical fire. If the wire run is too long, it can decrease the functionality of the electrical system.
Explore Our Inventory at AerosUSA
Our team at AerosUSA offers a wide selection of conduit and conduit accessories to electricians in the Harrisburg, PA area. Our products are UL listed to ensure that they’re safe for your workers. We serve the following industries and their electrical needs:
- Hybrid vehicles
- Railway and transportation
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
- Renewable energy applications
- Mining and heavy vehicles
- Robotics
- Marine
- General machine
- Healthcare and Medical
Visit our online catalog to determine which of our products will be best for your project. You can also call us at 717-238-1444 or fill out a contact form online for more information.
