Measuring and cutting your Non Metallic Liquid Tight PVC Electrical Conduit.

Liquid tight electrical conduit comes in a variety of different wall thicknesses and flexibilities.   While there are a number of tools on the market for cutting non-metallic liquid tight, unless you are a professional and will be using these tools frequently, you probably want to resort to the time-trusted method below to measure and cut your PVC electrical conduit.

Let's Do It!

1.   You'll need to equip yourself with a tape measure (a ruler will work for very short distances), a ball of string or cord if you will be measuring around corners or obstructions, paper and a pencil or pen, a marking pen, light colored tape, a hacksaw with a fine cutting blade, a bench vise or other clamping device and a fine metal file.

2.  Time to measure.  If you are running your liquid tight conduit in a straight line only with no bends or obstructions, simply measure the distance between the two points and write your measurement down on the paper.  If you must go around corners, measure all of your straight sections first, noting the measurements on your paper.  Use the string to measure the distance around your corners and measure the length of the string with your tape measure once you straighten the string out.  Remember that your string must be stretched so as to mimic the center of your conduit.  If you are going over or around obstructions, use your string to measure as indicated above. 

3.   Measure against your PVC conduit and place a piece of light colored tape over the area where you need to cut.  Measure again once the tape is in place and draw your line to cut directly on the light colored tape.

4.   Place your conduit in a vise or otherwise secure the conduit for cutting.

5.  Using your hacksaw with the fine cutting blade, carefully cut your conduit along the line you've drawn on your tape.  Be certain to follow your line all the way around the conduit to get a uniform and straight cut.

6.  Remove your conduit from the vise and using a fine metal file, file the ends of your conduit lightly to remove any burrs or inconsistencies remaining from the cutting process.