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g/tools • Posted by u/conduit_king •

Greenlee 555 hydraulic bender — 6 months in, honest review

Finally bought a Greenlee 555 after years of renting. 6-month honest review after about 40 commercial jobs:

What's great:

  • Speed. I can do bends in 1/3 the time vs my old Chicago Electric manual setup.
  • Consistency. Every 90 is the same. Offsets are repeatable with the built-in offset calculator.
  • 1/2" through 2" EMT/IMC/rigid without changing more than the shoe.

What's annoying:

  • The pump hose fittings drip. I've replaced the O-rings twice. Not a dealbreaker but annoying on a $3,000+ tool.
  • Heavier than I expected. Two-man operation for any significant repositioning.
  • The carry case is a separate purchase and it's expensive.

Bottom line: If you're doing commercial work regularly, it pays for itself in labor savings by about month 3. For residential or occasional commercial work, rent it.

💬 3 replies

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u/milwaukee_mark •

What shoes are you running? Klein and Ideal both make aftermarket shoes that some guys prefer for tighter radius bends on specific conduit types. Worth trying if you're finding the stock shoes wearing unevenly.

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u/panel_pete •

Month 3 payback is about right for a guy doing steady commercial. I hit my payback in 6 weeks on a large hospital job where I was doing nothing but 2" rigid for weeks. The per-bend time savings on large conduit is where the 555 really shines.

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u/sparky420 •

Accurate review. The pump fittings are a known weak point on the 555 — Greenlee knows about it and has redesigned the fitting twice. If yours starts leaking again, call Greenlee service before buying parts. They've sent replacement parts free on goodwill for this issue.

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