# Best Fishtape?



## iAmCam (Dec 3, 2007)

Looking at picking up a fishtape for my tool collection. What's the best brand to get? Looking at ideals and greenlee. How are the new klein fishtapes?


----------



## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I have never purchased a Klein, only Ideal and Greenlee.

Sent from my phone using Electrician Talk while on the toilet


----------



## tommu56 (Nov 19, 2010)

I prefer the Ideal S class fiberglass ones with the leader.


----------



## Jmohl (Apr 26, 2011)

fiberglass or nylon are nice, until you break the ferrule off.....


----------



## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Don't waste your money on one of those fiberglass fish tapes.. it is like trying to push a length of well cooked spaghetti through a conduit..

Looks great in the box but sucks big time in the real world.. 

I use a basic metal snake and it always works great..

I cut off the factory head.. took a propane torch.. heated the end to cherry red and bent it around a 8D nail..

Let is cool down.. add a few wraps of Scotck 33+ and you have the best setup possible.. :thumbsup:


----------



## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I have an Ideal 60' fiberglass. It is flat, not round and has a fiberglass tip. After a very big boom and taking out a 200 amp fuse and all the 277 volt lighting on the floor, I will never insert a metal fish tape in a conduit with live conductors.


----------



## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

knowshorts said:


> I have an Ideal 60' fiberglass. It is flat, not round and has a fiberglass tip. After a very big boom and taking out a 200 amp fuse and all the 277 volt lighting on the floor, I will never insert a metal fish tape in a conduit with live conductors.


We all know that..LMFAO!!

Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


----------



## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

I have always liked ideals fishtapes, haven't really used anything other than ideal and Greenlee. Kleins fishtapes have a foot marking on them which looks handy. Bottom line with fishtapes though is that they get pretty beat up very fast so any of the brand names will probably do the job.


----------



## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

Salvatoreg02 said:


> We all know that..LMFAO!!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


I didn't hit the buss. One of the original hots got nicked during the original pull. The nick was resting in the conduit face up and not touching the inside wall. As soon as the tape touched the nick, boom. A fiberglass tape could of possibly done the same thing, by moving that wire, causing the boom.


----------



## B W E (May 1, 2011)

cdnelectrician said:


> Kleins fishtapes have a foot marking on them which looks handy.


I have the Klein with the foot markings.... Very handy for long runs to keep wire costs down and much faster than pulling a jet line.


----------



## kbsparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Of all the snakes we have used, Ideal's stainless steel has worked best for us. No rust!











I understand that foot markings are now standard on these, making estimating conduit run lengths an easy task.


----------



## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

knowshorts said:


> I didn't hit the buss. One of the original hots got nicked during the original pull. The nick was resting in the conduit face up and not touching the inside wall. As soon as the tape touched the nick, boom. A fiberglass tape could of possibly done the same thing, by moving that wire, causing the boom.


Yeah but the chances of that are one in a trillion, that's something a rookie would. O thought it was funny because something almost similar to me the first day as a apprentice happened to me. Except without the KABooMM. I had to clean the snow off all the journeymen's cars as punishment!!!

Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


----------



## tommu56 (Nov 19, 2010)

Jmohl said:


> fiberglass or nylon are nice, until you break the ferrule off.....



repair kit 










http://www.idealindustries.com/prodDetail.do?prodId=31-156&div=5&l1=fish_tapes&l2=accessories

about $100.00 

Unofficially Ive crimped a ring lug on to it and spun the tape end to end in the case to get by till I got a new leader.


----------



## Jmohl (Apr 26, 2011)

Whole new steel fish tape, $50, the math doesn't work for me...:001_huh:


----------



## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

knowshorts said:


> I have an Ideal 60' fiberglass. It is flat, not round and has a fiberglass tip. After a very big boom and taking out a 200 amp fuse and all the 277 volt lighting on the floor, I will never insert a metal fish tape in a conduit with live conductors.


Why the FK would you do that anyway? :no:


----------



## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

tommu56 said:


> repair kit
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Even less if you already have the Crimpmaster.
You can get the die and the new ends separately.


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Why the FK would you do that anyway? :no:


 It is done all the time..


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

HARRY304E said:


> It is done all the time..


Yes, by morons.


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

iAmCam said:


> Looking at picking up a fishtape for my tool collection. What's the best brand to get? Looking at ideals and greenlee. How are the new klein fishtapes?


If you are going to buy a fiber glass tape buy one of these they work good.:thumbsup:



http://www.toolup.com/ideal_31-061_...lass-fish-tape-with-leader-100-feet-long.aspx


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Peter D said:


> Yes, by morons.



You are funny.:laughing:


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

HARRY304E said:


> You are funny.:laughing:


So pushing a metal snake into a conduit with live conductors is a smart idea? This ought to be good. :laughing:


----------



## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Peter D said:


> So pushing a metal snake into a conduit with live conductors is a smart idea? This ought to be good. :laughing:


No.. it is not a smart idea.. just real world working conditions..

Sometimes you can't kill the power..


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

B4T said:


> No.. it is not a smart idea.. just real world working conditions..
> 
> Sometimes you can't kill the power..


There's no sense even debating this with you. You're old, stubborn, and stuck in your ways and you will never change. That's how you end up as a statistic.


----------



## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Peter D said:


> There's no sense even debating this with you. You're old, stubborn, and stuck in your ways and you will never change. That's how you end up as a statistic.


So you think I am the only electrician that puts a snake through a conduit without shutting the building down.. sure.. nothing wrong with you.. :no:


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

B4T said:


> So you think I am the only electrician that puts a snake through a conduit without shutting the building down.. sure.. nothing wrong with you.. :no:


Again, you say the craziest stuff. Can you point out where I said that? I'm saying there is no point debating this issue with you because you are stuck in your ways and can't be convinced that doing that is stupid and dangerous.


----------



## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

Them fiberglass fishing sticks are pretty cool. I have a Klein 50" that needs some WD-40 and a rag every once in a while.

We've never stuck a fish tape of any kind into a pipe with live wiring. If they don't like it they can get someone else to do the job but we've never once had a problem as we inform the customers that power needs to be killed. They seem to understand.


----------



## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Why the FK would you do that anyway? :no:


The reason I did it was simple. Electric room was standard 6x8 room with a hard lid surrounded on all sides by fire walls. Ceiling height was lower than surrounding t-bar ceilings, so new conduit had to run from panel up into un-accessible void above ceiling and through firewall to corridor. I opened up the 480/277 volt panel and found a 3/4" emt with only a couple circuits in it that was going exactly where I needed it to. Plenty of room left for my circuits. Entire conduit length was less than 20'. I tried pushing my wire through and had no luck. No ground wire to use. So I grabbed my fish tape that was on the cart. If the previous guy didn't screw up then there never would have been a problem. 

Call it how you see it. I found away to get my conductors home by saving time and without leaving patching for the building owner. I learned a lesson that day. Now when I need to pull through an existing conduit, I use my fiberglass tape. And, in the line of work I do, I whip it out at least a dozen times a year.

And before I hear all the "shut it down" responses. I get paid to work around live and energized parts. I get paid to solve problems. I get paid to inconvenience my client the least. It doesn't mean I work unsafe. They make 1000 volt tools for a reason. To make our work safer.

Let's just shut down the grid to change a ballast.


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

A standard stainless steel snake and 18/2 tstat wire, just hook and pull.


----------



## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

My go to tapes are greenlee stainless ones, sometimes I use fiberglass greenlees if I'm doing aluminum conduit. 



knowshorts said:


> And before I hear all the "shut it down" responses.


Yeah but you're an owner right? 

No one's _employees _should be fishing through or into live stuff, simple as that, inconvenience is not a justification for proper hot work.


----------



## tommu56 (Nov 19, 2010)

HARRY304E said:


> It is done all the time..


Me II

I've probably fished just as much old work with wires in it as new work being I work in a plant and we are always adding some thing and we size the pipes generously for that reason!

And I rather fish it than pull it with an "extra" jet line it tends to cut the wires and tangles much too easy for me.


----------



## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

On monday I'll be pulling four BNC and power connectors through a 150' 1.5" empty conduit... advice on the best tape to use? Only 2 bends, a 90 at the entrance and 90 on exit.

I only have a Klein 25' right now so any advice is helpful. I was told it might be filled with water also :whistling2:


----------



## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

The fiberglass ones are for going through walls and such. Totally not for conduit. I like Ideals or Klein. I have one that has the amount of feet on it. Extremly handy...


----------



## dreamer (Apr 17, 2011)

I don't think fishtape is the quest.after seeing what the answers were.fiberglass hopefully oldwork,new work steel .


----------



## Bulvinne (Jul 11, 2015)

knowshorts said:


> The reason I did it was simple. Electric room was standard 6x8 room with a hard lid surrounded on all sides by fire walls. Ceiling height was lower than surrounding t-bar ceilings, so new conduit had to run from panel up into un-accessible void above ceiling and through firewall to corridor. I opened up the 480/277 volt panel and found a 3/4" emt with only a couple circuits in it that was going exactly where I needed it to. Plenty of room left for my circuits. Entire conduit length was less than 20'. I tried pushing my wire through and had no luck. No ground wire to use. So I grabbed my fish tape that was on the cart. If the previous guy didn't screw up then there never would have been a problem.
> 
> Call it how you see it. I found away to get my conductors home by saving time and without leaving patching for the building owner. I learned a lesson that day. Now when I need to pull through an existing conduit, I use my fiberglass tape. And, in the line of work I do, I whip it out at least a dozen times a year.
> 
> ...


Those guys that want to shut things down for every little thing aren't worth much when the market slows down and they need skilled journeymen.

I have often stuck metal tapes down live conduit, it's what I had to work with. I am smart about it though, I don't force things, and I use lots of yellow 77.

Up here most commercial is 347/600 volt, and I've never had a bang due to doing that with fishtapes.


----------



## Bulvinne (Jul 11, 2015)

Jlarson said:


> My go to tapes are greenlee stainless ones, sometimes I use fiberglass greenlees if I'm doing aluminum conduit.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is that how things work in the states? Around here in Alberta, that wouldn't fly. Working around live parts is what journeymen do. Apprentices aren't allowed, but they learn from the journeyman, so that when he's one, he can too.

I'm not shutting down an entire 600V panel, just to bring in a new cable for a transformer addition, Or shutting down a bank of switch gears to add a motor starter. I guess this is why Alberta trained electricians are in demand all over the world.

There is a time and place for shutting down, and that's always option one of course, but often it's not going to work that way.


----------



## Bulvinne (Jul 11, 2015)

zwodubber said:


> On monday I'll be pulling four BNC and power connectors through a 150' 1.5" empty conduit... advice on the best tape to use? Only 2 bends, a 90 at the entrance and 90 on exit.
> 
> I only have a Klein 25' right now so any advice is helpful. I was told it might be filled with water also :whistling2:


Grab a shop vac, and suck a mouse through the pipe attached to some twine. Then attach a nylon rope to the twice and pull that through. Use the rope to pull in the conductors.

By using shop vac, if there's water in there, you'll find it quick, and take some out.


----------



## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Bulvinne said:


> I'm not shutting down an entire 600V panel, just to bring in a new cable for a transformer addition, Or shutting down a bank of switch gears to add a motor starter. I guess this is why Alberta trained electricians are in demand all over the world



Let's stop right here. You REALLY think Alberta trained electricians are in demand all over the world including the U.S.? All because they are "trained specially to work things hot"? That is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on this forum. And guess what buckwheat, there's absolutely zero chance you could come down here with your reckless work practices and find steady employment with a respectable company. Thanks for the laughs. Welcome to the forum. 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Bulvinne (Jul 11, 2015)

ponyboy said:


> Let's stop right here. You REALLY think Alberta trained electricians are in demand all over the world including the U.S.? All because they are "trained specially to work things hot"? That is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on this forum. And guess what buckwheat, there's absolutely zero chance you could come down here with your reckless work practices and find steady employment with a respectable company. Thanks for the laughs. Welcome to the forum.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks for the welcome to the forum. I don't think that electricians here are in demand all over because of hot work. It's just a fact they're in demand due to the training practices and work we do. I'm an industrial electrician in Grande Prairie, Alberta. I see Texas plates all the time in these parts, they come up to train. I have three offers to work in Texas, so I must be in demand. The reason I would consider it is because the NDP (leftist, so******t) party somehow got elected in, and I am worried they will ruin the province.

I have no reckless work practices, as a matter of fact, our safety record is extremely high. I've never had a lost time incident for as long as I've been doing electrical. 

The only thing holding me back from going to Texas right now is the amount of illegal immigration going on, the people in DC who are against the constitution and real Americans, and the aggressiveness of the so******t movement to stamp out freedom and liberty wherever they find it.

Thanks again for the welcome to the forums, I look forward to conversing with you in the future.


----------



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Bulvinne said:


> Is that how things work in the states? Around here in Alberta, that wouldn't fly. Working around live parts is what journeymen do. Apprentices aren't allowed, but they learn from the journeyman, so that when he's one, he can too.
> 
> I'm not shutting down an entire 600V panel, just to bring in a new cable for a transformer addition, Or shutting down a bank of switch gears to add a motor starter. I guess this is why Alberta trained electricians are in demand all over the world.
> 
> There is a time and place for shutting down, and that's always option one of course, but often it's not going to work that way.


Don't embarrass us, dude. There isn't even a market in Alberta anymore for electricians who are all ballz and no brain.

Besides that, this thread is four years old.


----------

