How to pull a 500 ft run

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Electron_Sam78

Electron_Sam78

Senior Member
Location
Palm Bay, FL
How do you pull a 500 ft run without a pull box in it? Will a vacuum suck a mouse that far? It's 2 inch conduit in a trench. The longest fish tape I have is 250 ft
 
mxslick

mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
You can carefully blow the mouse through with compressed air. I think that's how POCO's do it.

As for the pull, use a LOT of wire lube, really flood the pipe with the stuff. Use the clear not yellow though. :)
 
M

mkgrady

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Electron_Sam78 said:
How do you pull a 500 ft run without a pull box in it? Will a vacuum suck a mouse that far? It's 2 inch conduit in a trench. The longest fish tape I have is 250 ft
Click to expand...

Yes a mouse cab be vacked that far. Some times a home made mouse works better on long runs. You can make one from a plastic bag. Not easy to describe though.
 
C

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
We use regular shop vacs on runs much longer than 500 feet with no problem. Just make sure what you're sucking in is light, like blue polystring, kite string, or measuring tape. I like to use plastic grocery bags, they seem to hang up less than mice. Take the sack and shape it into a cylinder with the handles at the back, sometimes it helps to wad another grocery sack up and put it inside too, if you're sucking into a larger conduit. Tie the string to the grocery bag handles and let 'er rip. It'll fly in!
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Blow a string in as described above, then use the string to pull in the pulling rope.

Be sure not to get any lube on the pulling rope. ;)
 
N

nunu161

Senior Member
Location
NEPA
i would tie a small rope on the string and then pull the heavier rope in with the small rope or else you will snap the string
 
chris kennedy

chris kennedy

Senior Member
Location
Miami Fla.
Occupation
60 yr old tool twisting electrician
mkgrady said:
Some times a home made mouse works better on long runs. You can make one from a plastic bag. Not easy to describe though.
Click to expand...

Cut the corner out of the bag about an inch larger than the inner diameter of the conduit. Pierce the folded corner about ?" above the bottom. You should now have 3 holes in the bottom. End result looks like a primitive parachute. Tie your string in a manner that allows the mouse to open up in the conduit.
 
2

27hillcrest

Senior Member
Take two 250' fish steals and tie them together with good duct tape. Put a few loops of string on the end of the fish and push it in the conduit as far as it will go. Take another fish with and bend a small hook on it. Go to the other end of the conduit and fish out the loops of string you put on the 500' long fish you made. Work everytime! (of course this is the cheaper way to do it) I would use a mouse and shop vac all day long. They only time you might have an issue with the mouse is if there is water in the conduit. Then a plastic bag would work better.
Good Luck!
 
2

220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
To avoid string burn, PRE LUBE the conduit.

I would dump a liberal amount of lube into the conduit then suck a mouse/jetline thru. The lube will prevent the string from burning in when you pull the rope.

If the mouse gets too wet, it may be too heavy to go the full 500' unless you have a good vacuum.

The biggest challange on the vac end it to get 100% seal.


POCO here wants Mule Tape instead of rope. Lube, suck in mouse/string, use it to pull Mule Tape.
 
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M

macmikeman

Senior Member
Location
Planet macmikeman
I know what works for stringing pulls that long cause I have done them before manhole to manhole at airports. I used a Jetline setup. I had a 5'ft cannister of CO2, and a set of rubber jetline cones with a string hole in them. (I still have the second part, but the wife made me 86 the gas bottle cause I kept it in the garage after closing my warehouse up.) That thing worked good. Mine had a yellow balloon setup that came with the kit. Setup, pull the trigger, and watch a bucket of string empty out fast.
 
e57

e57

Senior Member
Location
San Francisco, CA
LarryFine said:
Blow a string in as described above, then use the string to pull in the pulling rope.

Be sure not to get any lube on the pulling rope. ;)
Click to expand...

nunu161 said:
i would tie a small rope on the string and then pull the heavier rope in with the small rope or else you will snap the string
Click to expand...
Totally agree with both above. greenlee makes a very thin nylon string - I would then suck that in with not a mouse - but a plastic shopping bag - the lightest you can find, and even put only a sewing thread on it, then string, then larger pulling line the poly stuff, then rope or nylon tape rated for the pull.

ItsHot said:
Tie your string around a real mouse, and send him on his way!:smile:
Click to expand...
And if he gets lost??? :grin: Have a mongoose or hungry snake on your side.

Teaspoon said:
If all you are concerned with is the pull rope.
why not just pull the rope thru as you lay the conduit?
Click to expand...
Done that - and some slob glued the rope a bunch of places inside the conduit... Some guys just don't get the importance of some things.
 
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