[TowerTalk] Wire lubricant for cable pull thru conduit

[Grant Saviers]

Hi Dick,

What I've learned -

Measure the conduit first, I've been surprised by actual pull lengths 
different than what looked right on paper. I use conduit measuring tape, 
about 1/4" wide and flat. I have lots if you want some, or check with an 
electrical supplier. If the conduit is straight with only end sweeps 
then the calcs may be ok. This tape is also great for blowing thru the 
conduit as a leader. I tie it to a crumpled up plastic grocery bag and 
use the shop vac to blow, and away it goes! I pull a couple of small 
towels through before pulling the cables to clean out whatever got there 
during construction and reduce the condensation.

Pull everything at once. A rolling hitch around the bundle plus 
electrical tape will work. Taper the end by staggering the cables and 
tape all the way onto the free pull line. Or you could use the Kellums 
as a connection to a "master" cable and tape on the rest. A taper helps 
at the conduit junctions and sweeps. The ROMEX cables will make the job 
much harder, especially the UF stuff for underground/water exposure. You 
might consider pulling 9 (or whatever you actually need) conductors of 
stranded THHN in 12 or 14 gauge, that will be much easier. HD stocks it 
in blu, blk, grn, wht & red and sometimes org.

3/8" polypro works as the pulling rope and is cheap but use gloves. It 
may put some twist into the cables as it untwists, so the pros use flat 
pull webbing (what I use) or double braid rope. With the number and low 
flex of your cables, two persons are a must and three will be better. 
One to pull, one to feed at the entry and apply lube, and a third to 
bring up the cable end. With 100', I would stretch it all out unless 
dirt/contamination is a problem. Then it will be necessary to feed off 
the spools, definitely a third person in this case. Unwind the coils 
otherwise the twists will make the pull a lot harder. An electricians 
reel stand is a big help, but not having one I jury rig something up 
with C clamps and pipe/conduit scraps.

I have used the TFE loaded lube, not sure it helped much over the usual 
stuff, check HD. One quart should be enough and the feeder should glop 
it on as the cables go in. Disposible gloves are nice. The feeder also 
needs to center the cables into the conduit as they move, otherwise both 
the conduit end and outer cable sheaths suffer. You should have the anti 
chafe collars on the conduit hub end threads.

With the conduit load you plan, I think later pulls may be very 
difficult but pull an extra 3/8 line and measuring tape with the pull. 
Are any of your cables spares? I stick in an extra CAT5, 4 conductor 
control, RG6, and RG8 for future antenna or whatever projects.

If the date works, perhaps I can lend a hand and bring some stuff.

Grant KZ1W


On 2/25/2013 12:07 PM, Dick Dievendorff wrote:
> I’ve never run anything through conduit before.
>
>   
>
> I have a 100 foot long 3” conduit between house and tower, and in that
> conduit I hope to run two ½” coax cables, three 3-wire ROMEX cables carrying
> 24V for three different rotators, two 8-conductor (CAT-5 like) cables for an
> antenna switch, and three two-wire cables for the rotator position
> indicators.  It’s a good-sized bundle.  There are no 110 AC power lines in
> the bundle.
>
>
> I think I need to pull all this at once, with lubricant, and include a
> length of pulling rope or tape in the bundle for “next time”.   I believe
> that I want to pull these through all at once  in order to avoid risk of
> damage to cables already installed.
>
>   
>
> What’s the right sort of lubricant for this?   What quantity should I buy?
>
>   
>
> I have some light nylon “fish” cord that I think I can pull through with a
> small wadded up plastic bag and a shop-vac.  After I have that pulled
> through, I assume I attach it to a hefty pull cord. What sort of pull cord
> should I be shopping for?
>
>   
>
> Any tips on tying the “bundle” to the cord so that I have a smooth thing to
> pull?  I have Kellums Grips suitable for ½” coax, but not for anything else.
> Is this a “pulling eye”?
>
>   
>
> I presume I want one person on each end that can communicate, one to feed a
> smoothed bundle in one end while the other pulls.
>
>   
>
> Should I tape the whole bundle together every few feet?
>
>   
>
> Thanks,
>
>   
>
> Dick, K6KR
>
>   
>
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