4/0 Conductor Pulls (Help requested)

[busman]

Most of our services around here are in SE cable so I have little experience pulling larger wires in conduit, but I've got one I need to do in conduit. The question is, what's the reasonableness of a 60' pull of three 4/0 compact aluminum conductors thru 2" Schedule 40 PVC with two gentle site bent 90's (about 18" radius each). Please rate as:

No sweat
Average
Difficult (but possible)
Crazy

Any tips other than lots of lube would also be appreciated. My other option is to put an LB half way thru, but 4/0 is just at the limit of what can be crammed into a 2" LB, so I'd probably have to go 2-1/2 for that.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Average-- I have done it many times. Compactor conductors are also more pliable so it should be easy.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Most of our services around here are in SE cable so I have little experience pulling larger wires in conduit, but I've got one I need to do in conduit. The question is, what's the reasonableness of a 60' pull of three 4/0 compact aluminum conductors thru 2" Schedule 40 PVC with two gentle site bent 90's (about 18" radius each). Please rate as:

No sweat
Average
Difficult (but possible)
Crazy

Any tips other than lots of lube would also be appreciated. My other option is to put an LB half way thru, but 4/0 is just at the limit of what can be crammed into a 2" LB, so I'd probably have to go 2-1/2 for that.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

no sweat. leave the LB out of it.

if it gets hard at the end, and you have nothing to pull with, get
a comealong and pull with that... make up a cats paw on the rope
to hook the comealong and use that. it'll take a little while, but you
will get there.

and the truth is, if you use simpull, you don't even need lube.

http://www.southwire.com/ProductCatalog/XTEInterfaceServlet?contentKey=prodcatsheet351

use this stuff in aluminum.

 

[infinity]

No sweat, and no LB. Stagger the conductors at the nose a bit so the three #4/0's aren't bending all at once when it hits an elbow.

 

[busman]

Thanks to all for the help. I thought about Simpull, but I don't think my supply house has it (just XHHW), but I'll ask on Monday. Good tip about staggering.

Mark

 

[growler]

The question is, what's the reasonableness of a 60' pull of three 4/0 compact aluminum conductors thru 2" Schedule 40 PVC with two gentle site bent 90's (about 18" radius each). Please rate as:

No sweat

Any tips other than lots of lube would also be appreciated.

I agree with others that it should be easy.

The only mistake I ever see people make on an easy pull like this is they don't take it seriously like a bigger pull.

When you run the PVC make sure all the joints are clean. Keep conduit dirt free or blow it out before pulling. Yes, use lube. Use a rope and don't try to just pull with a fish tape as I have seen others do. Yes, stagger the head.

Take your time and do it right and that's what makes any pull easy. Get in a hurry and make mistakes and you can turn a simple job into something complicated.

 

[Hv&Lv]

I agree with the rest. No sweat. Mule tape is a good pulling rope(string). We use this tape to make pulls of 600'-1000' (1/0 25 kV wire).
We pull in 4/0 USE-2 rated wire almost daily in 2" pvc, the average pull is 200' long. I prefer the 36" radius bends though.

 

[ActionDave]

I agree with others that it should be easy.

The only mistake I ever see people make on an easy pull like this is they don't take it seriously like a bigger pull.

When you run the PVC make sure all the joints are clean. Keep conduit dirt free or blow it out before pulling. Yes, use lube. Use a rope and don't try to just pull with a fish tape as I have seen others do. Yes, stagger the head.

Take your time and do it right and that's what makes any pull easy. Get in a hurry and make mistakes and you can turn a simple job into something complicated.

This is soooooo true. One of the worst pulls of my life was about 30' of wire on a service change. Since it was such a short run I paid little attention to any details I would have if the run would have been longer. Never again.

 

[Strife]

60'???
I would say no sweat.
I pulled a few times 140'+++ of 250's in 2.5" by hand with 3 - 4 people.
And with the new Simpull they have out there didn't even use soap. I used some on first one, then very little(just to get the head a little). My runs were EMT, which I think it's a bit easier than pvc's friction. So in PVC conduit I would use more soap.
Heck, 60 feet I think I could push it with a little guidance.

Most of our services around here are in SE cable so I have little experience pulling larger wires in conduit, but I've got one I need to do in conduit. The question is, what's the reasonableness of a 60' pull of three 4/0 compact aluminum conductors thru 2" Schedule 40 PVC with two gentle site bent 90's (about 18" radius each). Please rate as:

No sweat
Average
Difficult (but possible)
Crazy

Any tips other than lots of lube would also be appreciated. My other option is to put an LB half way thru, but 4/0 is just at the limit of what can be crammed into a 2" LB, so I'd probably have to go 2-1/2 for that.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

 

[ritelec]

Just wondering..........why aluminum not copper?

 

[Strife]

Just wondering..........why aluminum not copper?

Because even at 60' (times 3 =180'), 2/0 Copper would be about 400-500 dollars, whereas the AL 4/0 should be around 150.
And there's nothing wrong with the new AL VS copper nowadays.

 

[ritelec]

That's what I thought. Just checking.


(I'm ok with al...............got it on my house)

2 cents.....as others have mentioned. make a nice staggered head......sometimes the wire lube is more of a pain in the ars then it's worth, but in this case you would defiantly want it.

One more thought.
Two guys on the pull? Three guys on the pull?

If two guys (one feeding/one pulling)...you could pull one at a time..............

Also about the lube...................watch that it's attached good and doesn't fall off......but you can pre-lube the inside of the pipe with a rag pulled through when sending your drag line..............

OR.... as your putting the run together (piping), you could jizz at the coupling locations.

 

[busman]

That's what I thought. Just checking.


(I'm ok with al...............got it on my house)

2 cents.....as others have mentioned. make a nice staggered head......sometimes the wire lube is more of a pain in the ars then it's worth, but in this case you would defiantly want it.

One more thought.
Two guys on the pull? Three guys on the pull?

If two guys (one feeding/one pulling)...you could pull one at a time..............

Also about the lube...................watch that it's attached good and doesn't fall off......but you can pre-lube the inside of the pipe with a rag pulled through when sending your drag line..............

OR.... as your putting the run together (piping), you could jizz at the coupling locations.

Thanks again all for the help. As far as number of people on the pull, I'm a one man show, but I could recruit a friend or my wife if you think I need a second set of hands. I thought I might want one pushing and one pulling for this one.

Btw, I put the pipe in yesterday and ended up with one bend of about 14" radius and on of about 30" radius. The 14" one is right above the panel, so I was going to start the wires at the other end to have the tighter bend as the last few feet of the pull. The 30" bend is middle of the run.

Also, first time using the Pipe Viper to bend PVC with a Hot Box. Worked very well and the metal helped cool the pipe down in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks again,

Mark

 

[Chasman]

We run 2-4/0 and 1-2/0 (40 to 60') between the detached garage and main residence routinely. Three of us, remeber the puller can't pull unless the feeder feeds. Goes easy, no lube, with a little coordination between the two ends.

 

[kwired]

Just wondering..........why aluminum not copper?

Because he did not want the other guy that bid aluminum to get the job:happyyes:

Thanks again all for the help. As far as number of people on the pull, I'm a one man show, but I could recruit a friend or my wife if you think I need a second set of hands. I thought I might want one pushing and one pulling for this one.

Btw, I put the pipe in yesterday and ended up with one bend of about 14" radius and on of about 30" radius. The 14" one is right above the panel, so I was going to start the wires at the other end to have the tighter bend as the last few feet of the pull. The 30" bend is middle of the run.

Also, first time using the Pipe Viper to bend PVC with a Hot Box. Worked very well and the metal helped cool the pipe down in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks again,

Mark

I've done many similar pulls by myself. Some go well, others do not. 2nd person is always a big help, even if that is all they are needed for is the pull. Sometimes you can lay wire out on the feed side that allows it to feed itself - usually means harder pulling than if someone was there to push, but one man can do it. Other times you just need help no matter what.

 

[Stevetheelectrican]

No sweat, keep the inside of the pipe free from debris and use lube and a helper. Shouldnt have an issue!

 

[B4T]

I just did a (50) ft. run with one 90 and used 4/0.. 4/0..2/0 XHHW AL triplex and it was a snap..use lube when you get past the first (5) feet to make it easier..