[TowerTalk] Pull ropes in buried PVC

[Jim Hargrave]

Randy,

I have a 90 ft run of PVC underground from the wall behind my radio room to
a box mounted about 4 ft up on the tower. I installed a small multi-braid
nylon pull string. 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. I have not had any trouble with this arrangement. That way my main
pull through rope is stored and does not lie in the pipe all the time. Mine
has been in place for 13 years and I recently pulled a new length of RG-8
without any problem.

The rope you have is probably plenty strong to pull the ski rope through.
Once you have pulled the cables through, you can pull the ski rope out and
place it in a cool dry storage, leaving the pull rope back in place.
Remember to always attach the pull string to the cables also, so it will get
pulled back into pipe for future use.

   * 73's Jim W5IFP *


   >-----Original Message-----
   >From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
   >[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of K0FA
   >Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 21:57
   >To: towertalk at contesting.com
   >Subject: [TowerTalk] Pull ropes in buried PVC
   >
   >
   >When we built our new house last year, I had the constractor
   >install a 100 foot run of 6 inch PVC from the shack to the
   >tower site. However, I did not like the rope that he used for
   >pull ropes in the PVC - the diameter seemed to small and did
   >not appear to be strong enough to pull multiple cables through.
   >I wonder if anyone out there has looked into the best rope type
   >to use that has small enough diameter, but yet has the strength
   >to handle pulling multiple cables through. I am particularly
   >concerned about the rope not getting caught on existing
   >coax/control cables already installed in the PVC. Thanks for
   >any assistance!
   >
   >73............Randy, K0FA
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