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EMT Conduit

A

Anonymous

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What lengths is it available in besides 10' ?

How many sticks are in a "bundle" and what should I expect to pay for a bundle at a supply house? Or am I better off to get it from Home Depot?

If you can only get it in 10' lengths, what's the best way to put the ends together?
 
emt conduit is junk it only last about 6 months and starts cracking seen a boat today with that same thing only 6 months old and cracked every where wasted money on powder coating it. now he wants to re rigg it.you need to use dom hydraulic pipe it is alot stronger
 
As far as I know it only comes in 10' sections, don't remember how many was in a bundle.( 25)? I bought mine at the depot and it was around $3.50 each. Braze the two ends together and you won't have a problem, just put your joint at the top when you build your prop hoops. You will need 2 sizes for building a strong cage and I bought a tubing notcher, man that made those joints tight!. Don't leave any holes in your tubing or welds or it will rust, then powder coat it. One more thing, weld tabs on for anything you want to mount, seats, steps, pumps, foot rests ect....

Rick,
 
Hey, CC is right, don't use conduit for anything but the cage. It does split when it is stressed. Ther are 10, 10' lengths in a bundle and Home depot price is 60 bucks a bundle. What you can use for the riggin is thin wall square. 1" for your engine stand and 5/8 for the rest. You can buy a cage "kit" from Alumitech in Orlando for about 200 bucks, including the wire. Everything is pre bent and ready to assemble. I welded mine but if I did it again I would braze it.
 
Conduit its not junk, the conduit from Home Depot is.. The good conduit is called "Silver Slick" it cant be bought from Home Depot... It lasts way longer than 6 months... It looks alot better than that square and its alot lighter, and if braced right its just as strong... Every boat i run with it built out of Silver Slick conduit, there all strong, and hold up great! And trust me, we put them to the limits!!
 
191st_Airboat_rebuilt_in_2000.jpg



The cage on that boat is made out of Electrical Conduit. It was built in 1996 and is still in good shape. The key is to fix the cracks as soon as possible.

This particular cage was welded with Mig, but i agree its easier and just as strong to braze them.


Kevin
 
CC, what is the best way to weld DOM, braize or mig? and can you bend it with a EMT bender?
 
I built the emt conduit cage on my boat over 14 years ago and have never had any cracks form in it. I've had to do repair work to damaged areas, but this was from prop damage. I think brazing is a little better on codiut because the metal doesnt have to get as hot, it may retain more strength.

Larry
 
i dont know why you think coduit is junk. my conduit riggin is five years old, sit outside uncovered and still looks like new. i agree, if you dont fill all the pin holes it will rust. but the same can be said for DOM or chromoly. and as far as weak goes, we run pretty hard in the woods up here and it holds up just as good as ANY other. your riggin flexing has to do more with the bottom of your boat than the material used.
 
the dom you weld with a mig and bend with a conduit bender and by the way Predator0470 the square tubing that I use weighs the same or lighter than conduit my cages are 65 to 75 lbs And the air boat shops said that there cages start at 60 lbs and go to 90 lbs but average is 80 lbs I'm right in there on weight and I have 4 sides to weld to . as for brazing that is better than mig welding conduit but so far some of posts said that they have to work on it I have not yet had to re weld any of my square tubing and we BEAT the crap out of the boat. my last one was built out of 1/2 in square cage and seat package and motor stand out of 1 in. In a fiber glass hull. Every boat that I have rigged had conduit and had to have gussets welded just about every where and then they cracked behind it . I saw a boat yesterday that the rigging was 6 months old and cracked in 4 or 5 different places ,cages do last alot longer than the seat package but build it your way , I'll build it my way
 
kb - Are ya'll running any salt marsh over there? We didn't have good luck with conduit on most rigs, but some lasted really well. Never figured it out, so we got away from them. Between the cracking and mostly interior rust, we just gave up. Of course it could have been the way they were made and who made them.

cc - I would agree with you about welding square tubing. It is much easier for me weld square than welding around round tube. Of course I am a terrible welder. Never have seen a square tube cage over here yet, but cannot imagine any reason it wouldn't work as well.

Two tips on conduit I was told. The only fellow I know that used it around here would drill a hole in the top of all the tubings and fog the inside of the tube with LPS-3, it forms a waxy coat of oil, then weld the hole shut. He also said he sprayed the inside with ospho - a chemical that turns rust into something like gun bluing. But you had to drill a hole at the bottom of the tube to let it all drain. He swore by both those methods and ran in salt water.
 
Pat, we would run some salty marsh but it is once in a blue moon.

I think the main objective in building rigging is keeping it sealed up tight. No oxygen means no corrosion from the inside. (That’s with anything). As far as strength goes, I don't think its possible to punish a boat as much as I do running in the basin in south Louisiana.


That yellow cage is powder coated, and IMO that’s the best thing that can be put on rigging because of its durability. It can increase the life of any rigging regardless of what it is made from.

CC - do you use SS or mild steel or both? Just wondering, if I ever have to build rigging again I will go with SS. Its life long and worth the extra $$$ IMO.



Kevin
 
I use mild steel, a buddy of mine is running all stainless and his has been on his boat since 1999 all the rigging is square and cage is round seems to hold up well he won't stay of dry ground.
 
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