# bend saddles

[quogueelectric]

Fastening is the name of our game

Fastening is the name of our game

Learn how to fasten more eficiently and you will be bending less. This has nothing to do with lazy its all about the money. I can write my name with this stuff. See the pipe run before you bend it. The fastest way to run pipe is straight. I only do this because it is better for the wire right??

 

[480sparky]

Learn how to fasten more eficiently and you will be bending less. This has nothing to do with lazy its all about the money. I can write my name with this stuff. See the pipe run before you bend it. The fastest way to run pipe is straight. I only do this because it is better for the wire right??

That's fine for your own work. You have control over that.
But you can't control the ductwork, plumbing & sprinkler pipes, and the occasional structural member that is necessary in preventing the building from falling down. Especially when you're working in an existing building.

 

[George Stolz]

I agree with Jim, and not only because he's my boss.

A three-point saddle is harder to pull through, because you have a series of opposing bends closer together than you would for a four-point. The fishtape doesn't cope as well with a three point as a four-point, IMO.

 

[peter]

I agree with E 57. Conduit runs should be designed with the realization that eventually you will have to pull wires through them. Intelligence is an advantage.
Sheldon Ace --
"The only problem is if you spend too much time planning and hinder production, how are you really helping. Not trying to offend, but our trade is difficult at times, and if it means exerting a little effort on a pull, then that is what we do. " There was the pull from Hades I've heard of. Maybe a 1000' straight pull underground without any intermediate pull boxes. Took a crew the whole day and the vice-president of the company had to come down from Los Angelus to help out.
Then there was a 3/4" run the night crew did at Target. There were maybe twelve wires. Circuits kept getting added. Nobody thought to add another run. The 360? rule and the wire fill rule should be your friends. Thinking ahead is good.

As for pushing a flat steel tape through a saddle, this shouldn't be a problem since a saddle is in the same plane. The problem occurs when you have two close together 90?s in three dimensions. For instance, you have one 90? going south horizontally to vertical and then you add another 90? to head west. The common flat steel tape will easily bend through the first 90? but that sets its' plane and it will not bend sideways to go west.
I remember another case in which someone ran a vertical 1/2" and then about seven 3/4" tubes had to saddle over it. Figure about 5 minutes per saddle versus making a bridge or re-routing the 1/2" [which could have been done] and then talk about slowing things down.
~Peter

 

[ramsy]

There's no way to gauge the extent of the damage you're doing with a steel fish tape. ..I'll (use fiberglass fishtape or) pick a smaller (conductor) to "sacrifice" for use as a pull wire, and never really need to push a tape through.

My GB fiberglass tape broke so easily on bending that I stopped using it. I suppose its possible that preferring steal fishtape and being a material miser, rather than sacrifice a conductor, may have caused the nuisance tripping GFCI that I'm still trying to fix? Is there any durable fiber fishtapes?