Pulling Wires Through Conduit

[Roly]

Suggest buying pulling lubricant next time, it makes a world of difference. Roly

[GHR]

really only works with a pull string (or in my case a fish tape) if you have either

a) the wires on spools or some other mechanical mechanism to keep them relatively taught and kink-free at the end they are going into
b) a helper to  straighten out loose wire before it goes into the conduit
c) ideally both

The electricians working around my job campus over the last several months have option C. I have neither.  After gluing up 67' of  1" conduit and not being able to pull 4 #6 wires through it I ended up laying out 75' x 4 of  wire on the driveway, straightening them out and taping them together every few feet or so, then pulling the bundle through.   I know the reason you are supposed to assemble the conduit and then pull the wires is to avoid damaging the wires.  I suppose if I had a or b that would be possible but I had to keep checking the wires to make sure I hadn't damaged them on the driveway, plus it cost me a lot of extra time, and of course I then had to get all that into the trench without breaking the glue bonds.

Larger conduit is always helpful. I used 1-1/4" for a similar job at my house.

[Stwood_]

Yep. I always went 1 size larger than needed. I used 1-1/4 for three #6's when we wired the greenhouse.

[Bob10]

A small bit of rag tied to the lead end of the string and a shop vac will suck it through in a heartbeat.

It would have made him crazy if someone did that after he wasted all that time
   Flip the switch of the shop vac on and a second later turn it off all done

[R Clark]

A small bit of rag tied to the lead end of the string and a shop vac will suck it through in a heartbeat.

Of course I used my shop vac.  My previous post was sarcasm.  Does it count if I used a wadded paper towel instead of a rag?

[crokett™]

Larger conduit is always helpful. I used 1-1/4" for a similar job at my house.

Larger wouldn't have made a difference. Well maybe 2" might have. I had 75' x4 of #6 wire bought by the foot. Black/Red/White/Green. Each color was in a nice neat coil until I took the electrical tape off. To get a successful pull I would have had to have a helper straightening it all out and feeding it in as I pulled, or a reel for each wire to keep tension on it.

[R Clark]

One 12-2 cable was enough fun.  I couldn't imagine having four of them to deal with working alone.  Forget about them being #6 cable.

One of the reasons my job took so long today was that I spent a significant amount of time going between ends to make sure I had smooth line ready to feed into the conduit.  Glad to only have one line to be concerned about.

[blackhat]

There's an old saying about you can't push rope but I know some pretty stubborn folks

[crokett™]

I haven't done any commercial wiring, unless you count wiring my dad's barn and all the pulls through conduit we did there. So I guess I'm not smart enough to pay somebody to come do something I can do myself. A helper would have been nice. The last time I did a conduit run this long I had a helper feeding the 2-2-2-4 aluminum. I didn't have a helper available on Friday. I don't know if the conduit on ladder rungs would have worked any better than the broom handle I used across my wheelbarrow handles. The rolls of #6 wire weren't on spools. I bought them by the foot and got them as rolls about 18" diameter. the loop I was pulling just tightened up around the broom handle without really unwinding. this happened at different rates for all 4 wires and I ended up with a mess that had to be untangled. the rolls of 14 gauge were on spools and the spools over some rebar on the wheelbarrow handles worked beautifully. that's the pull I did first. well, two pulls, one to the island garden and then one from the garden to the generator.

There are 2 radiused bends, one at each end, one to turn up to the panel, the other to turn up to the disconnect at the generator. I only use LB fittings if I'm coming out the side of a panel and turning down or if I'm turning to go through a wall above grade. takes up less space and looks cleaner than a radiused bend. I can't/won't bury an LB. Where would I be using LBs for this?

you're correct though, book knowledge often can't compete with experience.

[Robert Adams]

Of course I used my shop vac.  My previous post was sarcasm.  Does it count if I used a wadded paper towel instead of a rag?

I use a piece of plastic shopping bag tied to the string. Once you have a good method it's easy. Works through emt as well if you have a good vac. Sometimes if it's tough use two vacs. One pushing one pulling or a compressor pushing as well. 


        As for helpers... Sometimes they make a job faster and speaker sometimes they make it take longer and ends up costing more in materials and costs you in your sanity...

       The hard stuff to pull is the 600mcm and bigger. It's a bear and it's heavy  enough that if it moves at all when pulling or handling it can really hurt you. Use a good rope and a mini excavator to do the pulling and lots of lube.