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Re: [TowerTalk] Pull ropes in buried PVC

To: Glenn Thorne <gathorne@traer.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pull ropes in buried PVC
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:39:21 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>

Glenn Thorne wrote:
> Jim,
>
> How do you attach the cable to the pull rope?  Lot's of electrical tape?
>   

Couple of half hitches and lots of tape to streamline the end of the 
cable bundle.
I use 3/16" Nylon and contrary to others have never burned a grove into 
PVC yet.  OTOH I use copious amounts of wire pulling soap.   IF the 
cable bundle is going to be long and large, I use the 3/16" as a pilot 
line to pull in a plastic covered 3/16" wire rope which is a bit over a 
1/4" OD.    Again, I use lots of wire pulling soap.

Using this method you can virtually pull a conduit *full* of cables.  
You need some one on the feeding end to dress the cables to keep they 
from wrapping up.  They need to be parallel in the bundle. Don't make 
the mistake of taping them together.  That makes it more difficult to 
get them around bends and impossible to replace one cable at a time.

Again, I can't emphasize the use of cable pulling soap enough. 
I've used 3/16" Nylon in the past, but I'm going to change to the 5/16" 
poly.

BTW, we pulled the cable TV/Internet cable through about 130-140 feet of 
half inch PVC and three Triple ought (000) cables through 3" PVC from 
the pole to the meter (bout 120-130')

As a note, any *dry* plastic, or small diameter cable (wire rope) will 
burn into PVC conduit bends without much strain. Grease the snot out of 
it!  It may be messy, but well worth the effort, particularly if the 
conduit is crowded and you ever want to replace one of the runs.

> A related question: what's the best way to get a coax run up the tower?  The 
> last time I did this I just tied the coax to a rope and pulled it up, taping 
> the coax to the tower as I came back down.  But that was only a 40ft tower. 
> I have a bit more to go this time and am worried about deforming the cable.
>   
I had 5 runs of LMR-400 up the 100' tower and just taped the cables to 
tower legs every 3' or so. I'm now doing the same with LMR-600.  I have 
grounding bulkheads at the top and bottom of the tower.


73

Roger (K8RI)
> Thanks and 73, Glenn/KD0Q
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jim Hargrave" <w5ifp@gvtc.com>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 5:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pull ropes in buried PVC
>
>
>   
>> When I need to pull cables, I use the string to pull
>> through a good quality water ski rope that I use to actually pull the
>> cables.
>>
>>   * 73's Jim W5IFP *
>>     
>
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