Bending PVC conduit with heat

[Tarheel Slim]

I have a problem with the 2 inch pvc conduit i have coming in my garage from the concrete floor,now its offset so i wont be able to sheet the wall and mount my service panel until i get a heat gun or hair dryer in there and put a small compound offset in the conduit,how ever i have 2 extension cords going to the shop from my house for my saw and work light , Im worried that using the hair dryer with two extension cords could cause a problem,what can i do at this point to pull the conduit away from the wall so i can run the rest of the conduit to the service,i a bit frustrated to say the least.

 

[Aceman]

I can tell you from experience that using a 1400w Milwaukee heat gun on 2" is not a fast process. If your hair dryer or heat gun is any smaller than that I wouldn't even bother. It was all that Milwaukee could do to get that 2" hot enough to bend. Of course, if you had a propane heater or something you could point in the direction of the 2" first, that'd help warm it up and make your job a little easier with a heat gun.

I'm not sure what you're concern is with the extension cords? Assuming they are #14 or #12 cords, and not the cheapo #16 cords, use them.

Construction sites for instance have cords strung all over and cords connected end to end, what makes you worry that your situation is any different and will lead to problems?

 

[Zeke]

PVC starts to soften at 250ºF. The problem is getting to that temp all the way around the pipe w/o overheating the front. It will be a hot mess at 360. You can't really do this w/o access to all sides for heat. The best thing I can think of is some kind of hot tape or blanket.

I bend pvc by first putting it on a steel pipe and heating it while rotating it over a gas flame. The bend will distort w/o compressed air in the pipe. Maybe sand, I haven't tried that.

 

[Smoker]

Rosebud burner wand on a propane bottle or you'll be there forever. Tape the ends of the conduit with duct tape to stop the conduit kinking (the hot air pressure will keep it round), don't let the burner tip too close or in one area for long, move it around constantly.

 

[Wirepuller]

My guys had this exact problem. GC poured the floor the same day we were supposed to lay underground and floor boxes. Missed on a ton of locations and had to saw cut the entire gym floor to get them in. Chip a big hole. Get down to almost the vapor barrier to get your heat gun/blanket on the pipe. It's not pretty but you do what you have to do.


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[Tarheel Slim]

Couple pics of what im dealing with,the smaller conduit i realize may be too close to the 2 inch but it was for future use for tv and such.Also i had to notch out the bottom plate to get it in place because the conduit is in the way.looks like if i heat and bend the bottom of the 2 inch i should have clearance to sheet the wall.Also wonder if the inspector will have me cut the smaller conduit at the floor and tell me i cant use it.Either way its kind of in the way at this point. I realize using a torch is out of the question.

 

[cmanningjr]

PVC glue and a lighter.. lol
(Just kidding, don't do that)

Small propane torch.. Works great


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[manwithtools]

That looks like Styrofoam insulation behind that conduit. You are correct, do not use an open flame (torch) unless you want to start a fire. I don't think you can bend that 2" enough to sheet the wall, it's to far out from your bottom plate. Might consider building a small chase around it, not optimal and not what you want, but it's likely the best alternative.

 

[Radix2]

How about just furring out that bay an inch or so?.

Otherwise just offset back into the wall and live with the little bubbles down by the floor that come through the baseboard.

 

[ddawg16]

I've done it....and as Zeke says, it's hard to get a 2" pipe evenly heated....takes awhile.

I gentle bends, heat works well. But if you bend it too much you get wrinkles in the bend.

I've had good luck using sweeps....you can get 90's, 45's and 22.5" deg sweeps. If one is too much, you can actually cut it a little short on the male end to get the angle you want. I've done that a bunch of times.

 

[cmanningjr]

We're you going to surface mount the panel?? Or Flush?

Either way, just get some 22 degree fittings and kick them where you want them to go.. you can deal with trimming it out after the fact


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[Falcon67]

>How about just furring out that bay an inch or so?.

X2 - I's just furr around that and be done. I don't see the heat making enough difference unless you just flatten the pipe.

 

[burleyfarm]

How about just furring out that bay an inch or so?.

Otherwise just offset back into the wall and live with the little bubbles down by the floor that come through the baseboard.

I'm with Radix. Much easier and completely hides the conduits.


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[wyliesdiesels]

Use a plumbing torch. Make sure to continuously move the flame.

 

[Norcal]

Use a plumbing torch. Make sure to continuously move the flame.

Anywhere the flame is stationary there will be a scorch mark, be careful.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

My guys had this exact problem. GC poured the floor the same day we were supposed to lay underground and floor boxes. Missed on a ton of locations and had to saw cut the entire gym floor to get them in. Chip a big hole. Get down to almost the vapor barrier to get your heat gun/blanket on the pipe. It's not pretty but you do what you have to do.


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Wow,words can not begin to describe what I think of that mess!
Lets just say you've damn near used up the allowable offset allowed in a run of pipe on each of them just on that corner,not including the kinks in the pipe.
I hope you're not pulling anything bigger than a couple #12s through each of them.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Couple pics of what im dealing with,the smaller conduit i realize may be too close to the 2 inch but it was for future use for tv and such.Also i had to notch out the bottom plate to get it in place because the conduit is in the way.looks like if i heat and bend the bottom of the 2 inch i should have clearance to sheet the wall.Also wonder if the inspector will have me cut the smaller conduit at the floor and tell me i cant use it.Either way its kind of in the way at this point. I realize using a torch is out of the question.

I'd fur the wall out in that area to get the pipe inside the wall,then bend a box offset in another piece of pvc and glue it on to get it back into center of wall.

 

[Wirepuller]

Wow,words can not begin to describe what I think of that mess!

Lets just say you've damn near used up the allowable offset allowed in a run of pipe on each of them just on that corner,not including the kinks in the pipe.

I hope you're not pulling anything bigger than a couple #12s through each of them.

Just 3-12's in one and phone/data in another. I could kill the GC here. Guys runs us over everywhere. I submitted a big extra to deal with this floor box mess they created. I'll get paid in 2018 at this rate.


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[ard]

OP-

You could take a piece of 2" and pop it in the oven- gets soft, and then fab whatever custom offset you need. THEN cut the stub off closer to the floor and use a straight coupling.... yes, it is another 1/4". But you dont run the risk of screwing up the pipe in concrete.

Also, how long is that wall where the service is? Do it with 2x6 (too late, but fur the whole wall) and yuy wont have a furred out box- the whole wall is just thicker.

 

[mm08822]

Before you put any heat on either conduit, place a coupling or connector on the end (no glue) so you don't distort the end while hot.

Since you are out of the wall from the floor, you will definitely be living with at least a portion of them protruding from the wall unless you furr that bay out.

To be safest, you could make all the bends for the offsets in a new piece of conduit and once you got it right and no damage to the conduit, looks good etc, cut it to length and couple on to what you have sticking out of floor.
Can do the same for the smaller conduit as long as couplings not at same height.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

Wow, thanks for the help people,this is the best forum for people helping others out when in need.Now to address a few questions or concerns..Going to wall mount service panel. I was thinking to flush mount but i want good insulation in that corner where service is going. Tried to find 22 degree fittings and no luck, best i could find was 30 degree straight ends or a service offset fitting .I think correcting the problem at the lowest point would help straighten out the mess im in. I know if you heat it you need to keep the pipe end round, i know heating to bend it is not an option at this point,i dont see the point in risking messing it all up. Im going to have to think this one through but im open to all ideas.

 

[Radix2]

Ahh,so a surface mount panel and you want to get out not in the wall.

In that case I would just build a little chase under the panel to cover the conduits and just run them up from there. You should have enough play to land them at your panel end and no one will see.

 

[dw1]

Well, you could find an electrical contractor around and see if they would bend you an offset? if you know exactly what you want, I can bend it up and ship it to you!! not sure what shipping would be $$ KY to ONT? I have a pvc bender and some 2" pvc.

 

[ard]

Wow, thanks for the help people,this is the best forum for people helping others out when in need.Now to address a few questions or concerns..Going to wall mount service panel. I was thinking to flush mount but i want good insulation in that corner where service is going. Tried to find 22 degree fittings and no luck, best i could find was 30 degree straight ends or a service offset fitting .I think correcting the problem at the lowest point would help straighten out the mess im in. I know if you heat it you need to keep the pipe end round, i know heating to bend it is not an option at this point,i dont see the point in risking messing it all up. Im going to have to think this one through but im open to all ideas.

Not to repeat, but how long is that one wall? If you furred it all out, you could (1) hide the conduit, (2) not have an obvious bump in the wall, and (3) mount the box flush and STILL have room for insulation behind it.

Even furring a 6- 8-10 foot section, from the one corner to some point where shelving or something would start is less obvious than a single 19" section right at the panel

 

[csp]

In that case I would just build a little chase under the panel to cover the conduits and just run them up from there. You should have enough play to land them at your panel end and no one will see.

^^This^^

With the conduit there it's not like there's going to be usable space below the panel anyhow. Fir it/box it out 2' up from the floor and put your offset in that box.

 

[Katodog]

I'm confused, which is typically easy to do...why not use flex pvc?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I would not use flex in that area. Too easy for it to get damaged. Should be sch 80 at the min.

 

[Shiftless]

Try this...
A couple of months ago, I had to bend some PVC but it was only 1/2 inch size. Sched 40. However I think the method I used would work with larger sizes.
It was not yet installed. I capped off one end of the tube and then, using a metal funnel and heavy gloves, filled the tube with hot sand I heated up on an old cookie sheet in the oven. IIRC, it was 350 degrees. Guaranteed no kinks and a very professional looking bend with no chance of scorching. Just bend it into the shape you want and then let it cool. Empty out the sand and install.

 

[rharman]

I've done it....and as Zeke says, it's hard to get a 2" pipe evenly heated....takes awhile.

I gentle bends, heat works well. But if you bend it too much you get wrinkles in the bend.

I've had good luck using sweeps....you can get 90's, 45's and 22.5" deg sweeps. If one is too much, you can actually cut it a little short on the male end to get the angle you want. I've done that a bunch of times.

Using a sweep or two is like having your choice of any angle. I've done the same thing - cutting it where needed.

I've seen an attachment for the heat guns that is a metal shield that wraps around part of the pipe. Like a big flat hook. Distributes heat most of the way around. You could probably make your own.

 

[rharman]

Try this...
A couple of months ago, I had to bend some PVC but it was only 1/2 inch size. Sched 40. However I think the method I used would work with larger sizes.
It was not yet installed. I capped off one end of the tube and then, using a metal funnel and heavy gloves, filled the tube with hot sand I heated up on an old cookie sheet in the oven. IIRC, it was 350 degrees. Guaranteed no kinks and a very professional looking bend with no chance of scorching. Just bend it into the shape you want and then let it cool. Empty out the sand and install.

That's an interesting thought. I need to bend some 1-1/2" just to get around an obstruction. About a 4" out and back in around a workbench top. I may try this.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

An electric stove works good on smaller pipe if you have access to one.
I've bent 2" on an electric stove before,it just takes more practice/patience is all.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I've heard of people filling pipes with sand before,never had to do it myself,heat it evenly over a big enough area and you'll be fine without it.
Don't try to heat it up enough to do a close box offset in one shot unless you have a hot box ,I do them in 2 seperate heating /cooling cycles.
I use a wet rag to help keep the pipe round after getting it in the rough shape I want,makes it easier to round out egg shapes in bends.

 

[Shiftless]

The sand will minimize any distortion in your bend. I think a guy could bend a pipe into a pretzel shape with this method.

 

[carol palmer]

Schedule 40 PVC conduit is cheaper and has a larger inside diameter,and thus easier to pull wires through it. The plastic of Schedule 80 is thicker though same outside diameter.Latter is preferred for high-traffic areas or areas prone to damage. Fittings are the same for both 40 & 80

 

[jdieter]

Not sure what the ultimate goal for the OP is, but framing out the adjoining studs would be the cleanest look. If that not an option and to minimize the extent of a smooth wall modified to surface mount the conduit, take a look at Carlon's meter base offset and/or their LR or LL condulette fittings all of which can be glued as close to the floor as possible.

 

[BD1]

Will regular PVC plumbing fittings fit on the 2'' . Buy the fittings slide on and glue. Paint gray if you like.

 

[Norcal]

Will regular PVC plumbing fittings fit on the 2'' . Buy the fittings slide on and glue. Paint gray if you like.

Not listed, or made for electrical use.

 

[BD1]

Not listed, or made for electrical use.

What's the difference if it's not getting inspected ? If it fits on who cares ? The plumbing fittings are heavier wall than the electrical anyway. I did use 3/4 PVC plumbing elbow on my 3/4 electrical PVC to keep it tight to wall instead of adding a outside box. Worked great and looks cleaner than a box sticking out.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

What's the difference if it's not getting inspected ? If it fits on who cares ? The plumbing fittings are heavier wall than the electrical anyway. I did use 3/4 PVC plumbing elbow on my 3/4 electrical PVC to keep it tight to wall instead of adding a outside box. Worked great and looks cleaner than a box sticking out.

Its getting inspected,alright...

 

[Tarheel Slim]

I would like to see a picture or furred wall or have a better understanding of how this would be done in my particular situation.