# Hoppy Bender



## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

I suspect that gage thing on the side wouldn't last one day on a busy job site.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

There's one right at the counter at my main supply house. I have been wanting to try it but have been holding off. 
If I did pipe work every day I probably would get it, but right now it's not worth it.


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## user5941 (Mar 16, 2009)

Throw it in the back of the truck stack stuff on it then drop it fron 8-10 feet several times on to concrete back over it with a lift leave it out in the rain for a month then try it and tell me how you like it.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

Is that how you treat your tools? 
I have had benders for years that the handles have hardly any paint missing, and NO, it is not from lack of use.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

is that the bender with that stopper?


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

NolaTigaBait said:


> is that the bender with that stopper?


Yeah. The one from Rack-A-Tiers.


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## gilbequick (Oct 6, 2007)

Looks like a good idea but wow, look at the price of those things. IMO a better idea would be to have holes in the side of a normal bender at set increments so that you could slide a pin through it and stick a cotter pin or the like to keep the pin from falling out. If you don't want to use that feature then stick the pin in a non-functional slot out of the way until you need it. This would be a flat pin inserted at a given angle through the bender as to not kink or dent in the conduit.

There you go, now go out and make it and send me the royalties







.


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## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

rewire said:


> Throw it in the back of the truck stack stuff on it then drop it fron 8-10 feet several times on to concrete back over it with a lift leave it out in the rain for a month then try it and tell me how you like it.


 have to agree with rewire; our guys beat heck out of benders, but then they did'nt pay for them. benders for prybars. oh well.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

Speedy Petey said:


> Yeah. The one from Rack-A-Tiers.


ok, it looks like a great tool...i'm pretty delicate with my stuff...


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I like Rack-a-Tiers stuff generally, but this thing looks gimmicky.


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## tieelectric (Mar 27, 2009)

If someone rolled up on my job with one of those I would rather they buy factory bent 90's and stuff.


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## user5941 (Mar 16, 2009)

Speedy Petey said:


> Is that how you treat your tools?
> I have had benders for years that the handles have hardly any paint missing, and NO, it is not from lack of use.


 The question is are they used to bend conduit on a constrution site. I find it hard to believe they have been in use for years without hardly a scuff on the paint .


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## wingz (Mar 21, 2009)

I can not verify his credentials, but the inventor claims to be a electrician So I wonder if it is a "real" tool or not? btw this from a post today

http://www.electriciantalk.com/f3/new-guy-ma-6082/#post67568

Hello out there in computerville
Just joined your blog today. Name is Greg, retired electrian of 38 years. I invented the Hoppy bender [ sold by Rack-A-Tiers ]. Would be glad to answer any questions about it. [ Made In U.S.A.]
[email protected]
Thank You
Hoppy


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

I like my "Gay" Benders with a magnetic torpedo level.(sorry,I meant Grey).Thought it was Happy,not Hopee


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## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

83 minutes vs. 27 minutes w/trad. vs. Hoppy? Don't buy it, not for a minute. Hard to believe they think the deflection will be exact on every run of pipe Not saying it's not a good concept, but precise??? Well, I'd need to hear otherwise firsthand:001_huh:


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## Shaffer87 (Feb 11, 2009)

Im happy with a standard ideal bender. Although it does appear that you can bend a 90 standing up... that would be usefull.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

This is the first time I have ever seen this bender. Think I will just keep using my Ideal benders.


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## user5941 (Mar 16, 2009)

I am working on a slide adapter that will work on any bender that is very similar to this


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

For hand benders,I still have 30 year old Appleton or Ideal "Bendfield Benders.Rusty,but accurate. G.B. benders have different handle degrees for bends.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

wingz said:


> I am curious if anybody has used this? I do not bend conduit very often and the tool seems to be kind of cool.
> 
> http://cableorganizer.com/rack-a-tiers/hoppy-bender.html#features


It looks like a bender with training wheels


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

jrannis said:


> It looks like a bender with training wheels


 
:laughing:


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

jrannis said:


> It looks like a bender with training wheels





william1978 said:


> :laughing:


:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

william1978 said:


> :laughing:





eddy current said:


> :laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

I see I am not the only one that likes Ideal benders. :thumbsup:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Speedy Petey said:


> I see I am not the only one that likes Ideal benders. :thumbsup:


x2. I have plenty of Ideals from ½ to 1¼ I work with every day, with a couple of Garbage-Benders that do nothing but collect dust in the garage.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

i like the ideal i have 1/2 and 3/4 also have the 1/2 and 1 inch garbage bender...i can use both will no problems


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## lbwireman (Jan 22, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> I like Rack-a-Tiers stuff generally, but this thing looks gimmicky.
> 
> Yup. Bendin' pipe ain't all that difficult if yur payin' attention and mind some basic formulas. Personally, it's one of my favorite things.
> 
> BTW Marc, it's good to see ya again.


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## lbwireman (Jan 22, 2007)

duplicate


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## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

did IDEAL buy out the old BENFIELD co. ???:blink: i prefer the BENFIELD style over the SITE-RITE. been a long time since i saw a real benfield bender.


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## Red Wiggler (Jan 22, 2009)

*bender*

That bender may assist a person when bending saddles and offsets (at least assist in making the bends with equal degrees) but it doesn't prevent "dogs" in the saddles. Another tool to assist the "installers" of electrical work. Most "electricians" don't need un-necessary gadgets.


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

wingz said:


> I can not verify his credentials, but the inventor claims to be a electrician So I wonder if it is a "real" tool or not? btw this from a post today
> 
> http://www.electriciantalk.com/f3/new-guy-ma-6082/#post67568
> 
> ...




Still not sure how I got dragged into this thread?LOL

Looks ok to me but have had good luck with my Greenlee benders.

Tom


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## paul_arc (Mar 31, 2009)

that bender looks like a pain, have to adjust the gismo on the side every different degree you want to make. If your a quick conduit bender like I am I could just see me breaking that stop and kinking the out side of the emt. you should be able to make most bends without even looking at the degree mark on the bender.
Handle straight up youve got a 30* pipe straight up you got a 90*, nothing to it!


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Looks like a fine idea. All the guys poo pooing it without trying it, well, I guess you really do start to sound like your father when you get older...

Also, drop ANY bender from a lift 8 or 10 times, back over it and cram junk on in the back of a truck and see how good it is. I'm sure Benfield heard the same stuff from hickey-toting old timers when he invented the radius shoe bender.


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## nick (Feb 14, 2008)

InPhase277 said:


> Looks like a fine idea. All the guys poo pooing it without trying it, well, I guess you really do start to sound like your father when you get older...
> 
> Also, drop ANY bender from a lift 8 or 10 times, back over it and cram junk on in the back of a truck and see how good it is. I'm sure Benfield heard the same stuff from hickey-toting old timers when he invented the radius shoe bender.


Well Inphase we agree !! 
everyone had that idea ? 

But no one else made it !!!
But this electrician!!
Then they say hes not a electrician whats that ?

They say its not good enough ?
And there all experts at bending conduit ?

Give the electrician who made that a little respect hes just like us people but took the time to design a new way to bend conduit for us to use to help us do our jobs better. Iam one of those hickey toters Inphase !!
I bend lots of conduit everyday and iam not just blowin smoke ,i can see it works fine and would help your green helper to bend basic stuff easy . this is not one of those digital pictures ive bent pipe a few years take care best to yas http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt195/stringking/pipes001-1-1.jpg


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

It looks like a bender to assist with offsets. A lot of electricians lean towards a favorite offset angle. Mine is 45 degrees (X 1.41). I suppose I could drill a couple holes in my bender, but it isn't that hard even if it takes a second adjustment. Besides, if you're bending 90s & 45s you lose any gain by playing with the bender.

Most stuff like this ends up in a pile in the shop & then I use the same tool/method I've been using for years.


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## nick (Feb 14, 2008)

Well we kinda look at this hoppy as a production assembly line bender that if you had a rack with say 38 or 40 conduits in a row ya know with a offset included in that run say 3/4 or 1 inch inch pipe size this stop adjustment on that hoppy bender would help on a mass production run each bent angle would be faster then your non stop bender .
Like per fab conduit bends with low paid helpers . 
When we bend conduit we never use a 45 deg its too much of a angle for long pulling wire pulls we always use a 30 or 15 deg.
most electricians who use 45 deg on offsets to me are lazy its too easy!! If ya bend a 15 or 30 is easy to pull wire in the long run .
Most electricians in commercial or industrial on large projects who run hundreds of feet each day meaning racks of conduit same offset, same rack, same bent angle, this would be a nice tool .
The electric benders greenlee make have a automatic degree angle electronic stop you bend your angle say 15 deg. press memory on button and your offset angle is set now you can bend 38 pipes then flip and do the same thing . think about large product not you mom and pop shops .take care be safe and dont kink you pipe today


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## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

nicks right on the 30 deg. i use 45 deg only in a " have to " situation.


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## jshultz229 (Apr 6, 2009)

i worked with greg the inventor of this bender up until he retired and it is a very useful tool. its actually made in the USA not some china junk. and they do take a beating so don't knock it until you try it. maybe for the little one man shops they wouldn't be practical, but when you get on a big job with a lot of young apprentices that really don't know how to bend or quite have the hang of it yet, you can give them the hoppy bender, show them how to set it and they're fine.


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## Better Electrician (Apr 6, 2009)

I have used this bender. It really does work and it works very well. The slider simply
stops the conduit from bending then you flip it over and make your next bend. As long
as you don't dog leg it you will have perfect bends every time. There is a good video
of this bender on my site.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Better Electrician said:


> I have used this bender. It really does work and it works very well. The slider simply
> stops the conduit from bending then you flip it over and make your next bend. As long
> as you don't dog leg it you will have perfect bends every time. There is a good video
> of this bender on my site.


Hey, welcome to the forum.:thumbup:


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

jshultz229 said:


> i worked with greg the inventor of this bender up until he retired and it is a very useful tool. its actually made in the USA not some china junk. and they do take a beating so don't knock it until you try it. maybe for the little one man shops they wouldn't be practical, but when you get on a big job with a lot of young apprentices that really don't know how to bend or quite have the hang of it yet, you can give them the hoppy bender, show them how to set it and they're fine.


Or you could teach them bending theory, and how to make bends with ANY bender and they're fine for the rest of their lives - no matter what brand of bender the shop they''re working in happens to have. 

But of course, to see the benifit in that you have to have your mind on some other issues then the immediate shop and job profits.


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