# fish tape leaders



## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

we recently installed about 4000 ft of 3/4 ridgid alum conduit, It was kinda fun at first then I wished we could have just pulled in twisted pair grey teck, but because of the job spec we were stuck with ridgid alum.

We put leaders on the fish tapes and they worked really well, does anyone else regularly use leaders?


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

What's a leader?


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

*fishtape leaders*

not really commercial as we weren't wiring a restaurant or a bank, but same basic principle

we recently installed about 4000 ft of 3/4 ridgid alum conduit, It was kinda fun at first then I wished we could have just pulled in twisted pair grey teck, but because of the job spec we were stuck with ridgid alum.

We put leaders on the fish tapes and they worked really well, does anyone else regularly use leaders, or just use KY (yellow 77)


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

We get it. Don't need two threads on this.


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

http://www.service.kleintools.com/T...ries FISHTAPE-FISH TAPES-ACCESS/Product/50350



these are the leaders we used, ideal, greenlee etc make the same thing


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## Rochsolid (Aug 9, 2012)

jza said:


> What's a leader?


I had to google it, I've never seen one or use one. Jontar, are they any good?


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

wondered if it should have actually been here, after I already posted in tools
really at the end of theday, what difference does it make,


of course I see your a 4th year apprentice, so you must know everything, I'll just take my masters ticket and crawl back into that hole, called my office (electrical foreman), and only answer to the maint. superintendant called my boss. How about when you play on the same level as I'm on (electrical foreman with masters ticket, heads up electrical shop on huge plant site consisting of several plants), then you can leisure me on doubling up my posts, until then what harm is it to you.


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## fanelle (Nov 27, 2011)

I typically dont and if i have to do alot of pipe and pull then i break out the vacuum/blower fishing system.


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

jontar said:


> we recently installed about 4000 ft of 3/4 ridgid alum conduit, It was kinda fun at first then I wished we could have just pulled in twisted pair grey teck, but because of the job spec we were stuck with ridgid alum.
> 
> We put leaders on the fish tapes and they worked really well, does anyone else regularly use leaders?


They do work nice and give you the extra flexibility sometimes needed to get around a bend . Especially with aluminum !


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

I buy the 200' Greenlee SS snake with them already attached . Goes thru almost any piperun.


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

Uncommissioned work sure, commissioned no, not me...


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

Rochsolid said:


> I had to google it, I've never seen one or use one. Jontar, are they any good?


I had never really used them before, we did the ridgid and it was actually the out going maint superintendent that put us on to them, after putting in all that belden, yes they worked really good, especially around all the 90, offsets,etc.

In my opinion they were worth the $18/ea to save on time and effort.


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

Frankly, I thought the trick was to form the end of the tape to the size of the raceway and send it. :001_huh:


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

fanelle said:


> I typically dont and if i have to do alot of pipe and pull then i break out the vacuum/blower fishing system.


I'm not a huge fan of the greenlee R2D2 fishing system, maybe you have to do more conduit work, our r2d2 vacuum spends his time is the corner, collecting dust


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## fanelle (Nov 27, 2011)

jontar said:


> I'm not a huge fan of the greenlee R2D2 fishing system, maybe you have to do more conduit work, our r2d2 vacuum spends his time is the corner, collecting dust


I like useing it mainly because of its time savings. If i run 90' or less its a hassle to break it out but it is faster.


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

..a short draws allot of current but not enough to trip the main or the branch circuit breaker


and a short in a resistor grounded wye or delta system, you won't trip the breaker until you have a second phase to ground short, or phase to phase short, but of course you knew that being a 4th yr, because you know everything. 

obviously you have never seen a smart panel with ground fault /phase loss detection on it, because you have never worked in an industrial plant where they have these systems so you can run with one phase to ground, so before I run my mouth and make fun of somebody else I'd get my facts straight


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

fanelle said:


> I like useing it mainly because of its time savings. If i run 90' or less its a hassle to break it out but it is faster.


yes but you most likely use conduit all the time, they have there place, but really the only time we use conduit, is when the electrical eng, holds a gun to our heads and makes us, otherwise its cable tray with teck ,tray cable.

I have used the R2D2 on 4in pvc or db2 conduit with a plastic bag and it worked well, just don't think it would have worked well with 3/4 alum ridigid and a million lb, ll,lr, t ,c fittings plus seals


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Please do not cross-post the same question.

Both threads have now been merged.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

jontar said:


> We put leaders on the fish tapes and they worked really well, does anyone else regularly use leaders?


Nope, rarely have the need for them. A good hook on the end is all that's needed. Unless who ever installed the pipe did a bad job and over bend, kinked, used old pipe or had more then 360 deg.


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## local134gt (Dec 24, 2008)

Who needs one when you have to put a J-box every 100'.....


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

sometimes it hard to put a jb every 100ft, sometimes every 200ft is hard enough, i think that is why they started making 240ft fishtapes, its against code inside a building, but if it was just to cut back the damaged fishtape 210ft fishtapes would be fine.


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## butcher733 (Aug 4, 2012)

jontar said:


> sometimes it hard to put a jb every 100ft, sometimes every 200ft is hard enough, i think that is why they started making 240ft fishtapes, its against code inside a building, but if it was just to cut back the damaged fishtape 210ft fishtapes would be fine.


does the cec put limits on unbroken conduit runs?


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## local134gt (Dec 24, 2008)

local134gt said:


> Who needs one when you have to put a J-box every 100'.....


This was/is a joke related to another thread.


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

yes according to the cec inside a building or on the outside of the physical building you have to have a jbox after 360 degrees worth of bends,offsets, etc and at 200ft max.

outside a building, example, running across a yard, or an industrial site, is spec'd by the eng firm, no real code rules, example our 25kv is in db2 duct and is run in to the site up to 1000ft before it hits the first switching cube, another example would be crossing an ocean, they didn't install floating jb's on the undersea cable runs between Vancouver and the island (Victoria)


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## jontar (Oct 11, 2009)

local134gt said:


> This was/is a joke related to another thread.


oh, sorry, didn't pick up on that.


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## randas (Dec 14, 2008)

jontar said:


> yes according to the cec inside a building or on the outside of the physical building you have to have a jbox after 360 degrees worth of bends,offsets, etc *and at 200ft max*.


Got a code rule for that one bud? :whistling2::no:


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## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

butcher733 said:


> does the cec put limits on unbroken conduit runs?


No they do not.


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## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

12-940 Maximum number of bends in raceways

Where it is intended that conductors are to be drawn into a raceway, a run of raceway between outlets or draw-in points shall not have more than the equivalent of four 90° bends, including the bends located at an outlet or fitting

Where is the 200ft rule?


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

I have used those flexible ones, but they have a tendency to unscrew a little which leaves me concerned that it will come off at the wrong time.

Sometimes after one of those ends has broke off, I use a hacksaw blade to help go through j-b's, expansion fittings, etc. just hook the loop through one of the holes. 

BTW, I don't think jza is an apprentice, he has that signature line to make fun of a fourth year apprentice who was or is a know it all.


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