goodwill,
In the past, I used the 3” blankets for 1/2” to 1” instead of using the right size. It definitely overheats and shortens the lives of the blankets. I don’t do it anymore though, now that those Greenlee 3” blankets are in the $400.00 range.
Now what I normally use is a large Master 750/1000 degree heat gun. It doesn’t take that long to heat small diameter PVC if you tape the ends of the pipe. You have a lot more control over the heat and you can also heat a larger area all at once than the small blanket does for longer radius sweeps and bends.
I bend offsets for LB’s with the pipe in place, as long as it doesn’t present a fire hazard, which is almost never, even with wood shingles and clapboard. I use a wet rag behind the LB for a building with vinyl siding.
The only real down side, as least for me, is that I have to stay with the pipe as I’m heating it, so I can’t do other tasks.
I’ve even used the Master heat gun on 2" in a pinch when I didn't have a blanket in the truck.
