Small tugger rope

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Cow

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Eastern Oregon
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Electrician
What do you guys use for a small tugger rope? We've got some pretty good size rope we use in conduits, say 2" and larger, but it would nice to have something for the smaller conduits as well. We're using mule tape right now. Right now we're doing 3 identical pulls, 1" pvc 400ish feet long with 3-4's and an #8. We used BRAND NEW 1800lb mule tape on the first pull, worked alright, aside from the fact it wraps over itself on the tugger and wants to keep tugging even if you let go. Second pull, 14' from coming out the mule tape breaks. FORTUNATELY, we were able fish the end of the mule tape back out of the conduit, tie a knot in it and eventually get the wire out. The wire came out dirty on this pull so it's obvious that caused the break. Swabbed back and forth, and then revacuumed the third conduit out for the pull tomorrow. Hopefully it'll go like the first pull.

I think it's time I try and get the boss to spring for something made for a tugger. A coworker mentioned something called Amsteel, he's seen the power companies use it, but he said it's expensive. The tugger we're using right now is 4000lb rated.

Thanks guys.
 
Well there's polyester, and there's polyporpylene! While both are chemically made the polyster is more of what one would know or think of as a ships rope and has the highly resistant to abrasive of being used on a wrench. The polyporpylene is more like the yellow rope commonly sold at supply houses but is stronged but less resistant to abrasion when wenching.

To be simplist and drop a link this company has a nice overview page describe four basic rope types in a search for different kinds of ropes

Enjoy
 
Last edited:
Poly Rope

Poly Rope

masterinbama said:
I use 1/4" 0r 3/8" poly rope for this all the time.
Click to expand...

Try this sometime.
1. Secure a length of 3 or 4" PVC conduit to the ground ( or something).
2. Tie some loops (handles) in the poly rope.
3 Put the poly rope around the pipe and start sawing.
I've seen guys win bets cutting 4" pipe that way.
I have seen elbow dug out of the ground when they were sawed through with poly rope.

Allways watch your streach. Streach is "stored energy" so is TNT.
 
Cow said:
Thanks for the input guys. I came across a couple different options, Amsteel Blue seems to have the best cost/strength ratio so far.

http://www.amsteelblue.com/item/AB014600

http://www.us-rope-cable.com/HTML/cable-pull.html
Click to expand...
I have used the amsteelblue rope with a tugger because I needed the strength in a smaller diameter. It worked but it slips on the tugger capstan a lot more than the standard pulling ropes do, and when it slips, it "burns" easily. If you put a lot of wraps on the capstan and don't let the rope slip, it works fine. When you need to stop the pull you have to make sure to stop the tugger too as soon as you can. When the rope "burns" it glazes and makes it even more slippery.

The 1/2 amsteel rope had a higher working load than the 7/8 rope made to be used with a tugger.
 
Just curious here. If you are breaking an 1800 Lb. muletape, what is the sidewall pressure on your wire during pulling? I don't know the particulars, but it would seem to me that it would be well over 300 lbs. if mule tape is breaking during pulling.

I use an 1800 lb. muletape to pull in 1000' single runs of 35KV xlpe.
 
Hv&Lv said:
Just curious here. If you are breaking an 1800 Lb. muletape, what is the sidewall pressure on your wire during pulling? I don't know the particulars, but it would seem to me that it would be well over 300 lbs. if mule tape is breaking during pulling.

I use an 1800 lb. muletape to pull in 1000' single runs of 35KV xlpe.
Click to expand...

yep. i haven't found anything i needed more than 1,800# mule tape for in a couple years.

as for mule tape wrapping over itself, what i've found is this.....

sounds like you are using a maxis tugger....
try this... get the mule tape straight from the idler
wheel to the sheave.....

you want the tape "folded" so the edges of the tape are facing toward the top
of the sheave. so the thickness is doubled, and it isn't twisted.

if you get it like this, it won't ride up on itself, you can put half a dozen turns
on the sheave, and away you go... i discovered this by accident, but once
you get it running like that, it rocks.
 
cadpoint said:
Well there's polyester, and there's polyporpylene! While both are chemically made the polyster is more of what one would know or think of as a ships rope and has the highly resistant to abrasive of being used on a wrench. The polyporpylene is more like the yellow rope commonly sold at supply houses but is stronged but less resistant to abrasion when wenching.
Click to expand...

make sure WHATEVER you are pulling with is listed as a pulling rope.

sometimes stuff is misidentified. pulling rope only stretches 4~5% before breaking.

some of the poly and nylon blends can stretch 50~60% before breaking.
it's a good way to get badly hurt, using something like that. the amount
of energy stored in the rope can hurt people on EITHER END of the pull.

badly hurt.

ever see someone pulling with nylon rope, and all of a sudden three 4/0's
try to move 20' up a pipe in half a second? or the rope breaks when stretched
to 50%.

think "wrist rocket".
 
Fulthrotl said:
sounds like you are using a maxis tugger....
try this... get the mule tape straight from the idler
wheel to the sheave.....

you want the tape "folded" so the edges of the tape are facing toward the top
of the sheave. so the thickness is doubled, and it isn't twisted.

.
Click to expand...

Not me, I have a butterfly for my pullsbutterfly.jpg

You must mean Cow.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
I have used the amsteelblue rope with a tugger because I needed the strength in a smaller diameter. It worked but it slips on the tugger capstan a lot more than the standard pulling ropes do, and when it slips, it "burns" easily. If you put a lot of wraps on the capstan and don't let the rope slip, it works fine. When you need to stop the pull you have to make sure to stop the tugger too as soon as you can. When the rope "burns" it glazes and makes it even more slippery.

The 1/2 amsteel rope had a higher working load than the 7/8 rope made to be used with a tugger.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up Don.

Hv&Lv said:
Just curious here. If you are breaking an 1800 Lb. muletape, what is the sidewall pressure on your wire during pulling? I don't know the particulars, but it would seem to me that it would be well over 300 lbs. if mule tape is breaking during pulling.

I use an 1800 lb. muletape to pull in 1000' single runs of 35KV xlpe.
Click to expand...

I couldn't tell you.

Fulthrotl said:
yep. i haven't found anything i needed more than 1,800# mule tape for in a couple years.

as for mule tape wrapping over itself, what i've found is this.....

sounds like you are using a maxis tugger....
try this... get the mule tape straight from the idler
wheel to the sheave.....

you want the tape "folded" so the edges of the tape are facing toward the top
of the sheave. so the thickness is doubled, and it isn't twisted.

if you get it like this, it won't ride up on itself, you can put half a dozen turns
on the sheave, and away you go... i discovered this by accident, but once
you get it running like that, it rocks.
Click to expand...

It's a Greenlee tugger but I wonder if folding it over like you mentioned would still work? I'll have to give it a try next time.

One of the guys ended up finding some 3/8" poly rope in the shop for the third pull, it seemed to do alright. We also discovered today that we have another couple of 1" pipe runs 400' long due to get #4's as well. We didn't notice the wire size when doing the underground or we would of upsized it to 1.25". I could kill the engineer for the spec'ing that size conduit. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and make sure the pipe is clean clean clean!
 
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