CONDUIT BEND Some of the terms used when bending raceway are defined as follows: Back to Back bend:

: a 90 bend located a short distance away from a box, raceway fitting or another bend in the raceway Box offset bend: An offset bend that lifts the raceway up to the height of the opening of the box so that the raceway enters the box in a straight direction instead of a slight angle Chicago Bender: A ratcheting bender for larger raceway that usually is on wheels Concentric bend: multiple 90 bends around a corner running parallel to each other, that all have the same center Dog Leg: A mistake in bending when two bends in a raceway do not line up with each other Foot: The part on the bender that the electrician puts pressure with his foot to keep the raceway in the curved track of the bender Gain: The distance a raceway will shorten when it bends in a curve around a 90 corner instead of going all the way to the corner. The gain can be calculated by taking 43% of the radius of the bend Jamming: A problem that occurs when pulling wires around bends that have been lost their round shape. This happens when three equal size wires are pulled into the raceway and the ratio of the diameter of one wire to the raceways inside diameter is between 1.8 and 3.2. The wires will lay side by side inside the bend and then get stuck when the raceway returns to its round shape Kick: A bend in the raceway, usually less than a 45 angle that changes the direction of the run Kink: The location where a raceway folded rather than bent smoothly while bending the raceway, usually from poor foot pressure Offset bend: Two equal but opposite bends in a raceway that allow the run to change to another plane One Shot bender: a bender that makes a complete bend in one step (not in segments) Rise: The distance that a raceway will offset or stub up Run: A term used for a complete path of raceway or cable between two points, usually between boxes and/or panels Segment bend: A large bend formed by a series of smaller bends. SledRunner: A 90 segment bend made with a hickey bender that is not made up of equal smaller bends Spring-back: The amount a raceway will straighten out after the pressure of bending is released Stubup bend: A 90 bend in raceway that is located very near the end of the raceway

Introduction to the Bends The first type of bend is the stub up bend A stub up bend is used to bring a raceway from under the floor up to a receptacle box or into a panel or wire way. It is usually between 12 and 24 high. Most of the time on other types of bends, we can mark the exact distance we want for a bend directly on the raceway and place the bender on one of the marks and bend it. But, because the stub up bend is so close to the end of the raceway, the bender must be placed on the back side of the mark that is made on the raceway. The electrician will need to deduct 5 or 6 from the height to compensate for bending in the "wrong" direction. Deduct 5 for EMT tubing; Deduct 6 for EMT tubing, etc. Making 90 Stubs There are three basic methods for making 90 stub-up bends. Methods 1 and 2 will produce pinpoint precision accuracy; method 3 is good enough when speed is paramount-such as when concrete is being poured at your heels on a concrete slab job Method 1: Marking The Conduit From the desired stub-up height, subtract the appropriate take-up for the bender and place a mark on the conduit at that distance from the end. The tool take-up for stubs is constant on fixed radius benders A symbol or benchmark (such as an arrow) is usually cast into the bender Example: It will be noted that a bender has a 6 take-up. To make a 9 high stub-up using either EMT or rigid conduit, subtract 6 from 9 and mark the conduit 3 from the end. Position the bender so the arrow is opposite the 3 mark and make a 90 bend. (6 + 3 = 9). Method 1 is most commonly used but it is slower than the other two methods because of the time it takes to mark the conduit Method 2: Alignment With Folding Rule Lay a folding rule (or tape measure) on the floor parallel with the conduit The folding rule becomes your guide for correct positioning of the bender on the conduit so as to make whatever stub length you desire Example One: To make a 9 stub in EMT, allow 6 for the take-up in the tool. Position the rule so that the 6 digit of the rule is opposite the end of the conduit. Now locate the bender on the conduit so that its arrow is opposite the 9 digit on the rule and bend. Result: a perfect 9 stub-up

Method 3: Thumbnail and Eyeball Method This is called the thumbnail and eyeball method-no ruler! No marking! Simply place your thumbnail on the conduit at the stub height distance you desire. Then position the conduit in the tool so that an imaginary plumb line from the outside heel of the bender groove is in alignment with your thumbnail, and bend. For best results, bend on the floor. Your accuracy will be . As good as your ability to eye-ball that imaginary plumb line. This method is usually accurate to plus or minus inch. Use Method 3 when speed is paramount. Conduit takeup Amount of TakeUp for 90 Bends Using an EMT Bender Size and Type of Conduit TakeUp 1/2inch EMT: 5 inches 3/4inch EMT or 1/2inch rigid steel: 6 inches 1inch EMT or 3/4inch rigid steel: 8 inches 1 1/4inch EMT or 1inch rigid steel: 11 inches In the following example, you are going to make a 90 bend using 1/2inch EMT conduit and the EMT bender. You are going to run the conduit from the top of a panel to the ceiling and then horizontally along the ceiling. Measure from the top of the panel to the ceiling. This will give you the stub length of 18 inches. Measure 18 inches from the end of the conduit and make a mark. Look at Table to find out what the takeup is for 1/2inch EMT conduit. The takeup is 6 inches. Measure back 6 inches from the first mark toward the end of the conduit and make a second mark.

Hold the bender in one hand with the lip on the floor pointed toward the stub end. Use the other hand to place the conduit in the bender. Align the bender arrow with the take-up mark. Put one foot on the footrest and hold the handle with both hands. To make the bend, apply pressure on the footrest as you pull on the handle until the handle is parallel with the floor. It is OK to go slightly beyond 90 with the bend, in fact it is preferred, because it is easy to bring it back to 90. You should now have a 90 bend with an 18-inch stub To see whether the bend will fit properly, place it next to something that has a right angle (for example, in the corner where the floor and wall meet).

If the bend is more than 90, you can stand on the running end and push out on the stub end, a

little at a time, until it is 90. If the stub is too short or if the conduit is too long to push back, place the handle of the bender over the end of the stub and, with one foot on the conduit on the floor, spring the stub back (rightangle bends should always be made with the conduit and the bender on the floor).

ACCURATE STUBS Subtract takeup from desired stub height. This gives distance at which to place B on bender from the end of the tube. To make 11", 90 bend with 1/2" tube, allow for 5" for take up as shown on diagram. With 3/4" tube, allow 6. With 1" tube, allow 8".

The next type of bend is the back to back bend. A back to back bend is any bend that needs a 90 bend located a predetermined distance away. This is probably the most common type of bend. A mark is made on the raceway at the exact distance that is needed for the 90 bend.

The backtoback bend

This is actually two adjacent 90 bends made in the same piece of conduit. Make the first 90 bend with a certain amount of stub as described previously To determine where to place the bender for the second bend, you must first have an outside tooutside measurement. This measurement is the distance from the back of the first bend to where you want the back of the second bend. You must then transfer this measurement to the conduit and make a mark The easiest way to

make a backtoback bend is to turn the bender around, line up the star of the bender with your outsidetooutside measurement, and pull the bend in the opposite direction Although back-to-back is a term accepted by the electrical trade, it is really a misnomer. Actually, it means the distance from a fixed point on the conduit to the back of a 90 bend. Determining the distance from a point on the conduit to the back of a ninety (the distance between A and B) probably is required more than any other bend on the job. Some benders have built-in symbols on both sides of the bending groove as an aid to making perfect back-to-back bends. For purposes of clarity in this class the star-point symbol is used. With the bender positioned in any given spot, the star point predicts where the back of the ninety degree bend will Lay. Thus, if the back of the ninety is to end up 50 inches from a fixed point on the conduit, the 50 in. are measured off and marked, the star-point is then aligned with the 50 in. mark and the bend is made. On surface conduit runs, the backs of two nineties frequently must be made to fit snugly against both a ceiling and a wall. Here again, if the star point is used for both bends, they will fit perfectly against both wall and ceiling as though they were molded in place

The third type of bend is the offset bend. This bend is made up of two equal degree bends that are bent in opposite directions. This bend can be used when the run of raceway is changing elevations. Both marks are placed on the raceway before any bending takes place. A box offset is a small offset bend (usually two 10 bends) that is used to lift a raceway from the surface up to the height of the knockout of the box it is entering. This allows the connector to enter the box on a straight angle

Line up arrow on either side of hook with guideline and make 45 bend in tube.

Reverse tube in bender and adjust so that X is lined up with inchmark on bender corresponding to depth of offset desired. Line up guideline with opposite arrow and make second 45 bend. A true offset, in the same plane, will result between X and Y. An offset bend is two equal bends in opposite directions. It is used to avoid contacting a part of the structure or to bring the conduit out from the structure to match a knockout in a box or panel.

Figure shows an offset into a utility box. The angle of the bends in an offset depends on several things: the amount of offset that is needed, the amount of room there is where the offset is going to be placed, and the type of obstacle you are avoiding. The offset shown is usually about 1/2 inch deep, and the bends are about 8 angles. Often, these bends will need to be made on both ends of the conduit to enter two boxes.

Speed is important on any job. But speed coupled with on pays a triple dividend, saves time, saves waste, and makes for a quality job. Conduit bends should fit right the first time. Bad bends double the cost. Use the labor and the conduit twice. By following these simple rules you will wipe out waste. The technique works for any fixed radius bender --- hand type, mechanical ratchet type, hydraulic or electrically powered benders What is the best angle of bend to use for various offset depths? For shallow offset depths (3 or 4), 30 bends are best Its easier to pull wire through gentle 30 bends and it is easier to calculate the needed distance between bends because the multiplier for 30 bends is simply TWO For offsets 5 deep or more 45 bends are best. The multiplier for 45 bends is 1.4(offset depth x 1.4 = distance between bends) 45 bends for depths of 5 or more will look neater and trimmer. They take up less room because they are more closely coupled.

Figuring distance between bends

Figure Distance between bends, 30o examples

Figure Distance between bends, 45o examples Knowing the depth of offset needed, and having established the angle of bend to use, and the distance between bends, you then need to know: Where to start the first bend? This is easy! The shrink per inch for offset depth is shown in Column 3 table B. If stringing pipe into (towards) an obstruction place the first mark Y beyond the edge of obstruction, the amount of shrink calculated from Table B. If offsetting away from an obstruction ignore the shrink.

Figure Locate the first bend when making a 10 offset