LUBING CABLES

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jumper

Senior Member
Yes cables are still lubed in many instances.

However, those guys are way too neat, I always have the stuff on me, the wires, my co workers, and anything/anyone within 5 feet of the pull. Overhead can get real messy.:D
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Yes cables are still lubed in many instances.

However, those guys are way too neat, I always have the stuff on me, the wires, my co workers, and anything/anyone within 5 feet of the pull. Overhead can get real messy.:D

i remember when polywater came on the market, they only had the original
blend, and you could only use it on underground runs, as it would drain out
of the pipe for six months or more on overhead runs. this "feature" was
not mentioned in the advertising, and led to a huge mess... wouldn't stop
draining out of the conduit, and you couldn't heat up the gear cause the stuff
would flow down all over the breakers.

now, with simpull? i won't use any other wire. zero lube. happy. :happyyes:
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Yellow 77 is the only way to go.

now, with simpull? i won't use any other wire. zero lube. happy.

For real long and not so straight runs, we still soaped the conductors, even Simpull. Getting big conductors stuck in a long pipe run sucks and can get real expensive real fast.

The nice thing about Yellow 77 is that it dries into a wax type substance and still acts like a lube years later. Some of the other stuff used for lube turns into glue when it dries.
 

BJ Conner

Senior Member
Location
97006
Pull Planer

Pull Planer

Poly Water has one of the best (Best IMO) programs for calculating pulling tension.
You may think it "old school" until you screw up a pull. The cost of the cable and time to replace it is worth the lube.
Most cable is not damage by direct tension but by side-wall pressure ( tension of being pulled to tight around a bend.)
A good place where the 6Ps can save your a_ _ .
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Poly Water has one of the best (Best IMO) programs for calculating pulling tension.
You may think it "old school" until you screw up a pull. The cost of the cable and time to replace it is worth the lube.
Most cable is not damage by direct tension but by side-wall pressure ( tension of being pulled to tight around a bend.)
A good place where the 6Ps can save your a_ _ .

6Ps?

One of my hard hats has P6 on it. I wonder if we are talking about the same thing, the last P being 'performance'?

:D

I was imagining a big pull using 'Simpull' with no lube coming apart right at the end and getting stuck. How would you like to be the person that has to explain to the bean counters why no lube was used?

I would rather be the person that gets to say, 'I told you we shouldn't try this without lube.'

:lol:
 
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Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Yellow 77 is the only way to go.



For real long and not so straight runs, we still soaped the conductors, even Simpull. Getting big conductors stuck in a long pipe run sucks and can get real expensive real fast.

The nice thing about Yellow 77 is that it dries into a wax type substance and still acts like a lube years later. Some of the other stuff used for lube turns into glue when it dries.

appreciate the point of view.... screwing up a $5,000 pull over 5 gallons of goop..... hard to rationalize....
i'd probably do the same.

longest pull i've made with simpull wasn't big... 3 #2's and a ground in a 1 1/4" emt...
4 90's, two offsets, and two kicks, with C condulets spaced appropriately... i think it
was 660' long, and we pulled it with a 1200 lb mule tape in one shot, with the high
speed on a maxis tugger, and the strain gauge on the triggers showed briefly
500 lbs a couple times, and 250 lbs half the time, and nothing the rest of the time.

turned it down to low speed, and it didn't show any gauge reading at all. regular tugger
speed....

i've got a couple tugs coming up this month, and i'll do a video, as i have an idea on
tugging that may save a bunch of labor, and these two runs would be a good test...
one is 200' with three number 2's, and a #6 ground, and the other one is three #2's
and a #6 ground, 770'... i'm gonna pull them both dry with simpull, in 1 1/4" EMT....
and use a webcam to watch the feed, as it seems i'm gonna have to pull them solo.

gonna use a battery powered webcam to stream a HD video of the spools and pull
to my iphone on the other end, with me running the tugger.....

it's only 2,000' of #2 at risk... what could possibly go wrong? (film at 11)
 
Last edited:

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Yellow 77 is the only way to go.

:rant::rant::rant::rant:

I am having a contract put out on you, yellow 77 is the devils handiwork.



For real long and not so straight runs, we still soaped the conductors, even Simpull. Getting big conductors stuck in a long pipe run sucks and can get real expensive real fast.

I agree 100%, but we will use the blue lube.

The nice thing about Yellow 77 is that it dries into a wax type substance and still acts like a lube years later. Some of the other stuff used for lube turns into glue when it dries.

Yellow 77 turns into glue, yes it is still slippery but at the same time it glues the conductors to the pipe. IF you can get them broken free than the waxiness helps.
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
appreciate the point of view.... screwing up a $5,000 pull over 5 gallons of goop..... hard to rationalize....
i'd probably do the same.

longest pull i've made with simpull wasn't big... 3 #2's and a ground in a 1 1/4" emt...
4 90's, two offsets, and two kicks, with C condulets spaced appropriately... i think it
was 660' long, and we pulled it with a 1200 lb mule tape in one shot, with the high
speed on a maxis tugger, and the strain gauge on the triggers showed briefly
500 lbs a couple times, and 250 lbs half the time, and nothing the rest of the time.

turned it down to low speed, and it didn't show any gauge reading at all. regular tugger
speed....

i've got a couple tugs coming up this month, and i'll do a video, as i have an idea on
tugging that may save a bunch of labor, and these two runs would be a good test...
one is 200' with three number 2's, and a #6 ground, and the other one is three #2's
and a #6 ground, 770'... i'm gonna pull them both dry with simpull, in 1 1/4" EMT....
and use a webcam to watch the feed, as it seems i'm gonna have to pull them solo.

gonna use a battery powered webcam to stream a HD video of the spools and pull
to my iphone on the other end, with me running the tugger.....

it's only 2,000' of #2 at risk... what could possibly go wrong? (film at 11)

We have pulled 6 500's at a time. At a school we pulled 108 #8's through several hundred feet of 3 inch EMT. That managed to bust a log chain holding back to back tuggers. The last time I looked at the meter we were at 2900 lbs. of pull.

Basically, any run we need a machine to pull gets lube. A few hand pulls, too.
 

hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
Their site and nomenclature say 'should be installed without application of pulling lubricant'

I took that to be different than 'must be installed without application of pulling lubricant'.

http://www.southwire.com/products/SIMpullTHHNCable.htm

I thought it was strange they required it, that's why I remembered it saying so, I do not have that spool anymore to post a picture. Could have been an older spool when they first started selling it.
 
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