Conduit Bending Basics
Electrical conduit serves as a protective raceway for wiring, shielding it from physical damage, weather, and harsh environmental conditions. There are several types of conduit, such as PVC, rigid metal, flexible conduit (flex), and EMT. Most electricians in the field will primarily work with EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing).
EMT is a thin-walled steel pipe that ranges in size from ½ inch to 4 inches in diameter. The most common sizes you’ll work with on the job are ½ inch, ¾ inch, and 1 inch, all of which can typically be bent with a standard hand bender. For 1¼ inch conduit, a hand bender can still be used, but it requires more leverage and skill.
When available, a smart bender is the preferred tool for conduit ranging from 1 inch to 2 inches, as it offers greater precision and reduces physical strain. For larger conduit 2½ inches up to 4 inches, you’ll need a hydraulic or table bender, which provides the power necessary to bend heavy conduit accurately and safely.
How to use a handheld conduit bender.
Bending Basics
Conduit bending is not as hard as it looks. It just requires accurate bends that will look good where you install the pipe. Always pull measurements of the environment to ensure it looks aesthetically pleasing. There’s nothing worse than a pipe bent into all sorts of random angles. Dog legs are a perfect example of this. They can result from two angles in an offset not lining up.
Offsets
Offsets are created when two equal angles are applied at different locations on a stick of pipe. The most frequently used angles are 22 degree, 30 degree, and 45 degree. Each of these angles has a set multiplier due to the shrinkage of conduit when it is bent. You will need to measure how large of an offset you want and then apply the multiplier to this number.
Angles and multipliers:
22 degree: 2.6
30 degree: 2
45 degree: 1.4
90 Degree angles
Bending a 90 degree angle is not difficult. You just stick your level on the conduit and apply steady pressure on the pipe bender until one end is plum straight up and down. When you bend a 90 degree angle it also deducts the length of pipe too.
90 Degree Take Up Chart:
1/2inch pipe: 5inches
3/4inch pipe: 6inches
1inch: 8inches
