How to Bend a 3 Point Saddle in Conduit

Installing conduit is quickly becoming a lost art these days with MC Cable doing most of the work for branch circuitry on most jobs. However, EMT for homeruns and even the branch circuitry on many jobs is still very relevant! And of all the bends available to electricians, there is nothing more daunting for the commercial electrician than saddle bends. In today’s episode of Electrician U, Dustin walks us through how to bend a 3-point saddle in a fashion that makes it very easy to understand!

00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Marking your conduit
04:55 - Bending conduit

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#electrician #electrical #electricity

Before we get into offset bending basics, let’s take a moment to talk about aluminum conduit. Today’s sponsor- Penn Aluminum Conduit & EMT- makes some of the best aluminum conduit on the market. But why choose aluminum EMT over steel EMT? Well, it’s considerably lighter therefore it takes less labor to install and reduces wear and tear on your field staff hauling conduit around. Next, it’s much easier to bend than steel, again, making it less strenuous for your staff to install and using less labor. It’s 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 called Blue Lightning that helps with wire pulling and eliminates the snagging most often associated with aluminum conduit. Well worth it to try!
A saddle bend is helpful for having your conduit go UP and OVER an obstruction that is in your conduit path. 3-point saddles are usually used for obstacles 2” or less, while 4-point saddles are used for larger obstacles. We will be focusing on 3-point saddles today. The general idea is to have a 22-1/2” degree bend where the center of the obstacle is and opposing 10-degree bends to bring the conduit to the original plane it was on. When complete, you should have something resembling a U shape.
The first step in the process is to measure height of the obstacle and the centerline distance from the end of the conduit already installed. For today’s instruction, we will be using a 2” height. Make a line all the way around the conduit as the 2 opposing bends will be bent on the opposite side of the conduit. For the next bends, use 4” for the 1st inch of obstacle and 6” for the second inch of obstacle. Shrinkage will come into play here so a helpful dimension to use is ¼” for each inch of obstacle- or ½” for our example. So, make a mark 10-1/2” on either side of the first centerline mark you made. Again, carry the line all the way around the conduit.
Now, it’s time to bend. Insert the conduit into the bender and put the centerline mark on the notch in the bender shoe that is near the teardrop/diamond symbol. Put pressure on the conduit close to the bender shoe (not far away as this will bend the pipe further away and will cause difficulties) and bend the conduit until it is parallel to the 22-1/2 degree line. Slide the conduit (without taking it out of the shoe or turning the shoe around) until the next mark is on the arrow. Roll the conduit 180 degrees (sight down the conduit to ensure its straight and not dog-legged) and again put pressure close to the shoe but only bend until the conduit is parallel to the 10-degree line. Next, pull the conduit out of the shoe, flip it end for end and reinsert it into the shoe.

[matthewr]

I always measure to center of obstruction, place mark on conduit at that exact point, then I multiply the height of the obstruction by 2.5 and take that number and go that distance off both sides of the original center mark, and then I use the push through method, first bend on star (22 degrees), second bend on notch (45 degrees) third bend on arrow (22 degrees).

[johnnymalicoat]

The shrinkage on a 3point saddle is 3/16" for every inch of rise. Never mind I should keep watching until I comment. I use the notch and bend a 45 and 22.5 on the arrows

[Mandalawi]

EXCELLENT JOB working those camera angles. This is way clearer than watching my instructor in trades school demonstrate this in front of a class of 30 people. Thank you Dustin!

[jokalinjones]

Why did you add the 6 inches after the 4 1/2 shrinkage

[IsaiahLinares-xd]

is it just me or does anyone wonder if that bend would of ended up coming out right ? Where he initially made his center mark ( I think it was 57'') and then did all that calculating just to still have the same initial center mark defeats the purpose. The point is and please correct me if I'm wrong... is for the center mark to to be past 57'' after doing the calculations so that after the shrinkage occurs it ends up being back at 57''. Hope i explained my doubt right

[Grinder]

From the center mark where did you come up with 10.5 inches both directions for the 10 degree bends?

[bapenation]

Just wanted to come & say this worked like a charm using the notch worked perfect !!!

[nicholaswilson]

Thank you for posting this

Im ~1 1/2 year into this trade and have always worked in industrial setting where we run only rigid, aluminum or stainless depending on if its a wet area or not. So ive always used a power bender except for when its time to bend saddles, which i struggle with. After watching your video it looks like i am overbending

[nikogarcia]

Dude, you add the shrink to the center mark. If the center of your obstruction is at 57", and you don't add the shrink to that, your center bend won't line up with the center of the obstruction. You have to add that 1/4", or whatever the shrink may be with the degree of bends you are using, to that center mark. So your center mark would be 57 1/4" to account for shrinkage.
In your example, it doesn't matter because you can move the obstruction to be perfectly center.

[Jonathan-eddz]

So the object is 2 inches. 2 inches for every inch so 4 inches. Plus half a inch for shrinkage. Where does the last 6 inch number come from?

[AtomicNik]

Im pretty sure it goes (and this is how I've always done it)
Step 1? measure middle point
Step 2: ???
Step 3: offset

[jamessolis]

Pro tip, use a dry erase marker. Ive seen many bends with pencil marks left on it.

[charliefrenette]

Where did you get the 6 added inches from?

[sameernelson]

Keep getting your grind on😊.great job.

[meganw]

Rubbing alcohol / isporopanol dissolves permanent marker/Sharpie.
I learned that one in college chem lab, and have used it many times since.

I've even seen people use hand sanitizer (usually ethyl alcohol/ethanol, the same as drinking alcohol) to dissolve Sharpie.

Lots of organic solvents dissolve it, since it's really not so "permanent" at all

[OldenPolyNate]

Thanks Dustin. I’m a super green apprentice and your videos help a lot. Your explanations ate very clear. Thanks

[DYIIdeas]

I always measure to center of obstruction, place mark on conduit at that exact point, then I multiply the height of the obstruction by 2.5 and take that number and go that distance off both sides of the original center mark, and then I use the push through method, first bend on star (22 degrees), second bend on notch (45 degrees) third bend on arrow (22 degrees).

[eazypeazy]

I’m confused where are we getting 4” if you have a 2” object?

[kingroc]

Good teaching, especially for beginners.. I teach my apprentices the push thru method

[haidenwalker]

I had a hater comment typed out about the sharpie and then you brought it up 😂