cable pulling

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mak134

Member
Does anyone have a cable pulling guide or digest of recommended practice? We recently installed some feeders and by using a pull and tension calculator it was determined we needed to add a splice. We figured on pulling the cable up as that is our standard method of installation. The building owner is not happy about the splice (yes, we should have asked first) and insists that if we would have pulled down the splice would not have been necessary. While the calculator does prove this to be true we have questioned the safety of such an arrangement as holding back this amount of weight is going to be precarious at best. Thoughts? Ideas?
 

MiElectrician

Member
Location
mi
I don't know what about pulling cables but when we pull 600 thhn we have 2 guys at one end with a tugger and 2 guys at the other end, possibly with a feeder. What are these calculations? How big was the splice box, was that his issue.
 

jusme123

Senior Member
Location
NY
Occupation
JW
....from what floor where you going to pull down from? A little more info is necessary so we get the full scope of the pull. BTW, Simpull has an online pull calculator that's free.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Does anyone have a cable pulling guide or digest of recommended practice? We recently installed some feeders and by using a pull and tension calculator it was determined we needed to add a splice. We figured on pulling the cable up as that is our standard method of installation. The building owner is not happy about the splice (yes, we should have asked first) and insists that if we would have pulled down the splice would not have been necessary. While the calculator does prove this to be true we have questioned the safety of such an arrangement as holding back this amount of weight is going to be precarious at best. Thoughts? Ideas?

40 years of growley opinion and experience here:
never, ever, pull feeders downhill, like in a high rise.

ever.

i've seen a 12 story where that was tried in a 4" pipe. it got
to the balance point, and it all ended up in the basement.
four 500 MCM CU, and a 4/0 ground, iirc. nobody was hurt.

now, how does a pull calculator tell you that you need a splice?
did you get to where you can't pull any more, and need to re figure
the situation?
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
If you have a box to make the splice in, and the pulls in both directions from the box do not result in excess pulling tension or sidewall forces, you don't need a splice. You just make two pulls.
 

dionysius

Senior Member
Location
WA
40 years of growley opinion and experience here:
never, ever, pull feeders downhill, like in a high rise.

ever.

i've seen a 12 story where that was tried in a 4" pipe. it got
to the balance point, and it all ended up in the basement.
four 500 MCM CU, and a 4/0 ground, iirc. nobody was hurt.

now, how does a pull calculator tell you that you need a splice?
did you get to where you can't pull any more, and need to re figure
the situation?

I will not question experience......ever. But if you do want to use gravity to your advantage one might compute the max weight of the pull and have primary and a secondary restraining force loops that can more than counter a runaway. It is all about friction and control. Two guys on top with a "safety" backup runaway loop under close monitoring is very doable.
 

JoeyD74

Senior Member
Location
Boston MA
Occupation
Electrical contractor
I will not question experience......ever. But if you do want to use gravity to your advantage one might compute the max weight of the pull and have primary and a secondary restraining force loops that can more than counter a runaway. It is all about friction and control. Two guys on top with a "safety" backup runaway loop under close monitoring is very doable.
This would all be dependent on what size wire your pulling. A large feeder going down 5 floors would be to much for two guys to control using a rope.
 
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