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Old 05-10-2017, 03:11 PM   #36 (permalink)
Auptimist
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Materials info dump: While looking at conduit at Menards I found that the Rigid/IMT conduit has the same screw threads as the steel water pipe of the same diameter, which happens to be cheaper and sturdier anyway. From what I gather, the only difference is that conduit is post-processed a bit more to be smoother inside so as to not damage any cables. Another cost saving measure would be to use Black rather than galvanized pipe (looks better anyways since most cars have some black plastic to match already). Then I checked Ace and found that the same exact black pipe (Wheatland brand) is cheaper than their EMT and a third of the price, at $2.49/10ft, which is just nuts. Definitely suggest thin water pipe over EMT conduit because it's much stronger (won't buckle or split at the seam) and can be threaded rather than just connected with compression fittings. It's harder to bend into shape, but that's kinda the point isn't it. I'll just use Tee intersections and 45° fittings and such instead, since there's a wealth of threaded plumbing fittings. I'm gonna buy a tap/die to thread the cut-sections of odd lengths, then I might sell it again once I'm done with it.
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