Bending Schedule 40 PVC pipe ?

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Hey guys, first time poster here. I wanted to caution you on this process.

Heating PVC releases Vinyl Chloride gas which is a carcinogen. I have had to do this myself a few times, but I never do it indoors and I always wear a respirator. Note that a dust respirator won't help, you need one for fumes. Even with that, though, I limit my exposure as much as possible.

 

[RalphVa]

I bought my polypropylene pipe at Lowes. I'd think any plumbing supply place has it.

At Lowes, you can buy it in 100 and 400 foot lengths. Even a 400' length is reasonably easy to roll out.

Think it does come in 2 grades. I'd buy the heavier grade.

Ralph

 

[GaryE]

Sorry i did not see this thread sooner. In the past I have bent up to 4" PVC using a Gas Grill.... Yes a Gas Grill.

Heat the grill, place the PVC pipe acrross the grill... close the cover over the grill... slowly spin the pipe until it becomes pliable. Take it off the grill... bend it to shape, then cool it with a wet mop. Works every time.

 

[orezok]

I've seen electricians run the exhaust from their truck through PVC to heat it for bending. It's a little slow to heat but eventually it will get hot enough.

 

[Kays Supply]

For sure get the highest rated poly you can. The lesser / cheaper grades will split under normal use. That is why they invented PEX pipe. The molecules are crosslinked to make it less prone to the splitting.

 

[sswhite]

Pipe Viper did not work. It kinked and broke the pipe. Company refuses to refund shipping and won't pay for product shipping to them. The video is very deceiving, show the guy with the pipe bend but not the whole process. Also extracting the pipe bender is quite difficult without unbending the pipe which by the way was kinked not bent, eventually over stressing the pvc material resulting in a kink and eventual breakage of the pipe.

 

[marimus]

Pipe Viper did not work. It kinked and broke the pipe. Company refuses to refund shipping and won't pay for product shipping to them. The video is very deceiving, show the guy with the pipe bend but not the whole process. Also extracting the pipe bender is quite difficult without unbending the pipe which by the way was kinked not bent, eventually over stressing the pvc material resulting in a kink and eventual breakage of the pipe.

Well thats disapointing. I saw that video and thought it worked like magic. Too good to be true too often is

What by the way is the rest of the process?

**Edit**
I just watched the video again, and noticed that they don't show a closeup of the pipe after bending, and they don't actually show a proper (90*) bend in the larger sch40 pipe, only in the conduit which is much softer.

 

[DELInstallations]

Pipe Viper did not work. It kinked and broke the pipe. Company refuses to refund shipping and won't pay for product shipping to them. The video is very deceiving, show the guy with the pipe bend but not the whole process. Also extracting the pipe bender is quite difficult without unbending the pipe which by the way was kinked not bent, eventually over stressing the pvc material resulting in a kink and eventual breakage of the pipe.

Not true.

I'm an electrician and I have similar springs for 1/2 and 3/4" PVC. I tie a string or piece of wire to the spring, always pulls out easy. Also works well using a hickey or bender. The pipe DOES have to be about 60* or warmer for it to work and you do stretch the pipe just a bit while bending, but no worse than a hot box. Offsets are a little tougher using a spring, but do-able

A sweep in PVC or metal always loses a portion of the ID unless you use a factory made sweep, which is why you're limited to 4 90's to pull through as well as the sizing for fill.

Not to criticise, but I think you're not using them correctly, since I've had no problems with multiple uses. The video clearly shows how the guy is getting the spring out of the pipe, and while using his knee, he is kinking the pipe as he bends, but the solution is what they show, use a regular bender to help the process.

 

[Farwell]

I chuck up 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipe in my metal lathe, run the lathe at its slowest speed and heat the pope with a 500 watt movie light. I keep the light moving until the pipe starts to sag then I shut the lathe off and gently shape the pipe in the shape I need. It is a time consuming project but to get it right you have to spend the time. I usually make a Shepperd's hook that has approximately a 10-12 inch loop. I use the hook to transfer chemicals pumped from one tank to another with the hook hanging over the edge of the receiving tank with a 1-1/4 inch Tygon (sp?) tubing hose clamped to the hook.
I have never tried using springs to shape the bend on PVC but have used it on coiled copper 1/2 inch and smaller.

 

[tommu56]

This weekend I had to bend some3/4 and 1" pvc conduit.
I use the barbecue grill on low heat and keep rotating pipe.

I use the pipe viper springs in softened pipe to keep the id correct.

One concern is that you can make radius too tight to meet code.
I have a couple of ply wood disks to form them around to keep the right radius.

Another trick with the spring is to spin it in the direction to tighten it, it will male it a little smaller and esier to pull out.



tom

 

[Zick]

We've used this and it works great.
Electric PVC Heater Bender, Greenlee GL-849

 

[CurlyDave]

For occasional use a trench with charcoal briquettes or any other combustable material in it is ~$465 less expensive.

Run a piece of steel rod or pipe through the center of the PVC to support it and rotate as it heats...

 

[smitty9266]

I guess I cheated.. I have tried poly before did not seem to last. When I ran the last pipe in the woods 3 years ago used Flexible PVC. It uses the same glue on fittings but for the most part as I wound around the woods and made several turns never needed to add a fitting!!

Product Listing - 3_Flex_PVC_Pipe_1_inch

I was very happy with this pipe and the price has come down since I bought mine.

Jeff

 

[marimus]

Not true.

I'm an electrician and I have similar springs for 1/2 and 3/4" PVC

I have no doubt it works for PVC conduit in those sizes. Its a softer material than SC40 pipe. Its the larger diameter SC40 PVC that I doubt works, and if you look at their video, they don't show the pipe once its bent, or indeed a 90* bend which they claim.

Seeing is believing, and I aint seen it

 

[SPIKER]

We've used this and it works great.
Electric PVC Heater Bender, Greenlee GL-849

I've personally used a similar device to bend PVC SCh80 CPVC sch 80 up to 4" using one of these. the main key is to cap the ends so that the air pressure as it heats up maintains the diameter both inside and outside. when you buy these they come with rubber plugs that you slide into the ends to plug the pipe and keep air in. we bend the pipe using many things the most popular is floor cracks to keep the 90. you need to slightly over-bend the pipe at first and as it cools then let it spring back into place. I'm not familiar with the other devices that people are talking about. a modified gas grill might work OK but the flame may cause some issues as the electric ones dont get extremely hot and have a pretty stable temperature. the pipe will sag but not all that bad you have to keep eye on it to make sure how flexible it gets. use mop or rags in water to cool it once it is placed/bend.

mark

 

[Lloyd_E]

Pack the section with sand and heat and bend. The sand will not allow the area to collapse and can be dumped out after the bend is made. An old timer told/showed me this trick only we used copper.

Lloyd

 

[Lloyd_E]

My apologize to Kays Supply... should have started reading from the beginning.

lloyd