Conduit appears to be burnt / melted all over the place

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dissfigured

dissfigured

0
Oct 17, 2011
51
Denton, TX
All of the conduit running connecting the pump, cleaner, heater to the unit on the side of the house appears to be burnt for lack of a better word. It is as though it is melted.

Has anyone seen this before?

[attachment=0:1fyt84ti]IMG_20111112_155250.jpg[/attachment:1fyt84ti]
[attachment=1:1fyt84ti]IMG_20111112_155236.jpg[/attachment:1fyt84ti]
 
I would guess that it is caused by intense ultraviolet exposure. Are you somewhere that gets strong sun exposure?

Here is an example of sun exposure: post248286.html

file.php
 
If it were due to overheating from the wires in the conduit, then the damage would be all around the conduit. It looks like the damage is primarily on surfaces that are exposed to the sun.
 

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The sun damage appears to be on the plastic. I don't even see any metal. That conduit might not even contain any metal.

I don't think that it's rust. The poster should be able to tell if it's rust, or not, by a close inspection. Perhaps they could scrape off some of the brown and see if it's attracted to a magnet. Or, just try a magnet directly on the conduit.

The exposure of PVC to the UV component of sunlight results in PVC molecules in the first .001" to .002" of exposed surface becoming permanently converted to a complex structure typified by polyene formations. The result is a brownish discoloration, often termed “UV Discoloration,” “UV Degradation,” or simply “Sunburn.”
http://www.heritageplastics.com/pdf/Eff ... posure.pdf
Click to expand...
Grey pipe will have brown or black streaks
http://www.jmeagle.com/pdfs/Technical%2 ... sonPVC.pdf
Click to expand...
http://www.pwpipe.com/literature/tb/tb-d9.pdf
 
I know it is called "liquidtight flexible nonmetallic conduit" so I don't know if there is metal on the inside or if nonmetallic means no metal at all.
I will get my macro lens and see if I can get a better sample and will also scrape some off and inspect it a little closer.
 
Non-metallic means no metal at all. It has a rigid PVC spiral core for strength. It should be marked "Outdoor" to specify its suitability to be used outdoors. You can try a magnet to see if it sticks to the conduit to confirm that there is no steel.
 
OK, I am guessing sun damage may be right.
Here are some photos that show a cross section, and clearly no metal where it has been cut.
Surface almost appears "bubbly" like it is melted.

So now, what do I do? Do I need to replace it all, or can I just coat it in something to make it more esthetically pleasing?
This stuff seems pretty thick so I am assuming it looks bad but at this rate will probably take a lifetime to cause a real problem.

Thanks for all the help.
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