How to Bend an Offset in Conduit
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When it comes to bending conduit, offsets are a necessary item to know how to bend. But until you get the hang of it (and even afterwards) they can be a bit tricky at times. In todays episode of Electrician U, Dustin walks us thru the process of bending an offset.
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Before we get into offset bending basics, lets take a moment to talk about aluminum conduit. Todays sponsor- Penn Aluminum Conduit & EMT- makes some of the best aluminum conduit on the market. But why choose aluminum EMT over steel EMT? Well, its considerably lighter therefore it takes less labor to install and reduces wear and tear on your field staff hauling conduit around. Next, its much easier to bend than steel, again, making it less strenuous on your staff to install and using less labor. Its also cheaper than steel currently, so it helps on the bottom line. Penn Aluminum has even engineered a coating for the inside of the conduit that helps with wire pulling and eliminates the snagging most often associated with aluminum conduit. Give it a shot, I think you will like it!
Onto the bending! An offset is a bend that allows us to change the course of our conduit run. It is a series of 2 opposing bends with a length of straight unbent conduit in between. Maybe we need to clear an object that is in our way or enter a junction box/pull box/panel where the knockout is not lined up exactly in line with our conduit. So, the first thing we need to do is to figure out the distance we need to offset our conduit. Once that is established, we need to figure out how FAST we need to offset our conduit (I am not necessarily talking about the speed in which we work. That is usually fast!!). If we don’t have a lot of space to make the offset, we may need to use a sharper bend, but if distance isn’t really an issue, then a shallower bend may be used. Typically a 30 degree bend is what we use.
For a 30 degree offset, take the measurement you determined in the first step and double it. That is the distance between your bends. So, make a mark on the conduit where you want to start your offset. Then, if you measured a 2 inch obstruction, make a second mark 4 inches away from your first mark. Place the conduit in the bending shoe, with the hook of the bender facing away from you and the arrow on the first mark you made. With the conduit on the ground, apply foot pressure on the shoe AND use arm pressure on the handle to pull back. Most bender handles signify a 30 degree bend when that handle is at 90 degrees to the surface you are bending on.
Once the first bend is complete, roll the conduit (don’t remove it from the bending shoe) 180 degrees. At this point, you will most likely have to invert the bender as your first bend will now be pointing towards the ground. Place the arrow on the second mark and sight down the conduit to make sure your first bend isn’t pointing off to one side or the other (your two bends will need to be in a straight line or you will end up dog legging the bends!). Place your foot in front of the bender so it doesn’t slide on you, place your hands CLOSE to the bender shoe so you don’t bend more of the conduit than necessary, tip the bender slightly forward, and then pull down on the conduit until the bottom of the conduit is in line with the 30 degree line on the bender shoe. Viola! Offset complete!
A couple pro tips. Use a pencil (not a sharpie) to make your marks. That way you can erase it when done bending-looks more professional. Always carry a torpedo level on you when bending conduit- you will need it to be accurate. You can make corrections if you over bend or dog leg the conduit. Practice is needed to get good at bending! As discussed earlier, 30 degrees is the most common bend utilizing a multiplier of 2. For a 45 degree offset (a sharper bend) use a 1.4 multiplier and for a 22-1/2 degree bend (even less drastic than a 30) use a 2.6 multiplier.
We hope this has been helpful in understanding how to bend an offset. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed on Electrician U? Leave us a comment in the comments section and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly updating our content to assist our followers in becoming the best electricians that they can be.
#electrician #electrical #electricity #how #to #bend #an #offset #in #conduit
I'm a 3rd year apprentice and don't have much opportunity to pipe bend. I watch these to help me remember what I was taught in school. these are helpful. thanks you for these
Please make more EMT bending videos. Make a series that gets into the details. There is so much on the fly at work. It's such an in-depth skill that all sorts of situations need their own video.
I like how you explain things to the new people in the trade. The other thing I find really impressive, you let the experienced or seasoned electricians know in advance. Thank you
Dustin -- you should have covered a box offset for those people who don't know how to do a box offset. It's such a simple thing but so many electricians still can't do them coerectly. You could also have included marking the center of the conduit at the end of the pipe to help prevent doglegging your offset. And or howbto use an anti - dog bubble that attatches with a set screw on the end of your conduit, of course, on the center line of the pipe. Also most if not all emt has a natural centerline seam, sometimes a few of them, that you can use as a way to prevent doglegs in your offsets. This was a good short, instructive video. Keep 'em comin'.
He's actually got an older video on a box offset. Still holds up great though.
@@jameschristensen662 your mom holds up great
Cory from Lowe’s already covered box offsets
@@highvoltage1979 ---- I'm not trying to be a dick but what I'm about to write will most likely be interpreted that way. I apologize in advance. Corey from Lowe's is someone people wanting to learn something about the electrical trade is supposed to know and or take advice from? And because Corey already made a video about box offsets means that no one else needs to make a video about the same subject? If that was the way YT videos worked more than 75% of all videos would never be made or uploaded. There are dozens, if not more, videos on the same subject, using the same video clips from other videos uploaded every day by people. Thanks for the info about Corey from Lowe's. Just from curiosity, does Corey from Lowe's have prior experience in the electrical trade as a certified, or licensed, or union card journeyman electrician before making videos for Lowe's teaching a trade that can damage property and end lives if some handyman or homeowner decided to work on home electrical and makes a mistake because they learned from Corey from Lowe's videos? I would think Lowe's upper management and their insurance policy and their lawyers would make sure Corey from Lowe's knew his shit before letting him make DIY videos. But, even bigger companies have done dumber things.
@@jameschristensen662 ---- thanks. I figured Dustin had covered that already but wasn't sure. He has the best videos for people to learn the basics and beyond basics in some cases, that I've come across on KZhead that are educational and yet casual and easy for people to understand. I've been an electrician for 35 years now, I think? Maybe 34? Either way, more than half my life. I've told Dustin we could work together any time and we'd have some fun and do some great work at the same time. I have my own business now for the last eleven years and I am 57 yrs old and I'm ready to just run the business and start slowly doing less work with my tools. Hahahaha
Just want to say is that I passed my C10 exam. I am an electrical contractor. Thank you for the help.
What were the requirements you had to meet in your state? I’m in California and each time I look up the requirements it’s nothing but complicated 😥
Congratulations. Getting my C10 was the 3rd best thing I've done in my life. 1st was becoming an electrician. 2nd was when I got my union journeyman card. 3rd was getting my C10 It's been eleven years now. It has been a lot of work but the money I make is worth the long hours. It sure makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning knowing I'm making a lot of money by going to work and knowing I'm losing out on making a lot of money if I don't get out of bed. LOL
5:55 I find that the best way to do offsets, is to do both bends, standing up. That way, you can better see the 30° mark on the bender, since your eyes are closer to the shoe
Klein has a nice bender with a plastic insert that acts as a stop when you reach the selected angle. Works pretty good.
I also prefer in the air ...
@FishFind3000 that is genius
Only problem is thwt the insert is small and not attached to the bender and easily lost@FishFind3000
When I do an offset, before I make the first bend I make a mark at the top end of the pipe as my reference when I flip the pipe to make the second bend I can use that to make sure I am straight on.
Much better than the Lowe's video showing how to bend conduit. Lol.
Love this channel ive been an Electrician a year and i love learning from A to Z . Always be humble willing to learn.
Excellent demonstration on getting the proper offset for EMT.
Another pro tip: If you aim your bends toward a light source, it's much easier to get visual contrast to notice if your offset is dog-legging. (Especially in basements/etc).
As a beginner that's my biggest problem, I can't wait to try that on Monday at work
Will I see 🅶🅾🅳 if I look at the light source too long?
Could we maybe get a video of how we get an offset measurements. I know many people get there measurements based off of different references in the field.
U can also use the star for a 90 don't deducted and spin pipe around from where u pull tape from
Thank you for the conduit bending videos ! I’m going to trade school and they show us how to troubleshoot electrical equipment from low voltage to high voltage sources but for what ever reason it’s not in the curriculum to teach conduit bending !
Great video Dustin. Any more on pipe bending coming up? I’d love to see more. Thanks brother!
I've just completed my first month of classes in an Electrical Techniques program. This video is MONEY. It's going to help me big time in my pipe bending labs. Thank you, Dustin, for taking it slow and explaining very simply and clearly for us baby squids. We appreciate you, Sir ✌🏻
5:05 Should always MAKE SURE that the FLOOR is level also if you use this technique. Especialy when you doing a 90°, and want to make sure its good. If the floor is not horizontaly level, then its useless to use it verticaly.
Good point! I see so many (even journeymen) pay no attention to whether the floor is level or not. I’ve even seen people make that mistake bending on a floor that’s deliberately sloped to drain
@@Ephesians-ts8ze 😋
Lol I like to find a level spot on the floor first too and do my bends there
thank you so much! this is so helpful and easy to understand. i didnt understand when my teacher was explaining it to me, thank you thank you thank you
I'm a low voltage tech in NY, so I'll probably never have to do this but thanks for a very simple explanation!! Appreciate all the content
Awesome demonstration!! Thanks man. Never worked with the stuff and needed this info to clear a partially exposed corner post in my pole barn in order to make the 90 degree turn to continue along against the adjacent wall. Great video! All info without the kind of B.S. from some of the other guys who love to hear themselves talk.🤣🤣
Thanks for the detailed explanation
Very good point, to prevent the bender handle from kicking out, I cut a 36 inch piece of 2x4, and in the middle of that, attached a 12 inch piece of 2x4. Drilled in a 1 inch hole in the smaller 2x4. This way, I have a non slip method bending up in the air. You can step on the longer 2x4 too. Gotta think practical and safety!
You should make a video about it
First year apprentice this was very helpful
very helpful . Thank you 🎉
Awesome content, especially for a pretty capable DIYer like me. Thanks!
Thank you mate. Really helpful. As an apprentice 1 year in solar this really help me a lot.
Thank you, great video!
Thank you so much for your video! 1st time, a perfect off-set! Make me look like I know what I'm doing! LOLZ
Great Job 😉👍🏽⚡️Thanks
Thank you
Hey, Electrician U, you should gives us tour of all your Electrical Books.
Nice explanation …❤😊
i really think you are on to something with youtube trade school, i wish there was more channels like this for low voltage. Im a commercial sercurity tech and ive yet to find a channel for my line of work
I appreciate the detailed explanation, many other videos I have seen are vague and fast. I am wondering about a technique to measure for where to put the bend in, for example you are joining into another conduit and have limited space and don't want to cut the conduit.
This video was meant to be a simple explanation of an offset.A lot of benders have charts that will help a lot with where to make your marks. 30 degree offsets are very easy math though. the distance between your bends is the height of your obstruction multiplied by 2. the shrinkage is .25 or 1/4 of the height of the obstruction.
If you’re running a lot of conduit shrinkage is good to understand but tbh if you don’t do a lot of bending and you’re not very good at it quite yet just go a little long with it.. it’s better to run it long/ cut it to length and use couplers as opposed to waisting conduit and time.
a single ten foot stick of 3/4” emt costs about the same as 25 couplings to put it into perspective
How did you get the first mark? Do you measure to the box?
Thank you!
7:47 😆 The face you make is priceless 🤪 Are you sure it's Aluminium conduit..😋 Usually, 3/4" aluminium can be bent just by looking at it 😉😉 Good video btw.
Excellent 👍
Cool man very helpful
I have all the multiplies saved on my phone 👍🏼 you learn to memorize them the more you do em
Can you post them
The most accurate way is to use your electricians level, bend till the 30° bubble says you are at 30, then flip it and bend it level. You have to bend half of the second bend in the air.
Good job
do those benders come with an attachable level? i feel like that would be handy
A quick way to find your multiplier if you have an iPhone open the calculator and turn your phone sideways to get scientific calculator mode. Type in the angle of the bend, then hit the “sin” button, then the “1/X” button. It works on any scientific calculator, of course but it takes an extra step or 2 on an android phone.
I know this doesn’t have anything to do with the video but since it’s the newest I thought people would see my comment more and reply. I start electrician school today and I’m excited but my only fear is the dangers of shock and electrocution, how many ways are there to get shocked? And how to avoid it?
Just learn what you're dangers are and always stay vigilant. There is plenty of safety gear you can wear too. If you're ever worried, measure for power or double check that the source is properly locked out. It is very dangerous, but can easily be handled.
Learn to "trust, but verify". Always, always remember that just because someone (like your foreman) says the circuit is off, doesn't mean it's off. The wrong breaker could have been flipped. So verify. - You can do this with a tig tester or "non contact voltage tester". Klein makes one, a NCVT3P Dual Range Non Contact Voltage Tester. Buy one. ALWAYS carry it with you or on your tool belt. Whenever there are breakers in the panel, pull it out before working on switches and outlets, unless you personally checked all the breakers. - MANY old timers will whine about tig testers, saying they're called "widow makers". Don't listen to them; you'll notice they complain about everything. EVERYTHING. Just get one that has a light and/or laser; Klein is well trusted and the only one I use. - You can also get a plug tester. Klein makes one for less than $10. The RT110 Outlet Tester. - Study, on your own, how a circuit works. You will need to understand that for the most part, current is on the neutral conductor, as it returns to the source, the panel. Learn the flow of electricity, especially during a ground fault. No, AC "electricity doesn't want to go to ground"; this isn't true, no matter how many people say it. Study on your own. The more you learn how a circuit works, the more confident you'll feel about electricity and the wires you're working with. - Be conscious of what you're stepping on. If you are standing on something that is conductive to the ground, and you touch a hot, or neutral wire, there's a very good chance you'll get shocked. If your boots are well insulated or you're on a rubber mat or not kneeling on dirt, then there's a good chance you either won't get shocked or you'll get minimal shock. I literally saw it today, one guy took apart a live switch to fix it and kept touching the hot wire to see what we'd say. Once we noticed it, we were totally confused. He started laughing and said he had new boots on and wasn't grounded...not something I would try. - Wear gloves. I use Maxiflex Endurance 34-845 and they work great. But you'll only get about 2-3 weeks out of each pair. And remember to not rely on school for all your learning. Definitely study on your own, as if this is a profession that you want to excel at. Understanding the code when installing GFIs, 20 amp vs 15 amp outlets and 12 gauge vs 15 gauge wire and when you should be derating Romex is a good thing to know. Good luck.
@@icevariable9600 thanks for all that 👍 what do you mean by standing on something that’s conductive to the ground?
@@YoMommaNYaDaddy Like metal, a metal ladder vs a fiberglass ladder, kneeling on the ground where your knee is in contact.
Does this conduit stand up to strength like traditional EMT? I'm a bit skeptical!
I love you bro im from Morocco
Do have a 3 point and 4 point saddle videos?
When done bending your offset, just to make sure your measurement for the offset is correct do I measure the top of the emt or bottom?
What kind of advice would you give to people who are constantly doing the correct angles, just backward? Especially back to back 90°s? I've always shown my apprentices to use like a scrap 12g solid to see what the bends they wanna do look like. For some that helps, some seem hopeless lol.
Have him stand on his head lol
@7:57. Pro tip, look down the end of the tubing, not from the side. Like a gun, and match it up to the degree line. From the side is, hit and miss.
Thank you, how do I bend a kick?
Do a shepherd hook bend next 🎉
Hey Dustin. I live in Quebec Canada and we also say dogleg for the same thing but in french.
C'est quoi en francais le mot " dogleg"?
On your first mark that you made, do you just choose it anywhere before the obstacle or right at the start of the obstacle?
I have an issue with Aluminum pipe because if it catches fire from a short, it can cause a bigger fire. With steel, maybe the fire is contained.
I have a 1-3/4 offset obstacle so I set a starting mark and then a mark at 3-1/2” up from that starting mark, which is double the obstacle like you said if using a 30 degree bend. But it’s not working. My offset finished at 3-3/4”. So that not working. Don’t know why.
Luv the videos!!! Saying that teach em to use a pencil not sharpie
Can we get more of the videos like this with different versions and types of bends with the time you took to make this one? I think these videos and any type of tip and tricks you are aware of, are great videos. Tips like snaking a bx cable or flex cable to the back of an existing 1900 box or installing a gem box for a device that needs power. There is a trick on putting the snake inside the hole of the cable to pull it into the box and install the lock ring and pull out the snake.
I see plumbers use a pipe bending equipment with a former. Is that better to use or is the pipe structure to hard to use on a plumbing one.
What bender makes a 45 with the handle straight up?
Instead of pencil … I use dry erase sharp point marker. Makes it easier for the apprentice to see the bend lines
I did a 4 point saddle perfect my first time, then it was a 10 in drop and I totally messed that up
Hey Dustin name is Tashi Holland I’ve been a electrician for 8 years. Taking the journeyman liscense. I’m in Ohio question I have is should I sit in one the code classes to get fimilar with code questions??
lol i just had my first day in a Pre fab shop as an apprentice
Can confirm dog leg is pretty typical about anywhere in the south. Worked in just about every state in the south and heard it everywhere. Can't speak for the rest of the country
I can confirm, we say “Dog Leg” in Ontario too
30 degree is the old go to. Multiplier of 2 so easier maths. And adds less degree of bend which makes pulling wire smoother and you cant have more than 360 degree of bends in a run unless you add a junction or pull point and then you reset and can start bending some more bends. So for an offset with to 30 bends that offset is a total of 60. And like he was saying about 60 degree bends. That offset would have a total of 120. That means only 3 offsets before you add a box. The 30 degree bend alllows double the amount of offsets at 6
Does anyone use those digital degree magnets while they bend?
As a plumber this bending technique was funny to watch
3 point saddle and a 4 point video
Can you please do a video on rolling offsets? I'm a little confused when it comes to those smh...
A coworker showed me how to do that using Pythagoran Therum. A²+B²=C². "A" and "B" are your measurements from the starting point, to where you want to end up. Once you have those two measurements, punch the numbers into a calculator and you should get C², as in your first bend.
Actually never thought I'd use something from school until now, thankfully I was decent at it then.
I was slightly wrong.. C² should be your second bend; the total length of the offset.
Can u do more pipe bending videos plz
You work long enough as an electrician and you get to do thousands of these things.
Unless you fuck it up enough your journeyman just won’t allow you to do it no more 😂😂😂
No kidding
@@Allen-lm9tl anymore*
@@Tre16 😂 always that one person. Hey go fuck yourself bud
One year electrical apprentice. Just did my first panel, but STILL haven't bent any rigid conduit 😞 Heat gun pvc though 😁
I heard some youtubers talking about adding shrinkage to the measurement, is that a important factor to consider?
Only in cold weather
it's only a factor to consider if you're pre-cutting your EMT. shrinkage just affects the length of the pipe. I suppose if you're fitting your pipe into a specific space it might be important, but I've done a ton of bends and honestly I don't even measure I just bend intuitively.
3:40 Why use the arrow? I was taught to line up with star, and still do it like that. Because the star is the center of where it bends.
The u is center. Star is outer edge
Measure edge to edge. Minuse deduction. Perfect.
@@skiball83 when you say " the u " , do you mean the " notch " right next to the star? And i was asking where to set the bender when doing offsets?. I.E. , lets say i have to go over a 5" high obstacle, and the obstacle is at 24" away. I would mark my conduit at 22" and 12" and align my marks on the star, rather than the arrow.
Are there benders for 1/2 inch that have a tighter/smaller overall radius?
It's called a hicky bender, the shoe is much smaller. Maybe Electrician U could do a video on these types of benders.
The tightest radius you can achieve for ½" EMT is ~4", which can be done without a hickey. Just check the specs of a bender to see if it's capable.
@@mthibeau I looked it up and I think that benders sharp edge would kink the pipe.
I wish I could show you how bad my conduit bends are. I'm so bad at it I just buy elbows and build what I need out of straight pipe. I'm just a DIYer, so no customer harmed by my lack of skill! Maybe this will help me.
We call it dog legs in Oregon too
30° for offsets ( I like the 🅼🅰🆃🅷) and 45° for a nice Guinness 🍀🍺
On the second bend, can't you just do it on top of the flight of stairs or something?
No shrinkage calculation?
Good tip to bend with crazy measurments with 30 degree. Measure twice it will never faill between the bends if u suck at math.
The center of the 30 degree bend is at the notch in the center of the shoe. Don't put the bend on the arrow that's for 90's and use a pencil not a marker
Smart panels, yay or nay?
Wow... you are using a ton of energy bending aluminum..... are the walls rocket than steel??
My God, THANK YOU for telling folks to use pencil not sharpie. Nothing worse than a finished product with black marker all over it. 💯
I use my armpit & body weight to bend the second bend
You are the man...lot of jokers out there
Dustin my hairline is just like yours I think we just need to go bald and just keep our beards nice and lined up and stay in some what in shape lol sorry I know this was way off topic of the video, idk about you but I'm not gonna rock the cul de sac I'm short though and brown so I'm gonna try to go for a mini rock Johnson look lol but with my beard I refuse to shave it off
Also I’ve never worked with aluminum conduit. It seems like it would kink a lot from a normal bender…
Why do you think it would kink?
It’s a softer metal.
@@MrDontcareify Sure, it's a softer metal, but just like steel, when the tube is seated in the groove of the bender, the sides of the groove keep it from kinking. In order for a tube to kink, the sides of the tube have to bend outward (Look at a kinked piece of tubing, the "kink" is wider than the original tube) If the sides of the groove keep the sides of the tube from bending outward, it can't kink.
It wont kink jf you bend it right
if your EMT is kinking then you're not translating enough downward force onto the backside of the pipe, either by using your foot for upward bending or keeping your force next to the bender (vs. much farther down the pipe) for downward bends.
Conduit prices are slowly coming down in the depot. Oddly pvc is almost the same price as emt. WTF
We call it a dog leg in Kentucky and in Tennessee.
Pencil!!!!
So how do you fix a dogleg?
Put it in the scrap pile & start over.
Before I retired I use to eat a stick of 2.5 inch for Breakfast
I found the Fudd guys, he's right here
Did i hear you say you can bend 1-1/2" 😂
Best to just use a pencil to mark conduit. Sharpie marks on conduit look like hell. Hard to believe how many sparkies do not know how to make a 3 point saddle bend. Always told the young guys to practice bends on old unneeded conduit they removed.
A 3-point saddle is tricky, if you don't do it all the time.
@@icevariable9600 I have a couple of 3 by 6" maybe 12 page bending books that If I haven't done a saddle will look up the two different angles you have to use. Best is an old Benfield book that was my dad's. Painted my 1/2 & 3/4" bender heads a bright white then used a bright fluorescent paint marker to mark degrees, notch, & arrow to help my old eyes in dim rooms. Worked with a lazy sparky while we had to run around 500' of 3/4 rigid galvanized conduit that required tons of saddle. He never figured in how much conduit would shrink especially on large saddle bends. He just screwed on a coupling and a 1 to 3" nipple on end of conduit.
My only complaint with the video is you using a marker to mark your bend points 😭😭😭😭 Omg right as I’m typing it out he says just this in the video lol
He clearly stated he was using a Sharpie for the video and normally uses a pencil.
60° offsets? ... Just say no! I'd shy away from 45° offsets too... 30° is best. Key factors; foot pressure when it's on the floor, and choke up tight ... when bending in the air. fwiw; I'd try not to use marker ... it can become unsightly ... unless it's buried in a duct bank, etc. Retired JW
I have no interest in doing this job but I watched the whole video because I was curious