Jpflex
Electrician big leagues
- Location
- Victorville
- Occupation
- Electrician commercial and residential
My last job which went out of business was 3 hours away from anything so we had to use what was available - mine
Is anyone else picky about EMT connectors?
- Thread starter electrofelon
- Start date
Jpflex
Electrician big leagues
- Location
- Victorville
- Occupation
- Electrician commercial and residential
Electricians
Got the absolute worst EMT connectors from big orange. So angry. Suing. The locknut doesn't grab so you can't do the 1/4 turn and done with the channel locks. AND to add insult to injury, you have to back out the set screw to slip it over the pipe. So angry. Got some coming from Platt tomorrow, they shouldn't let me down. My closest supply house, half a block from the job, has American fittings, which I REALLY want to like 'cuz they are made here, but I don't like them either.
I'm actually glad to hear someone else having this exact same problem lol. My supplier switched to Bridgeport fittings a few months ago and they've been awful! I always used the steel fittings, but with these, you got to back out the set screw, and the things won't tighten against the box! Also I noticed the steel fittings are made in Thailand. So I switched to the die cast versions from Bridgeport, made in the USA, they lock down on the box by hand, and the set screws are ready to go. I've seen the die cast fittings broken, but only because something else worse happened to break them. Bridgeport's rain-tight fittings are bad too. They come with a giant rubber O-ring that you can't tighten down real tight or the O-ring will squish out, there's no "good enough" amount of tightening that the fitting stays put.
The ones we got before were EGS or IGS brand, can't remember the name, those were good!
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
And you know what is super annoying, is note fittings are required to be listed. UL et al are clearly asleep at the wheel here.
Yeah RT fitting in general are garbage, but those with the rubber gasket are absolutely worthless. Completely unbelievable that those are a thing. I could fill up paragraphs with every negative descriptor I can think of to describe them but I'm going to avoid that temptation.
Mr. Serious
Senior Member
- Location
- Oklahoma, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
All the electricians I've worked with just limit it to 360 degrees, unless there's some other reason the pull will be more difficult than usual, such as high wire fill or long runs. The only time I've heard someone ask for it to be limited to 270 degrees was on one job where we installed conduits for CAT5 cables, and the telecom contractor came in and griped at us because they limit it to 270 degrees.
The only thing worse is telling your salesman they're junk and getting the reply "nO oNe ElSe HaS a PrObLeM"
but then you talk to other guys and they have the same problems.
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
Yeah I love that replyThe only thing worse is telling your salesman they're junk and getting the reply "nO oNe ElSe HaS a PrObLeM"
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
While we are complaining , another super annoying thing is they need to put a smoother rounded edge on the end of these. I blame the manufacturers but also the listing people/product standard. Come on guys. Just more clueless people in charge of things.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Especially PVC MAs!
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
Yeah even the pipe itself, that stuff is sharp!
I bought a small rotary file for my drill that I use to round over the edge on pvc. Mostly for sch 80. I've had a few pieces the edge was flared in.
Mr. Serious
Senior Member
- Location
- Oklahoma, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
One of my apprentices gave me a Milwaukee 48-22-4255 reaming tool. He said plumbers use it all the time. It's not meant for steel pipe, but on the inside edges of PVC it works very well. It's easy and quick to use once you get the hang of it. It doesn't work well on the outside edges. I guess it's not meant for that. But usually you can skip de-burring the outside edges.