Greenlee Chicago

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fireryan

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Just replaced our old greenlee 1800 bender. Bought a brand new one and the thing rolls offsets terrible. Can't figure out why. Is it just misaligned from the factory? I can't figure out how to fix it. Anybody ever find a way to fix this problem
 
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fireryan

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Yes it's all greased up. I got the book but it was damaged in shipping so you can't read it. I don't think that grease point would affect the roll of the bender though. Could be wrong though


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fireryan

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Yes I use a no dog. Whenever you put pressure on the handle to bend the pipe begins to roll. The only way to use it is to hold onto the pipe with a pair of channel locks while you bend so it doesn't roll. Does the same on single bends also


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K8MHZ

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
fireryan said:
Yes I use a no dog. Whenever you put pressure on the handle to bend the pipe begins to roll. The only way to use it is to hold onto the pipe with a pair of channel locks while you bend so it doesn't roll. Does the same on single bends also


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Click to expand...

My best guess, then, is that the unit is defective.

You should probably contact the place you bought it from.
 
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fireryan

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Trying to avoid sending the thing back if I can fix it myself. This is not the first time I've seen a bender roll and I'm sure everyone else has to. Somebody has to know why?


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C

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
Take a close look and see if you have a casting ridge running down the middle of the shoe where the pipe sits. It's common in handbenders, I can't say I've looked at our Chicago shoes for it though. But if you can see or feel one, that would make the conduit want to roll to one side or the other in the shoe once you start putting pressure on it.

A die grinder and burr bit should make quick work of removing the ridge.
 
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fireryan

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
No I haven't put any grease on the shoe or slides. I'll check for the ridge on the shoe and see if I can find anything


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Fulthrotl

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Location
HB, CA (19 Hrs. 22 Min. from Winged Horses)
Occupation
E
fireryan said:
All sizes
Click to expand...

first, it's not fixable.
the axle for the shoe isn't parallel with the pivoting foot.

try this:

use wire pulling lube instead of grease. less of a mess.
get the shoe and the foot lubed.
clamp in a piece of pipe, and instead of using a no dog,
put a short piece of strut strapped level.
bend a 45 bend. put a digital level on the strut and see how
much it rolls.

flip it over, and make a second bend.
set the strut level before bending.

it should roll the same way the same amount, giving you a
flat bend. the two bends should cancel out.

now, this PITA will give you hell every time you try to bend
multiple bends and kicks on one piece of pipe.

return it and get your money back.

over the years, i've started looking askance at greenlee products.
it seems they are just cashing out the equity on their name, making
stuff that isn't good, and charging the hell out of you for it.

i bought a 600' greenlee pull rope, and after the first pull, there were strands
separating the entire length of the rope, and that rope never hit 1,000# on
the strain gauge when i pulled that run. rolled it up, and back it went to the
wholesale house. bought a maxxis rope to replace it.

i honestly feel the brand isn't a good value any more.
 
don_resqcapt19

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
K8MHZ said:
Just personally, I prefer Lidseen Benders, the REAL Chicago Benders. I have two and they are a joy to use. If I had to bring the Greenlee back, I would get a Lidseen.

http://www.chicagobender.com/Models.html
Click to expand...
I like that bender too. We use them all the time for our industrial projects. I find that they are much quicker for detailed conduit runs than a power bender like a 555...of course most of the conduit is 3/4".

We have built a couple of work carts by bolting a Lideen bender on the end of a Knack 62 work bench box and adding a Rigid 535 threader to the top.
 
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