So the only pipe that can get buried 6" is that threaded metal pipe?


Shop 3/4-in Metal Rigid 10-ft Conduit at Lowes.com

 

Oh and why 3/4 and not 1/2" pipe?

 

Mike, I'm not sure (and I'm too lazy to look it up) but it may be that the ONLY conduit that will allow for a 6 inch burial will be RMC. I would never even consider burying liquidtight flexible conduit even if it was allowable. You CAN bury PVC at six inches IF you have four inches of concrete on top of the conduit.

These guys are recommending that you use 3/4 inch instead of 1/2 inch because it will be much easier to pull the wires into the larger conduit. 1/2 inch RMC will take six #10 conductors but pulling it will be difficult, especially if you have the maximum number of bends. If you use schedule 80 PVC then the maximum is four #10 conductors.

Speaking of bends...you can only have a maximum of four 90[SUP]o[/SUP]bends in the conduit before you need an access point, generally a junction and pull (J&P) box or a conduit C, T or L fitting. Conduit access fittings may not be buried but must remain permanently accessible as I recall.

Honestly, I would run directly from the CB panel on the side of the shed diagonally across the yard to the post you will install to hold the receptacle. If the ground is so hard and rocky that digging is horrible then rent a Ditch Witch for a half day (around a hundred bucks or so as I recall) and it will be done in an hour. This way you will have only two 90[SUP]o[/SUP] bends and I would use pre-formed RMC bends and risers along with schedule 40 PVC in the ditch. You could then get away with all the conduit being 1/2 inch.

 

Everybody has covered most of it but I'll recap:

Only RMC and IMC can be buried 6". Sealtight, metallic or non-metallic, and PVC needs to be buried 18".

I have found that with any non-metallic raceway (PVC, FNMC) it is better to use one size larger that you normally would as the pipe can be kind of "sticky" to push wire in. This is why I/we suggested 3/4"

Metallic conduit you should be able to push/pull in without too much trouble in 1/2" as long as you keep the 90 degree bends to 3 or less. Even then, if you have trouble, a fish tape with a leader will slide smoothly in the steel pipe. Looking at your picture I think you should be able to do it with 2 90's.

 

If you use PVC for any part of the run you will need to pull a ground wire through. Pulling three #10s is doable in 1/2" pipe but it can be a bit of a PITA.

For that reason, I would either run 3/4" PVC at 18" or run RMC at 6". If you make sure the RMC is bonded end-to-end, you can leave the ground wire out, use the pipe as ground, and just pull two wires.

Me, personally? I'd run 3/4" RMC at 8 to 10" and pull a ground wire. Belt and suspenders. But that's me.

To tweak Furd's suggestion a bit, since your breaker box is on the left end of your shed, you could start by coming out of it and heading straight for the driveway. If you didn't want the receptacle where that would put you, just lay out the trench so you can use a pre-bent 30[SUP]o[/SUP] or 45[SUP]o[/SUP] bend to turn it to come out at the place you do want.