[TowerTalk] Wire lubricant for cable pull thru conduit

[john at kk9a.com]

MY XYL and I pulled more wires than that though an empty 250' PCV conduit 
using no lube and it was pretty easy.  Actually the THHN wires that I use, 
made by Southwire, is made for pulling without lube. As I build the conduit, 
I put a #14 wire inside and use that for a pull line. I add an extra #14 
with my cables for future pulls. Adding wires is more difficult as they get 
twisted, but it is certainly possible.  I would definitely not tape the 
bundle together. I added cables several times at my previous QTH which had a 
pretty full 350' underground conduit.

John KK9A



To:<towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject:[TowerTalk] Wire lubricant for cable pull thru conduit
From:"Dick Dievendorff" <dieven at comcast.net>
Date:Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:07:55 -0800
List-post:<towertalk at contesting.com">mailto:towertalk at contesting.com>

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