Bending PVC conduit

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steve66

steve66

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Location
Illinois
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Engineer
Is it possible to field bend 6" PVC conduit? I think its possible for smaller sizes, but 6"?

I have a conduit run where the electrician will need a 45 degree bend, but I need to make sure the bend radius is at least 60".

It looks like all the prefab elbows top out at a 48" radius.
 
ActionDave

ActionDave

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Durango, CO, 10 h 20 min from the winged horses.
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Anything is possible but in a practical sense I say, No. It would be hard to get enough surface heated without burning the pipe, ensure your sixty degree angle and not distort the shape.

I can see it possible to custom make one in a shop but it would still be a lot of work. There would surely be some sacrificing of some sticks of PVC to the gods of heat before the perfect or even workable bend would emerge. W
 
G

GoldDigger

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ActionDave said:
Anything is possible but in a practical sense I say, No. It would be hard to get enough surface heated without burning the pipe, ensure your sixty degree angle and not distort the shape.

I can see it possible to custom make one in a shop but it would still be a lot of work. There would surely be some sacrificing of some sticks of PVC to the gods of heat before the perfect or even workable bend would emerge. W
Click to expand...
How about a very large pizza oven, maybe the kind with a conveyor belt through a heated tunnel?
Or lots of IR heat lamps?
 
G

GoldDigger

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Placerville, CA, USA
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GoldDigger said:
How about a very large pizza oven, maybe the kind with a conveyor belt through a heated tunnel?
Or lots of IR heat lamps?
Click to expand...
Most important thing at that size would be a form to bend it against. Free bending would be too likely to get uneven radius or kinks.
An inner radius form would even allow you to bend it a section at a time, limiting heated area for more control.
 
D

donaldelectrician

Senior Member
Take the top off of a Water Heater , bypass the limits for both elements , take plywood on table or horses and tack on guides ( a # of wood blocks ) to shape a 90 or 45 or ? .... can pre shape many 90's on plywood ... and many bundles in WH at same time ...

Works great on a number of 10' bundles cut in half at 5' so you get 20 - 90's per bundle ...
You can make 40 0r 60 at the same time ...
Works fast and good , pipe stays hot in tank as you form other bundles ... and pipe never burns ... the water keeps pipe uniformly hot and easy to bend , no kinks


This would work for 6" PVC if bending a 90 or 45 or kick ...



Don
 
R

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Salamander job heater.

Salamander job heater.

I have often used the jobsite salamander type heater (Kerosene or propane).

real easy for 3/4 PVC.

I would think a person could cobble up some plywood forms for a temporary kiln,
be sure to plug the ends.

I have seen a youtuber fill up PVC with hot sand then form a radius,. The sand prevents the PVC from collapsing.
 
Fulthrotl

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Location
HB, CA (19 Hrs. 22 Min. from Winged Horses)
Occupation
E
steve66 said:
Is it possible to field bend 6" PVC conduit? I think its possible for smaller sizes, but 6"?

I have a conduit run where the electrician will need a 45 degree bend, but I need to make sure the bend radius is at least 60".

It looks like all the prefab elbows top out at a 48" radius.
Click to expand...

yeah, it is possible.

you can order sweeps at that radius already done, however.
much more cost effective.
i put in a bunch of 5" pvc 45's with a 12' radius.

if you want to roll your own, go here:
http://www.hotbend.com/

they claim it's good to 8" schedule 80 pvc.
i don't believe it, but you should be able to do 6"
schedule 40 ok. it burns a lot of gas. sorta like
a 60's big block with the secondaries open.

the trick is getting stoppers to keep the pipe round.
you *will* need plugs. they are pricy if you don't want
to buy a set, get some pvc pipe caps and glue them on and let
them dry well, then heat. the pressure inside from the hot air
holds the pipe round.... you'll need to make a form, however.
you're gonna spend more screwing with this than it's worth.

just call the wholesale house and order a sweep, and put it in...
 
ActionDave

ActionDave

Chief Moderator
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Location
Durango, CO, 10 h 20 min from the winged horses.
Occupation
Licensed Electrician
Fulthrotl said:
yeah, it is possible.

you can order sweeps at that radius already done, however.
much more cost effective.
i put in a bunch of 5" pvc 45's with a 12' radius.

if you want to roll your own, go here:
http://www.hotbend.com/

they claim it's good to 8" schedule 80 pvc.
i don't believe it, but you should be able to do 6"
schedule 40 ok. it burns a lot of gas. sorta like
a 60's big block with the secondaries open.

the trick is getting stoppers to keep the pipe round.
you *will* need plugs. they are pricy if you don't want
to buy a set, get some pvc pipe caps and glue them on and let
them dry well, then heat. the pressure inside from the hot air
holds the pipe round.... you'll need to make a form, however.
you're gonna spend more screwing with this than it's worth.

just call the wholesale house and order a sweep, and put it in...
Click to expand...
I knew that is anybody had done it it would be you.
 
steve66

steve66

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Engineer
GoldDigger said:
In pieces? :angel:
Click to expand...

I thought about that too, but that wouldn't be any different than shipping (2) 45's, or (4) 22.5's, etc.


winnie said:
Draw it out. It would fit on a flat bed no problem, you wouldn't even need special permits.

Now, if it were a 180 degree bend you would have a problem :)

-Jon
Click to expand...

Yes, but not the most cost effective way to get something. Especially if you only need one.


Cow said:
I would use a Greenlee hotbox.

http://www.toolup.com/greenlee_847_...scplp1072334&gclid=CMibwbOrl8MCFQQQ7AodIW4AUA
Click to expand...

So its possible with either field bends or prefabricated elbows. I'll just show it on the drawings and let the contractor figure out the details of how to do it.
 
C

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
Fulthrotl said:
yeah, it is possible.

you can order sweeps at that radius already done, however.
much more cost effective.
i put in a bunch of 5" pvc 45's with a 12' radius.

if you want to roll your own, go here:
http://www.hotbend.com/

they claim it's good to 8" schedule 80 pvc.
i don't believe it, but you should be able to do 6"
schedule 40 ok. it burns a lot of gas. sorta like
a 60's big block with the secondaries open.

the trick is getting stoppers to keep the pipe round.
you *will* need plugs. they are pricy if you don't want
to buy a set, get some pvc pipe caps and glue them on and let
them dry well, then heat. the pressure inside from the hot air
holds the pipe round.... you'll need to make a form, however.
you're gonna spend more screwing with this than it's worth.

just call the wholesale house and order a sweep, and put it in...
Click to expand...

We have a hotbend we bought a couple years ago specifically for a job with 5" pvc. It was able to bend the 5" even on a windy day in cold weather in a ditch, but we were only putting kicks in the pipe to line up with the knockouts in concrete vaults. I would NOT want to heat a LONG sweeping bend in 6" with it. I'm sure it would do it but I'd bet you'd be there for 20 minutes working at it. You'd need a couple guys at least to swap back and forth, it wears your arms out sweeping back and forth that fast for that long.

I happened to use it the other day on a piece of 3/4", in under a minute you have a wet noodle.:cool:
 
S

Strathead

Senior Member
Location
Ocala, Florida, USA
Occupation
Electrician/Estimator/Project Manager/Superintendent
Fulthrotl said:
yeah, it is possible.

you can order sweeps at that radius already done, however.
much more cost effective.
i put in a bunch of 5" pvc 45's with a 12' radius.

if you want to roll your own, go here:
http://www.hotbend.com/

they claim it's good to 8" schedule 80 pvc.
i don't believe it, but you should be able to do 6"
schedule 40 ok. it burns a lot of gas. sorta like
a 60's big block with the secondaries open.

the trick is getting stoppers to keep the pipe round.
you *will* need plugs. they are pricy if you don't want
to buy a set, get some pvc pipe caps and glue them on and let
them dry well, then heat. the pressure inside from the hot air
holds the pipe round.... you'll need to make a form, however.
you're gonna spend more screwing with this than it's worth.

just call the wholesale house and order a sweep, and put it in...
Click to expand...

Glad I read through before posting. I was going to mention the trapped air thing. I seems that few people I have met understand that science. Kudos!
 
dhalleron

dhalleron

Senior Member
Location
Louisville, KY
Occupation
Master Electrician/Senior Fire Alarm Technician
Maybe 25 years ago I worked with an electrician who made his own hot box. I can't remember if it was 4" or 6" PVC we were bending. He took a propane barbecue grill and cut holes in both ends of the lid.

At lunch time he cooked a pot of soup on the grill since it was a cold winter job.
 
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