How to Bend an Offset in Conduit

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When it comes to bending conduit, offsets are a necessary item to know how to bend. But until you get the hang of it (and even afterwards) they can be a bit tricky at times. In todays episode of Electrician U, Dustin walks us thru the process of bending an offset.

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Before we get into offset bending basics, lets take a moment to talk about aluminum conduit. Todays sponsor- Penn Aluminum Conduit & EMT- makes some of the best aluminum conduit on the market. But why choose aluminum EMT over steel EMT? Well, its considerably lighter therefore it takes less labor to install and reduces wear and tear on your field staff hauling conduit around. Next, its much easier to bend than steel, again, making it less strenuous on your staff to install and using less labor. Its also cheaper than steel currently, so it helps on the bottom line. Penn Aluminum has even engineered a coating for the inside of the conduit that helps with wire pulling and eliminates the snagging most often associated with aluminum conduit. Give it a shot, I think you will like it!
Onto the bending! An offset is a bend that allows us to change the course of our conduit run. It is a series of 2 opposing bends with a length of straight unbent conduit in between. Maybe we need to clear an object that is in our way or enter a junction box/pull box/panel where the knockout is not lined up exactly in line with our conduit. So, the first thing we need to do is to figure out the distance we need to offset our conduit. Once that is established, we need to figure out how FAST we need to offset our conduit (I am not necessarily talking about the speed in which we work. That is usually fast!!). If we don’t have a lot of space to make the offset, we may need to use a sharper bend, but if distance isn’t really an issue, then a shallower bend may be used. Typically a 30 degree bend is what we use.
For a 30 degree offset, take the measurement you determined in the first step and double it. That is the distance between your bends. So, make a mark on the conduit where you want to start your offset. Then, if you measured a 2 inch obstruction, make a second mark 4 inches away from your first mark. Place the conduit in the bending shoe, with the hook of the bender facing away from you and the arrow on the first mark you made. With the conduit on the ground, apply foot pressure on the shoe AND use arm pressure on the handle to pull back. Most bender handles signify a 30 degree bend when that handle is at 90 degrees to the surface you are bending on.
Once the first bend is complete, roll the conduit (don’t remove it from the bending shoe) 180 degrees. At this point, you will most likely have to invert the bender as your first bend will now be pointing towards the ground. Place the arrow on the second mark and sight down the conduit to make sure your first bend isn’t pointing off to one side or the other (your two bends will need to be in a straight line or you will end up dog legging the bends!). Place your foot in front of the bender so it doesn’t slide on you, place your hands CLOSE to the bender shoe so you don’t bend more of the conduit than necessary, tip the bender slightly forward, and then pull down on the conduit until the bottom of the conduit is in line with the 30 degree line on the bender shoe. Viola! Offset complete!
A couple pro tips. Use a pencil (not a sharpie) to make your marks. That way you can erase it when done bending-looks more professional. Always carry a torpedo level on you when bending conduit- you will need it to be accurate. You can make corrections if you over bend or dog leg the conduit. Practice is needed to get good at bending! As discussed earlier, 30 degrees is the most common bend utilizing a multiplier of 2. For a 45 degree offset (a sharper bend) use a 1.4 multiplier and for a 22-1/2 degree bend (even less drastic than a 30) use a 2.6 multiplier.
We hope this has been helpful in understanding how to bend an offset. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed on Electrician U? Leave us a comment in the comments section and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly updating our content to assist our followers in becoming the best electricians that they can be.

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