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minor adjustments building PVC conduit

PoorOwner

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I need the conduit to exit a certain vent under the house I was wondering what is the best way to drop the run 3” for example? Do you use 2 45s and cut off some and rotate some to get it where you need?

I was wondering also if you can use sprinkler glue and do you prime them if you wanted to.
 
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Git

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Heat gun works pretty well to get it to the point where it is pretty flexible
 

rabidsquirrel

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The real question is how quickly do you need that offset? Over 18" or over the length of the run? If it's a short distance you can get 2 15 degree bends. If it's completely hidden just flex the pipe, it'll bend 3" easily.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk
 
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PoorOwner

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Probably around 10’ of pipe and a little more. It can flex a few inches not sure if it comes out crooked or not pointing towards the ground. Won’t know until i try it.
 

Bert_

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Heat gun or small torch. 3/4 is easy to bend this way, it will turn into a wet noodle wherever you heat it up.
 

nsula_country

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Heat gun. Heat until pliable, but not so soft that it collapses and kinks. Have a wet rag ready to cool it and it will freeze in shape.

Unless you have a Greenlee heat blanket or hot box.

CT
 

grounded-b

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I need the conduit to exit a certain vent under the house I was wondering what is the best way to drop the run 3” for example? Do you use 2 45s and cut off some and rotate some to get it where you need?

I was wondering also if you can use sprinkler glue and do you prime them if you wanted to.

Don't use plumbing elbows for any electrical conduit.

Yes, you can use (2) Carlon 45's with a coupling. cutting some off to reduce offset is fine. Heat gun works great. Cool with wet rags, when you have the bend you want.

Use PVC cement and cleaner for plumbing or electrical pipe. When you say sprinkler, do you mean irrigation or fire protection sprinklers?
 

alfredeneuman

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Gradual bends can also be done cold with a 1" EMT-3/4" Rigid bender.
It springs back some but if you place the bender at various points on the bend you can get the job done
 

alfredeneuman

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352.24 Bends — How Made. Field bends shall be made only with bending equipment identified for the purpose.

Heat guns and torches are not identified for the purpose. Special blankets and PVC "Hotboxes" are, as well as conduit benders. If an inspector sees scorch marks he will know you used a torch.
 

penright

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352.24 Bends — How Made. Field bends shall be made only with bending equipment identified for the purpose.
Heat guns and torches are not identified for the purpose.

I did not know this. I learned by watching electricians do it.

20171020_172818_zpsirni4l75.jpg


And

20180331_174611_zpsd0rutsrt.jpg


The conduit is for low voltage wire, technically I don't think it matters. To fix this would be a nightmare.
 
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penright

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To look at that every day would be a bigger nightmare.
Hope I am not hijacking OP thread, discussion kind of fits topic. It's same problem just not hidden. Not sure how to fix it. Open to suggestions. My fatal flaw was using the trench for the load conduit. The boxes for that goes straight through the wall into the breaker panel. The low voltage is where it needed to be. I was afraid a bunch of 45's might look worse. If there is a fix now is the time, I have not terminated the wires that are in it and that pull box up is an easy pull.


So that was the best way I could come up with from point A to B.
Good news, it is on the side of the house that I don't see everyday.

EDIT: What about coming straight up and using an LL across then 90 to the bottom?
 
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nsula_country

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I did not know this. I learned by watching electricians do it.

20171020_172818_zpsirni4l75.jpg


And

20180331_174611_zpsd0rutsrt.jpg


The conduit is for low voltage wire, technically I don't think it matters. To fix this would be a nightmare.

Dude, that looks like utter sh!t!

An electrician did that? A real electrician? Or did you run that conduit. Either way, that is a nightmare.

The first conduit has a kink in it close to ground level. The second pic looks like it swallowed a banana.

An LL or LB could work. I'd cut it out and borrow a heat gun.

Both of those would have been easy to offset with a blanket or hot box. Or even a heat gun (though not a listed device to modify conduit).

CT
 

penright

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An electrician did that? A real electrician? Or did you run that conduit.
I have to fall on that sword.


The first conduit has a kink in it close to ground level. The second pic looks like it swallowed a banana.
Ouch, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Any conduit bending anonymous in OK?


I'd cut it out and borrow a heat gun.
Truth, I did use a heat gun. It was my first time if that counts. :) Give me a second chance I will do better next time. Trying to bend EMT took some practice.

Serious, any tips if I try the heat gun again, other than buying 3 or 4 sticks of conduit.
 

nsula_country

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Hey, cannot learn if you don't try. I'm an Engineer that is a self taught electrician, plumber, HVAC installer, carpenter, welder/fabricator, farmer... Electrical and HVAC are my strongest points. Farming is an excuse to ride a tractor and have a :beer:

Heat gun method is EASY. Mark your offsets just like with EMT. Evenly heat about 4-6" of conduit while rolling it. Then once it begins to soften form your bend with the same radius as a foot bender.

If you lay it on a flat surface, you can manipulate it with a square a protractor then use a wet rag to freeze into position. Should not kink, should not have scorch marks.

CT
 

ard

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352.24 Bends — How Made. Field bends shall be made only with bending equipment identified for the purpose.

Heat guns and torches are not identified for the purpose. Special blankets and PVC "Hotboxes" are, as well as conduit benders. If an inspector sees scorch marks he will know you used a torch.

Sure. Moving on....:(


I can get about a 28" piece of PVC into the oven in the kitchen, set it on 230-240F, good to go. (In fact just had to do some today, 2" pvc. Not for electric wires.)

Form what you need in 28" segments, coupler to put it into the run....

It takes some practice and care to get smooth bends, not oval the ends, etc. But- if you mess up, just pop it back in!
 
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PoorOwner

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I did not know this. I learned by watching electricians do it.

20171020_172818_zpsirni4l75.jpg


And

20180331_174611_zpsd0rutsrt.jpg


The conduit is for low voltage wire, technically I don't think it matters. To fix this would be a nightmare.

Thanks for your contribution, I have to say I won't be able to sleep well at night until that is fixed, I would constantly lay in bed thinking about how to redo it. Maybe with 2 45s and a straight?
 

penright

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Thanks for your contribution, I have to say I won't be able to sleep well at night until that is fixed, I would constantly lay in bed thinking about how to redo it. Maybe with 2 45s and a straight?

Thanks for not yelling at me for hijacking the thread. My post was about using a heat gun. And it was about tweaking conduit a little. Guess it trunned more into what not to do. It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but the conduit is 1 1/2". As you can see it has 6 cat 6 in it. Just as in metal tubing, the bigger the diameter the harder to bend. Well that's my story and I am sticking to it.

Last night I did toss and turn when I went to bed trying to figure out how to fix it.

I have to admit, when I did the outside, I did not like it. The issue, I already have 360 degrees from the stub at the house to the stub entering the shop. So I was trying to cheat just a little. As @nsula_country pointed out live and learn. The inside is not as bad as the picture looks. From the bottom of the electrical box to the JB is straight, the picture looks bent from tilting the camera up. Having said that, I am going to redo it with an LB to keep my pull from going over 360 degrees.

Thinking about the house, I am not sure the description of the pull box, but my thought is to make a U and go over under ground and straight up the wall. The reason for the U turn is because there are so many conduites already going up that wall. In the picture there is the main for the house. The main going back to the shop. The small 1" runs to a spot in the backyard that someday I may put a generator. Then about 5 feet to the left and lower is where fiber enters the house. Then about 10 feet to the right is where the sprinkler wires enter the house. As I said before, there is no traffic on that side of the house, but my neighbor would see it every time he pulls out of his drive, so I need it the best it can be. You may not believe it from the pictures, but I am OCD about these things.

Questions: (Again 1 1/2")
1. What is the name/description of the pull box where conduit enters from the bottom and the lid is on top. I seen them with 3 entrance, do they make a 2 for a simple U turn? Googling I found some that are square and mount to the wall, but do they make one for 1 1/2"?
2. I assume that they can't be buried, but can it be ground level? Maybe a little dirt falls on it, then grass covers it like a sprinkler. :)
3. How do you identify LB/LR junction boxes? I assume if you hold it a certain way and the connection points to the back it is a LB? How to identify the LR?
 
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PoorOwner

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Penright I think (not 100% sure) there are LB LR LL

Back right left.

Just pick the right one at the store.
 

OccupantRJ

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On the box beside the meter can, drill two more holes in the lower left bottom to allow you to move the conduit over to the left. Look at the vertical brick joints for reference. Plug the old holes with caps made for this purpose, and seal them with silicon sealer. On the gnarly conduit, cut it off low and use a pull through conduit body, then offset the new conduit to the box as needed.
 

Norcal

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I did not know this. I learned by watching electricians do it.

20171020_172818_zpsirni4l75.jpg


And

20180331_174611_zpsd0rutsrt.jpg


The conduit is for low voltage wire, technically I don't think it matters. To fix this would be a nightmare.

Since the panel is a Zinsco II (Eaton BR), the funky conduit fits right in. :D
 

ard

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Last night I did toss and turn when I went to bed trying to figure out how to fix it.

For the outside, the brick, I would have a 90 immediately above grade- say 12 inches above the ground, then another 90 to run up into the box. IMO the human eye is drawn to angles, and a conduit running across a rectilinear brick pattern is an eyesore.

On the inside, a simple 45/45 offset down low, then run straight up. Could fab your own, heat gun, oven, whatever. Or glue pieces. I cannot tell from the scale if there is adequate space.

my 2 cents
 

teamextreme

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3. How do you identify LB/LR junction boxes? I assume if you hold it a certain way and the connection points to the back it is a LB? How to identify the LR?

Hold it like a gun. If the cover faces up, it's an LB. If the cover faces to the right, it's an LR. To the left, an LL.
 

penright

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I have to say I won't be able to sleep well at night until that is fixed
@PoorOwner, I could not sleep nights, knowing you could not sleep nights. :):willy_nil


I put most of the detail in my build thread here ... https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7227381&postcount=29

But so you don't have to click, here are the before and afters. I hope I can get my DIY card back. :)

ShopBeforeAfter_zps2equ7bq5.jpg


BeforeAfterHouse_zpsot0y2oj7.jpg


For the outside, the brick, I would have a 90 immediately above grade- say 12 inches above the ground, ... my 2 cents
Thanks. I debated and immediately above grade. Not sure if it is a code issue, but I thinking once the grass starts growing, it might hide it. Who know some dirt might get kicked up there. The cover for the JB will be accessible. :)



On the box beside the meter can, drill two more holes in the lower left bottom to allow you to move the conduit over to the left. Look at the vertical brick joints for reference. Plug the old holes with caps made for this purpose, and seal them with silicon sealer.
Those were done by an electrician and inspected. Right now I think I will leave them alone.
 
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