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Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC

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On 2026-03-31 12:24, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:05:22 -0700, Don Y
> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> On 3/30/2026 10:21 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>> On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:52:40 -0700, Don Y
>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 3/30/2026 2:57 PM, ehsjr wrote:
>>>>> On 3/30/2026 2:46 PM, Don Y wrote:
>>>>>> On 3/30/2026 6:58 AM, joegwinn@comcast.net wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sun, 29 Mar 2026 21:24:13 -0700, Don Y
>>>>>>> <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Is this going to be an exercise in futility?  Or, just one of careful
>>>>>>>> practice?   (Ideally, something like a 4" radius)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It may require a vey long handle to bend 1" that sharply.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The conduit will want to collapse and/or kink, so packing it solid
>>>>>>> with sand and capping it at both ends before bending is likely
>>>>>>> necessary.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Yeah, a colleague sent me a one word reply:  "Don't"  <frown>
>>>>>
>>>>> +1
>>>>>
>>>>> See:
>>>>> https://www.mikeholt.com/documents/freestuff/Hand_bending_conduit_and_tubing_by_Bill_Bamford.pdf
>>>>
>>>> I've a fair bit of experience with EMT (up to an inch) and IMC (half inch).
>>>>
>>>> But, with those, I have usually been looking for a channel for a cable;
>>>> appearances only had to be "standard of workmanship".  So, a saddle didn't
>>>> have to be perfectly symmetrical, a Hickey could leave chew marks, etc.
>>>>
>>>> And, most times, you could just use a bender (because you WANTED/needed
>>>> the gentle arc for cable pulls).
>>>>
>>>> I *just* want this to "look nice" -- EMT looks like crap and rigid (while great
>>>> looking) is just way to hard to handle!
>>
>>>> It's just "a bent pipe" (no wires inside)
>>
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>>>> PVC is too flimsy (though maybe if I *fill* it to get extra strength
>>>> and stability...)
>>>
>>> Last year, I did some work on my house that involved replacing some
>>> rat damaged old Romex wiring under the house.  To save labor, we used
>>> aluminum MC (metal clad) cable:
>>> <https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-12-3-x-100-ft-Solid-CU-MC-Metal-Clad-Armorlite-Cable-68583423/202316493>
>>> <https://www.southwire.com/wire-cable/metal-clad-cable/c/c-mcmain>
>>> Note that 12/3 means three #12 AWG wires plus a 4th green ground wire.
>>> The wires were all copper with no CCA (copper clad aluminum) allowed.
>>>
>>> I initially wanted to use EMT.  Because I was paying by the hour for
>>> the work, I determined that MC cable was cheaper than EMT.  Ignoring
>>> my prep work and cleanup, it took 3 workers only about 6 hrs to
>>> complete the job.  EMT would have taken twice as long or more.  EMT
>>> would have looked much nicer, but I didn't want to pay for good looks.
>>
>> How many people would see it "under the house"?
> 
> None.  That's why I don't care about appearances.  However, that
> doesn't mean that I installed the MC cable with long drooping spans,
> sloppy routing, and knots to take up slack.  NEC requires the cable be
> supported every 4 ft when exposed to potential damage and every 6 ft
> when hidden behind a wall.  Also, the cable needs to be supported at
> least 18 inches from a termination point.  I bought too many hangers,
> so I used a smaller spacing, which also looks nicer.
> 
>>> Another nice thing about using flex cable.  If I make a mistake and
>>> need to move the conduit, it's much easier with flex than with
>>> anything that requires a pipe bender to move.
>>
>> I'm not using it as "wire carrying conduit" but, rather, as "metal pipe".
>> And, even the "metal" aspect is negotiable.
> 
> Sorry.  I wrongly assumed you were using electrical conduit for its
> originally intended purpose.  I find it rather difficult to discuss
> the selection of such things without knowing what you plan to do with
> it.
> 
>> I want to make a support member and it is easier to bend pipe than square
>> stock or angle.  And, where visible, pipe *looks* nicer.
> 
> You want the pipe to support the weight of something yet be flexible
> enough to be deformed by an electricians conduit bender.  Unless
> whatever you're supporting is fairly light, using EMT conduit, which
> can be fairly easily bent, seems to be a little risky.
> 
> I made that mistake in the 1960's.  My father owned a lingerie factory
> in Smog Angeles.  I was volunteered to build and install some 10ft
> garment hangers that were suspended from the ceiling.  I used 3/4" EMT
> conduit, because we had some left over from another project and it was
> easy to bend the ends (to prevent the hangers and garments from
> sliding off the end of the conduit).  It worked well for light weight
> garments, but the pipe bent when someone decided to hang some heavy
> garments.  I had to take it down, straighten the EMT, add additional
> chain hangers, and put every back up.  Larger EMT might have worked,
> but adding more support points was easier.
> 
> 

Not sure I want to know what heavy lingerie would be like.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

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Thread

Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-29 21:24 -0700
  Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC joegwinn@comcast.net - 2026-03-30 09:58 -0400
    Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Ross Finlayson <ross.a.finlayson@gmail.com> - 2026-03-30 08:18 -0700
    Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-30 11:46 -0700
      Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC joegwinn@comcast.net - 2026-03-30 16:02 -0400
        Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-30 13:22 -0700
          Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC joegwinn@comcast.net - 2026-03-30 17:27 -0400
            Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-30 16:53 -0700
      Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC ehsjr <ehsjr@verizon.net> - 2026-03-30 17:57 -0400
        Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-30 20:52 -0700
          Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> - 2026-03-30 22:21 -0700
            Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-30 23:05 -0700
              Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> - 2026-03-31 09:24 -0700
                Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2026-03-31 10:18 -0700
                Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2026-03-31 16:54 -0400
                Re: Hickey experiences with 1" IMC Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> - 2026-03-31 15:49 -0700

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