# Any tips on pulling wire.



## Dizzykidd (Aug 3, 2016)

I've been pulling wire for a few weeks now and it sucks. I didn't pipe any of it and a lot of it is long runs and over bends. Any tips that would make this easier would be appreciated. Oh and having the guy who piped it pull wore is not an option


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

What size of wire?

Are you using soap?

What type of pipe?

What are you pulling with? Steel, rope, etc.


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## Dizzykidd (Aug 3, 2016)

Just number 12 homeruns 3/4 pipe using steel fish tape that we barely can even get through most of the runs


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## bostonPedro (Nov 14, 2017)

Use lube. If you cant see each other than use radios to count off. Usually small wire pulls are tough because the person that should be feeding the wire is messing up and not properly feeding the wire.


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## kg7879 (Feb 3, 2014)

Cut in some pull points and do not pull with a fish tape. Use a string instead and use soap.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

Run your pipe better.

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## zac (May 11, 2009)

kg7879 said:


> Cut in some pull points and do not pull with a fish tape. Use a string instead and use soap.


Unless of course it's pvc (string).

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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

If PVC under-slab home runs:

Blow with air// vacuum with air -- use both to get some jet-line in there.

Don't dream of pulling with jet-line -- use #10 THHN _stranded_ as your pull line.

It won't dig into the PVC -- as a rule. I save salvaged #10 stranded for just this purpose.

If the wire is too short, it can be chained up -- the usual splicing will work -- unless you're a dunce.

If EMT// RMC etc.

Blow with air// vacuum with air -- use both to get some jet-line in there.

If this does not work, use Ideal Rapid Pak S-Class fish tape to fish conventionally.

If you can't afford this tool, use a Klein 240 foot steel tape to set your pull line.

It should also be #10 THHN stranded -- if you've got it.

If not, use Mule Tape.

If that's not available as a pull line, fall back to jet-line.

If you've got a TON of pulls, rig up a Greenlee 805 puller. It's designed for branch runs. It has a much higher linear speed than feeder tuggers. It also has a force limit feature -- so that it does not break your jet-line.

&&&

Make your heads up tight, feed _stranded_ conductors for the long pulls.

Lube as required... though this ought to be unnecessary for such runs.

NEVER pull with steel through EMT. It's HIGH FRICTION. Most of your tugging energy is going into steel-to-steel friction -- not the pull. This ultimately destroys your fish steel and your back.

Pulling in a single run of #10 THHN stranded goes lickety split.

Work from the longest down to the shortest.

Save the #10 THHN stranded for the next job. Only scrap it out after it's all beat up.

&&&

Go and sin no more. :biggrin:


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Just like clockwork.................... :vs_laugh:


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## adamclark52 (Sep 4, 2017)

always use the ****ing soap. so many of the guys I work with are too lazy to bother but goddamn it makes a difference. 

I can see one reason not to use it in my field (which is service and very small jobs) and that is it tends to get all over the floor. And that yellow goo looks great on carpet or someones desk. But still, I'd rather a little cleanup then a ****ing nightmare of a pull


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

It reads like fishing the EMT is the problem.
I have been using a spray silicone on the snake and on the pull head or slip stick. I'm not a fan of wet lube.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Get a line through, then tie a piece of rag on it. Gob the rag with lube and pull in back through. When it gets to the other side, gob it again. Mop the inside of the pipe back and forth until it's good and slick.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

A little lube can make a big difference. 
@RePhase277 's suggestion with a towel is a great method, I use a strip of a towel and really soak it, makes a huge difference. 
@Southeast Power 's silicone idea - I have done it in a pinch but get a little nervous since it's not officially approved for the insulation / jacket. Silicon is non reactive but silicone is silicon in some kind of base, you never know what the base might do. And if silicone gets on things it can stain. I sometimes spray the fish tape inside the case with silicone but I'd prefer Pledge or other wax based if it's around. Both of those stay on the metal better than WD40 or etc. 

American Polywater makes good lube you can apply with a pump spray bottle, you can spray it right into the conduit and spray it on the wire on the spool, works very well and it's thin, clear, low mess, non-staining. I think 3M also makes one like this but haven't tried it. 

The Ideal clear glide is way better than nothing, easy to find, everyone sells it around here, it's a little thicker than the spray-able stuff and non staining. Sometimes the thicker lubes really do work better though, it's black magic figuring out which will work best. Sometimes the blue, sometimes the yellow.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I have one of the plastic fish tapes from Southwire, sometimes it's useless, sometimes it's great. 










It has very little friction but it has very little stiffness to push through things. If you have too many 90s sometimes it will go great up until the last one then won't push past no matter what you do. 

Sometimes that fish tape is a great pull string; you push through with a steel tape, then pull back the plastic tape, and use that to pull the wire through. You can combine this with soaking up the rag with lube for the return trip.


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## tommydh (Feb 7, 2014)

I have had success with "snagging" the fish tape withan older sacrificial tape from other end to be able to pull the remainder of the run if it will not push. As far as pulling the wire A) get yourself some Mule Tape its a great measuring tool also, B) Just as in sticking things in holes LUBE it UP and C Stagger the wire and dont be afraid to make it a longer head. I've been able to get way more than allowable in 3/4 when doing control stations by just every 3 or 4 wires make a longer head. When all else fails find a place to either pull apart or install pull condulet. Make sure your not pulling at too sharp of angle to connectors try to pull as straigt out as you can get one of those handy box mounted pulling plates with rollers.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

Grab this and lube up! The methods listed above are helpful but use caution. Pulling a string, cloth and another tape is basically 3 pulls a conduit! My old company wanted wire attached on the first try (unless we had to mandrel).

Avoid running 1/2 conduit unless it's switch legs for lighting. 
Use stranded wire. 
30 degree offsets and longer box offsets.
Try more pull boxes and stay under 360 degrees in bends.
Make sure your couplings and connectors are butt tight. I try and bend and cut conduit once so I've cheated many connections, this will cause more friction. 
Like someone's said a leader works great! 

If this doesn't help call ponyboy.









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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

As Telsa said make a tight head. Strip the stranded wire back 4" and cut off half the strands in each #12 then make up your head. When you pull wire whoever is feeding must feed when you pull (you'll both get into a rhythm). Soap the head & every 10'. You could try an Ideal staggered eyelet or stagger the head yourself by by stripping back some wires 4" & some 6".

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZZDDGS/?tag=network20-20


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

If there are too many bends in a run exceeding 360deg you may need to cut in a box to stop busting your own balls.

Lube silicone is great as Southeast mentioned.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

zac said:


> Grab this and lube up! The methods listed above are helpful but use caution.* Pulling a string, cloth and another tape is basically 3 pulls a conduit! My old company wanted wire attached on the first try (unless we had to mandrel).*
> 
> Avoid running 1/2 conduit unless it's switch legs for lighting.
> Use stranded wire.
> ...


This is a COMMON philosophy.

Side-by-side my approach blows it away.

*I just don't have pulling failures. *

They stopped ENTIRELY when I shifted tactics.

My fish steel is ten-years old. It fishes like the day I bought it.

No-one pulling conductors with steel can make that claim.

In actual practice, in Commercial work, most fish steels are ruined after one big job.

They are such a mess by the end that they belong in the garbage. 

They can't deploy or wind up at anything like original speed.

But this ^^^ is acceptable to goons that think that it's folly to pull in a dedicated pull line.

:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:

I punk them every time.

It takes but SECONDS to pull in #10 THHN stranded. 

Said pull line is EASY on the hands, too.

Side-by-side, everyone else loses. 

Test it out.

You'll be amazed. :biggrin:

Yeah, it's counter-intuitive. 

Thank me later. :smile:


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## mitch65 (Mar 26, 2015)

Dizzykidd said:


> I've been pulling wire for a few weeks now and it sucks. I didn't pipe any of it and a lot of it is long runs and over bends. Any tips that would make this easier would be appreciated. Oh and having the guy who piped it pull wore is not an option


Pull hard, it'll go easy. lube, lots of lube.


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## Arrow3030 (Mar 12, 2014)

If the run was designed below NEC standards than you can't expect the pull to be easy or even possible. That is one area where you want to exceed NEC requirements IMO.

Here's my advise. 

Sometimes you need more muscles.

Not necessarily the burly kind like your arms or back.

I use to be a weeny when it came to pulling because I'd struggle with anything remotely difficult. Once I figured out my hands were the first part to get fatigued I started to wrap the mule or poly line around my linemans with a couple of quick half hitches.

I've saved a few erroneously designed runs doing this.

None of this matters if the person feeding is goofing off.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Not much more to offer..everything's been covered...just don't
be cheap with the Luvin'

just curious...you said someone else installed the conduit.
Friend or Foe?:whistling2:


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## mikedl361 (Dec 24, 2016)

Probably a different topic but once you get that fish tape out on the other end make sure who ever is tying that wire to the fish tape knows what there doing. Man does it suck when your fighting with a pipe run to get out on the other end, you finally make it out and then your fish tape comes apart because it wasn't taped/ tied off correctly. I prefer to sheep shank the wire. I don't really trust taping unless its really short distances.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

mikedl361 said:


> Probably a different topic but once you get that fish tape out on the other end make sure who ever is tying that wire to the fish tape knows what there doing. Man does it suck when your fighting with a pipe run to get out on the other end, you finally make it out and then your fish tape comes apart because it wasn't taped/ tied off correctly. I prefer to sheep shank the wire. I don't really trust taping unless its really short distances.


When you say sheepshank you mean a full wrap of the wire around the steel before you tape it up?


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## GeneC (Aug 28, 2017)

I'll use a fish tape for very short runs less than 100' and straight. One thing it has to be wound back up and everybody hates it. Most often I suck a jet line in and use it to pull short runs, it is pretty strong for easy pulls and you don't have to wind it back up. I also have about 200' of #10 THHN that was pulled out from a job and use that often as was mentioned. I do long pulls of over 300' from pole to pole sometimes 7#6's in 1-1/2 PVC for those I make a very long almost 2' head and use paracord, lube and the biggest guy I can get my hands on since I don't have a power puller. Even used a golf car once to make a long pull. They were not electricians but guys with big egos, I can pull that through there no problem, till get 1/2 way and this sucks then it costs me a couple beers at end of day, but my arms are not sore.


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## mikedl361 (Dec 24, 2016)

splatz said:


> When you say sheepshank you mean a full wrap of the wire around the steel before you tape it up?


that's exactly correct, some may think its overkill but Id rather get it right the first time.


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## mikedl361 (Dec 24, 2016)

GeneC said:


> I'll use a fish tape for very short runs less than 100' and straight. One thing it has to be wound back up and everybody hates it. Most often I suck a jet line in and use it to pull short runs, it is pretty strong for easy pulls and you don't have to wind it back up. I also have about 200' of #10 THHN that was pulled out from a job and use that often as was mentioned. I do long pulls of over 300' from pole to pole sometimes 7#6's in 1-1/2 PVC for those I make a very long almost 2' head and use paracord, lube and the biggest guy I can get my hands on since I don't have a power puller. Even used a golf car once to make a long pull. They were not electricians but guys with big egos, I can pull that through there no problem, till get 1/2 way and this sucks then it costs me a couple beers at end of day, but my arms are not sore.


I've been on jobs were, I know it was wrong to do it but it had to get done, we used a scissor lift as our muscle to get the wire outta the pipe. Even at that the lift was straining to lift up high due to the weight outta the pipe.


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## sdelgado5650 (Nov 13, 2017)

Thumbs down on lube man.. I really hate demos where the installer gooped it up. It's not always necessary. Unless you're running cmils or multiple 4/0 in a 2 inch or something like that.. it just ain't worth it. I work in a factory where peoples minds change daily. Where they wanted the machine today can change by tomorrow. Chain your wire when pulling solo on longer runs. Stagger your wires to streamline and prevent snags. No huge peckerheads !!! Use sinch knots or wraps to give more grip as you pull. When you're starting out you just want to go at it get it done, but really what you need to do is stop and think. I've caught myself doing stuff backwards many times and flipped my pull around to see it was much easier . Just stop and think if only for a minute  

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## pjholguin (May 16, 2014)

A leader works great until it unscrews from the fishtape and falls in to the panel landing on a phase...:vs_cool::




zac said:


> Grab this and lube up! The methods listed above are helpful but use caution. Pulling a string, cloth and another tape is basically 3 pulls a conduit! My old company wanted wire attached on the first try (unless we had to mandrel).
> 
> Avoid running 1/2 conduit unless it's switch legs for lighting.
> Use stranded wire.
> ...


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## JLL (May 24, 2017)

*Southwire fish tape*

SOUTHWIRE has a fishtape that I could push thru 8 EMT 90's and I would guess it would also pull out with much less effort than steel


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Telsa's idea was good.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

pjholguin said:


> A leader works great until it unscrews from the fishtape and falls in to the panel landing on a phase...:vs_cool::


I tape the seam. 
Anyways phase to phase is overrated. 

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## pjholguin (May 16, 2014)

It went phase to panel cover bouncing back and forth...it was quite a show with lights surging on and off! And after that, I have never used one again:vs_no_no_no:. It had been on the fish tape for ~4 years before this happened with no issues. You live and learn and sometimes you don't get that second chance:hang:. 



zac said:


> I tape the seam.
> Anyways phase to phase is overrated.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

The OP is dealing with a new build. The panels are all cold.

Hence his complaint about repetition.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Sounds like a poor management issue. Was there a foreman on this project? Use this as a learning experience, and remember it the next time you run conduit.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

pjholguin said:


> It went phase to panel cover bouncing back and forth...it was quite a show with lights surging on and off! And after that, I have never used one again:vs_no_no_no:. It had been on the fish tape for ~4 years before this happened with no issues. You live and learn and sometimes you don't get that second chance:hang:.


Wow that's pretty heavy, in glad nobody got hurt. I didn't think that actually happened. 
Well you could pull your branch circuits with one?

I was working on a job with some incomplete as builts as our guide. 
We we're pulling wire but the conduits weren't property marked. Anyways the lead guy was pushing in the fish tape while I was searching for it's termination when all of a sudden I screamed stop! I could here the fish tape coiling under a live transformer! Nearly had a hearty on the spot. 

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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

zac said:


> Wow that's pretty heavy, in glad nobody got hurt. I didn't think that actually happened.
> Well you could pull your branch circuits with one?
> 
> I was working on a job with some incomplete as builts as our guide.
> ...


What some fellas will do for kicks. :surprise:


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

zac said:


> Wow that's pretty heavy, in glad nobody got hurt. I didn't think that actually happened.
> Well you could pull your branch circuits with one?
> 
> I was working on a job with some incomplete as builts as our guide.
> ...


I guess next time vacuum the line with a vac, then, listen for the sound on the other end?


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Bird dog said:


> I guess next time vacuum the line with a vac, then, listen for the sound on the other end?


Use an air horn -- the kind so common at college football games. :biggrin:


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I just ran 70' of 1/2'' EMT. There were 7x 90's a 3 point saddle, a few kicks and offsets.

Because of the strategically placed LB's and junction box, it was a breeze to pull. Hell, we didn't even use a fishtape. Hell, I didn't even put a head on the wires, I just folded them over without tape and shoved them in the conduit.

I'm so awesome.


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## Arrow3030 (Mar 12, 2014)

TGGT said:


> I just ran 70' of 1/2'' EMT. There were 7x 90's a 3 point saddle, a few kicks and offsets.
> 
> Because of the strategically placed LB's and junction box, it was a breeze to pull. Hell, we didn't even use a fishtape. Hell, I didn't even put a head on the wires, I just folded them over without tape and shoved them in the conduit.
> 
> I'm so awesome.


That run must have looked like a tribal tattoo!

That's a lot of squiggly lines in a short run...


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

Arrow3030 said:


> That run must have looked like a tribal tattoo!
> 
> That's a lot of squiggly lines in a short run...


It was. Went from indoors to outdoors, over a gate down and around the entrance to their outdoor storage to a switch then a light. Only 1 penetration. Could've been two but didn't have a hammer drill and didn't want to penetrate the roof and have to flash it. I'm still basking in the glory of my success over a well deserved porter.

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## RICK BOYD (Mar 10, 2008)

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-32-oz-White-Wire-Pulling-Lubricant/3376896


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