Spot the Violation

ElectricalRaceways & conduitLevel 22023 NEC

EMT around the duct trunk

Painted concrete block wall in a commercial mechanical room. A galvanized supply duct runs along the ceiling with a rectangular branch dropping down to a wall register. A 3/4 in. EMT run leaves the top of a junction box at the lower left, climbs the wall, turns right, drops down beside the duct, passes under the register, climbs back up on the far side, and turns into the side of a safety switch at the right. The tubing is strapped to the block along the way. Copper water lines run along the floor.
Commercial mechanical room, feed to an exhaust fan disconnect

What's wrong here?

  1. The run has too many bends between pull points
  2. The field bends should have been factory elbows
  3. The tubing is not strapped at least every 5 ft
  4. Nothing. This installation is compliant
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Show the answer and the code reference

The answer

The EMT run between the junction box and the disconnect has five 90-degree bends (450 degrees) with no pull point, exceeding the 360-degree limit.

Correct choice: 1. The run has too many bends between pull points

358.26 limits a run of EMT to the equivalent of four quarter bends (360 degrees total) between pull points such as conduit bodies and boxes. Counting from the box: the turn off the vertical riser, the drop toward the duct, the turn under the duct, the climb on the far side, and the turn into the disconnect make five 90s. Every bend multiplies pulling tension and sidewall pressure, so the conductors get skinned or stretched on the pull, and the run is very hard to repull later.

How to fix it

Add a pull point to break the run into legal sections, for example a conduit body or pull box after the third bend, or reroute (over the duct, or with fewer, shallower offsets) so no section between pull points exceeds 360 degrees.

Code references

  • NEC 2023 358.26 — Bends - Number in One Run

    There shall not be more than the equivalent of four quarter bends (360 degrees total) between pull points, for example, conduit bodies and boxes.

    Drills citing 358.26

  • NEC 2023 358.24 — Bends - How Made

    Bends shall be made so that the tubing is not damaged and the internal diameter of the tubing is not effectively reduced; the radius of the curve of any field bend to the centerline of the tubing shall not be less than shown in Table 2, Chapter 9, for one-shot and full-shoe benders.

    Drills citing 358.24

2026 NEC:same rule and number. The four-quarter-bend (360 degree) limit for EMT stays in Article 358. The 2026 NEC adds new 300.24, which applies the same 360 degree limit to any combination of conduit or tubing types in one run between pull points; that closes the mixed-raceway loophole but does not change this all-EMT answer. Confidence: medium

Minnesota

MN adopts the NEC rule as writtenConfidence: high

Minnesota adopted the 2023 NEC as the Minnesota Electrical Code effective July 1, 2023 (Minn. Stat. 326B.35; Minn. Rules 1315.0200) and adopts the NEC without section-by-section amendments. No Minnesota change to 358.24 or 358.26 is known. Newer permits may fall under a later NEC edition; see the Minnesota page. The Board of Electricity adopted the 2026 NEC, also without amendment, for permits filed on or after Aug. 17, 2026 (exams moved to the 2026 NEC on Sept. 8, 2026); see the 2026 NEC note on this drill.

How Minnesota adopts the NEC

Why the other choices are wrong

  • The field bends should have been factory elbows. 358.24 permits field bends made with a proper bender so the tubing is not damaged and its internal diameter is not effectively reduced.
  • The tubing is not strapped at least every 5 ft. 358.30(A) requires EMT to be fastened at least every 10 ft and within 3 ft of each termination (Exception No. 1 stretches the 3 ft to 5 ft only where framing does not readily permit fastening); the straps here meet that.
  • Nothing. This installation is compliant. Count the quarter bends between the box and the disconnect: there are five, 450 degrees, with no conduit body or box in between.
Code complianceLevel 2 · Journeyman#emt#bends#pull-point#commercial

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