Bend PVC Conduit

Knowing how to bend PVC conduit is a good skill to have up your sleeve. If ever you are trying to duct cables and there is an offset in a wall, being able to make a custom bend can come in very handy.

Please if you watch my video instruction, don't try making the hot box I did (there is no longer double insulation on the wires in the toaster).

On eBay and other online marketplaces there are bending springs available very cheap ( around $10 ). Buy one of them the size of the pipe you are planning on bending, there are heaps of other ways such as filling the pipe with sand, pressurised air etc. but a spring is the safest easiest cleanest way.

What you need:

• Heat source (heat gun, if it is a short length an oven, use what you can find)
• conduit
• bending spring
• riggers or welding gloves and other PPE that you might deem necessary.

How to get it done:

1. Tie a bit of wire to the spring so you are able to remove it from the conduit once the bend is formed.
2. Insert the spring into the conduit until it is in the area you want to bend.
3. Use your heat source to raise the conduit temperature to the point it becomes flexible (around 70C), make sure that you heat it gently as it will char if you expose it to a concentrated heat source.
4. Using your gloves create the desired bend in the pipe, you can use a damp cloth to cool the pipe at this point but remember that the water will be a good conductor of heat (if you have overheated your pipe it may also flash boil) so be careful.
5. Once the bend has set you can then remove the spring by simply pulling it out with the wire.

Thanks for having a look at my instructable. Hopefully this video format I have presented it in is good for you, I am trying to make it easier to follow on tablet devices.