i have a fire damaged apartment that we are working on. some of the wires in concrete embeded conduit is melted and stuck. does any know of a good way to pull them out. i thought i saw a blade that can be attached to a fish tape and put into pipe to cut things up at electric west but cannot remember who could supply. can anyone help me out?
stuck wire
- Thread starter dsiu
- Start date
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ultramegabob
Senior Member
- Location
- Indiana
I have never heard of a tool like that, and I doubt it would work if they make it. I would just run a new conduit.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
Apply heat to the conduit until the plastic melts, then pull.
- Location
- Massachusetts
I was involved with a fire job where we had the same problem.
One way that seemed to work with small conductors if there was enough room in the conduit was to get a snake through from one end to the other. Then tie one or two wires to the snake at the far end, now pull the snake back out of the pipe. This peels the wires off of the conduit. In this way instead of trying to get the whole run loose in one shot you are only peeling it back.
One way that seemed to work with small conductors if there was enough room in the conduit was to get a snake through from one end to the other. Then tie one or two wires to the snake at the far end, now pull the snake back out of the pipe. This peels the wires off of the conduit. In this way instead of trying to get the whole run loose in one shot you are only peeling it back.
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
I worked a fire job years back the guy I worked with used a drill ,he twisted the wire together then put the end into the chuck and slowly turned the drill it twisted the wires together inside the pipe he would stop and pull every so often until they came out.
hardworkingstiff
Senior Member
- Location
- Wilmington, NC
I don't know if it will help you, but I've had good success with pouring white distilled vinegar in conduits, letting it sit for a while and then pulling one at a time (jerking trying to break it loose). This was in underground conduits going to gas pumps where the corrosion or sealing compound got the conductors stuck.
Be careful trying to blow out the conduits, vinegar stinks and is hard to clean up.
Be careful trying to blow out the conduits, vinegar stinks and is hard to clean up.
Cow
Senior Member
- Location
- Eastern Oregon
- Occupation
- Electrician
I've only worked on one fire job in an industrial plant. What I learned from that was if the wire got hot to the point it melted the insulation to the pipe, you're pretty much hosed. But if it got really really hot, the insulation turned to charcoal and you could pull it out.
Just to tell you how tough it was, we had a 2" emt 90 we chopped out of a run with 40 or so #14 control wires melted into it. About 2' of pipe. It took about 5-10 min prying back and forth with our screwdrivers from both ends to bust it loose. I can't see some little fishtape device making even the slightest bit of difference especially if the run is pvc, where the conduit and the wire would probably fuse together much worse than emt.
Just to tell you how tough it was, we had a 2" emt 90 we chopped out of a run with 40 or so #14 control wires melted into it. About 2' of pipe. It took about 5-10 min prying back and forth with our screwdrivers from both ends to bust it loose. I can't see some little fishtape device making even the slightest bit of difference especially if the run is pvc, where the conduit and the wire would probably fuse together much worse than emt.
jrannis
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Lauderdale/ Miami
Get a gallon of wd 40 and pour in it.
The poor man's method....Diesel
The poor man's method....Diesel
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