bending plastic conduit - ?

[Guest123]

Extract from Centaur manufacturing....


"

Conduit Bending Springs
CHS 16 Heavy Gauge, Green 16mm 1
CHS 20 Heavy Gauge, Green 20mm 1
CHS 25 Heavy Gauge, Green 25mm 1
CHS 32 Heavy Gauge, Green 32mm 1
CLS 16 Light Gauge, Red 16mm 1
CLS 20 Light Gauge, Red 20mm 1
CLS 25 Light Gauge, Red 25mm 1​

CLS 32 Light Gauge, Red 32mm 1"


So heavy gauge - Green, and light gauge = Red.

 

[frecossais]

I worked in France for 7 years and found that I could bend PVC conduit no bother on my knee or between my arms no bother albeit with a bending spring but when I came back to Scotland to live the first time I tried it I kept putting kinks in it!! Then i seemed to remember that there are two different gauges here! Am I dreaming this or is it true? Can someone let me know as it's a long time since I have done domestic work here as before I went to France I was working in street lighting for 7 years

 

[Notsosmart]

See Lenny's post above Frecossais.

 

[frecossais]

In France though it's so easy. No need to worry about light or heavy gauge it's all the same standard. i think it's all geared to heavy gauge as then it all errs on the side of caution. I think!!

 

[gaffer]

All the wholesalers around here seem to only stock HG.

 

[lj.l]

when I started in the training center we put the former in the vice and used a spring,never seen a vice out on site though so its always been the knee

 

[wattsup]

On the knee! Practice first.
Make sure the conduit is warmish, like others say...double sets/dog legs are the hardest.....getting the spring out, knocks the set out sometimes.

But, the tip is, lubricate the spring with cooking oil then it pulls out easy...makes a bit of a mess so have wrags handy.

 

[Davey101]

Never thought of lubricating it before.
If the spring is tight to get out of the bend, just put the bend on the ground with the spring pointing up towards your head, foot on the bend, then pull on the spring and 'tap' the bend on the ground, letting your foot 'bounce' the conduit on the ground. Alternatively, pull the spring and bang the tube on the ground, stack of plasterboard etc. The key is to bounce or tap the spring on something, rather than just pulling as hard as you can.

 

[Bromd123]

I was taught that all you need is your knee a bending spring and a bit of grease........ of the elbow variety lol

 

[pennywise]

PVC bending taken to a new level


Greenlee Products - Greenlee A Textron Company

 

[Greenriff]

Bend it round your knee with a spring inside, but make sure you dont make the radius of the bent too small. There is a skill to learn here, you dont need to rub/heat/warm the conduit if you bend it properly. Refer to the regs to find out the minimum bend radius. Start to bend the conduit at a certain point using your knee, 1st bend it slightly, 2nd bend it slightly again at another spot about 20mm away from the first bend, keep bending it more and more alternating between each point until you get a smooth radius started then you can just bend it all the way using your arms only, 3rd bend it too far then unbend it to the angle required. shazam it should stay there. You need to practise this lots to learn the skill so you dont end up with a tight right angle with stress marks which is hard to pull cables into(I see these bends all over the place).

 

[Ashley Williams]

Heat and around your knee. Get a paper cloth and rub it creates enough heat but saves your hands.. The conduit...

A

 

[Johno]

***** to the radius, as long as it looks right and the cables aren't to tight. (just being honest)

 

[benji]

no disrespect to anybody but i never thought a thread on bending plastic conduit would go on this long,
IT,S JUST PRACTICE thats all.


yours benji

 

[gaffer]

no disresect to anybody but i never thought a thread on bending plastic conduit would go on this long,
IT,S JUST PRACTICE thats all.


yours benji

Everyones got to learn

 

[Scott F]

Whats the different applications for light and heavy gauge plastic conduit ?

 

[UNG]

Tallow on the spring helps when removing from the conduit and not as messy as oil

A rag to rub the conduit to get heat in it is how I do it can take a few attemps to get a bend depending on the ambient temp. If it's possibe leave it somewhere warm for a few hours before using it

 

[Cobraman]

I just rub the conduit a bit with a dry tea towel, put the bending spring in and bend, thats all there is to it and have had no problems with this method.

 

[Davey101]

No offence to anyone, but unless you have some crappy quality tube, there is no need to rub or warm the conduit (dunno about light gauge, does anyone actually use this?).

 

[YTSOxford]

Leave it on one of a work light for a few seconds and bend with a spring in it. Don't go off for a tea break tho, or you'll be cleaning your light!