Box offset or no

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augie47

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Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
Buy a squisher and stop cutting corners. If box offsets are going to save you that much time and make/break the job you are cutting things way too tight. Presentation is eveything and if the inspector sees the effort put in here on the rough, that respect will carry through io the final and onto the next job. Plus, who can't whip in an offset in less than a few seconds, the bender is right there. That was the first thing I learned to bend. Those "buried" conduits in the stud wall going to the sconce box look like junk and if my guys did that, they wouldn't be my guys for long. Sorry it's late and maybe I'm just crabby. I'll give you the Erico fittings are nice and cowboys save you the bend, but I'm not crazy about cowboys either. So to answer the OP, yes we put a box offset everywhere one is needed, no wingin it there!:slaphead:

Its' probably just another sign of my age, but I will say you are "right-on" with that. It's rare that I find a job where offsets were not made, but when I do, I normally find a high percent of deficiencies with the rest of the job. In fairness, I probably inspect more closely when I see a "non-offset" job.
 

jusme123

Senior Member
Location
NY
Occupation
JW
Buried in Sheetrock walls? No, I don't put any extra bends 'for looks'.

Above a suspended ceiling? Usually yes but maybe not. Picture a steel truss building with 10' - 15' between the bottom of the truss and the dropped ceiling no. Or conduits run inside the 'Z purlins of a corrugated steel building etc. I sacrifice craftsmanship for speed in areas out of sight.

...thats half the problem when I open up drop ceilings. Your a professional, let your work reflect that, JMO!
 

ActionDave

Chief Moderator
Staff member
Location
Durango, CO, 10 h 20 min from the winged horses.
Occupation
Licensed Electrician
...thats half the problem when I open up drop ceilings. Your a professional, let your work reflect that, JMO!
Half the problem when I pop a ceiling tile is what the phone guys have done.

Any definition of professionalism has to include efficiency. Making things perfect above a drop ceiling is a waste of somebodies money and time; maybe mine, maybe the boss?s, maybe the customer's.

If it don't matter, it don't matter. JMO.
 

jusme123

Senior Member
Location
NY
Occupation
JW
Half the problem when I pop a ceiling tile is what the phone guys have done.

Any definition of professionalism has to include efficiency. Making things perfect above a drop ceiling is a waste of somebodies money and time; maybe mine, maybe the boss?s, maybe the customer's.

If it don't matter, it don't matter. JMO.

...yea, the 15seconds it takes to make a box offset is a real cost saver. :happysad:
 

plumb bob

Member
If it needs an offset it gets it. The conduit just fits better. Better, safer installation which takes just seconds longer to run. Worth every penny.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
...thats half the problem when I open up drop ceilings. Your a professional, let your work reflect that, JMO!

I am all about giving the customer exactly what they paid for, no less and no more.

If they paid for a Lexus they will get one, if they paid for Kia, they get that too.

Don't give away your skills for free just to show off.
 

plumb bob

Member
I am all about giving the customer exactly what they paid for, no less and no more.

If they paid for a Lexus they will get one, if they paid for Kia, they get that too.

Don't give away your skills for free just to show off.

I whole heartedly believe that every installation is different and calls for different methods and materials. But I don't see omitting offsets in an emt job as "selling a kia", I see it more like selling a car that I know has engine problems. Might work fine now and get down the road, but probably not for the long haul. JMO.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I whole heartedly believe that every installation is different and calls for different methods and materials. But I don't see omitting offsets in an emt job as "selling a kia", I see it more like selling a car that I know has engine problems. Might work fine now and get down the road, but probably not for the long haul. JMO.

I can't necessarily speak for what is current but go back to the old Cadillac's, vs. a Pontiac, or Buick. Same engine may be in all three cars, same base drive train, and many other base parts, the difference in price - especially the Cadillac is the extras or enhanced items that are not in the other cars.

I always refer to Kia as meaning "killed in action":lol: Never even sat in one that I can recall though, maybe they are a great car.
 

jusme123

Senior Member
Location
NY
Occupation
JW
I am all about giving the customer exactly what they paid for, no less and no more.

If they paid for a Lexus they will get one, if they paid for Kia, they get that too.

Don't give away your skills for free just to show off.

Bob, you and I will never see eye to eye on this issue. If I hire someone to run conduit in a building I own, I would expect it to be level and installed according to industry standard. Just because a contractor wants to save a couple bucks (by not bending box offsets) because they did not bid the job correctly, is not industry standard. Again, you where hired as a professional the work should reflect that. It's kind of sad that they have to put in specs to run conduit 'perpendicular' to building, as some contractors would run diagonally across a room to save 15 or 20 feet of pipe and wire.
 
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norcal

Senior Member
I can't necessarily speak for what is current but go back to the old Cadillac's, vs. a Pontiac, or Buick. Same engine may be in all three cars, same base drive train, and many other base parts, the difference in price - especially the Cadillac is the extras or enhanced items that are not in the other cars.

I always refer to Kia as meaning "killed in action":lol: Never even sat in one that I can recall though, maybe they are a great car.

KIA = Kick It Again.
 

Stevareno

Senior Member
Location
Dallas, TX
I like to put in box offsets because I take pride in my work. Also if the inpectors see quality work from the get go, they seem to ease up on the scrutiny for the rest of the job (YMMV).

Does it bother me that other people don't do box offsets? No.
I've seen a LOT worse. :happyyes:
 

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
I whole heartedly believe that every installation is different and calls for different methods and materials. But I don't see omitting offsets in an emt job as "selling a kia", I see it more like selling a car that I know has engine problems. Might work fine now and get down the road, but probably not for the long haul. JMO.

I have a very hard time believing lack of box offsets INSIDE A WALL will cause an electrical failure "in the long haul".
 

plumb bob

Member
I have a very hard time believing lack of box offsets INSIDE A WALL will cause an electrical failure "in the long haul".

Well, I was refering more to the original post, which was about exposed work, not INSIDE A WALL. But it is still my opinion that conduit systems stand a better chance of remaining intact and preventing an electrical failure if it they are bent properly and fit together without strain at fittings and couplings.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Well, I was refering more to the original post, which was about exposed work, not INSIDE A WALL. But it is still my opinion that conduit systems stand a better chance of remaining intact and preventing an electrical failure if it they are bent properly and fit together without strain at fittings and couplings.
That is a good attitude to have about it in some ways. Many raceways I find that are have broken fittings may not have broken if proper securing and supporting would have been used. Now the die cast fittings do break easily compared to steel, I have found raceways pulled out of steel fittings though that may not have done so with better securing/supporting, or simply choosing better routing of the raceway. EMT in areas where something like a fork lift frequently operates will never be installed secure enough - even if concrete encased in some instances.
 
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