Type R cable stuck in conduit

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VernB

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Ok, is there a secret handshake to this? :roll: I'm removing a 200 foot run of Type R cable (canvas over natural rubber, copper wire), 3 conductors of about 500mcm size, rigid conduit. As far as I can tell, there's plenty of room in the conduit, it's a straight run, the stub ends of the cable are straight, I just can't manage to budge them so much as an inch.

So, I'm left with a couple of possibilities:

I'm a wimp.
The cables are twisted inside the conduit.
The cables have grown to each other.
The cables have grown to the conduit.

Any suggestions for breaking this loose that don't involve me getting a hernia? I'm considering I may have to disassemble the whole conduit :roll:

Vern
 
VernB said:
I just can't manage to budge them so much as an inch.
Click to expand...

What have you already tried?

Getting 600' of 500 kcmil copper moving after years of being in the raceway is going to take a lot of force.
 
First, I'd do a walk through to see how strong the pipe run is.

Second, can you get a fish tape, or string (baggie, push and pull vacuums together) or have access points to dump in polly water?

Third, get as much lube in the pipe as reason will allow.


I'd be looking at my pulling gear. If you have a well built run, have a remote control (remote enough to stand around corner from pulling point) and a winch capable of pulling 6,000+ pounds you may be set.

I'd set my rigging and load to at least a 1,000 pounds after getting lube in the pipe, walk the run with load on winch, and smack the pipe with a hammer to help break it loose. Couple of trips through, adding a little tension, and well placed blows can do wonders.

If that fails, cut the run in half, pull the existing conductors out both ways...do repair.

My $.03 worth....Oooh, and good luck!
 
I generally fill the conduit with water, and put a come-along on it over the weekend. Ratchet the come-along up real tight, and when you come back on Monday, 99% of the time the conductors have broken loose. Use a Shop-Vac to remove all the water you put in the conduit. Use plenty of lube for the re-pull, since the conduit will be extra rough inside.
 
Marc,

Sound like a brother, from another mother...
 
Sheathed Cable
" Approximate weight per 1000' for soft drawn bare copper wire (pounds)"
__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

"Approximate weight per 1000' for soft drawn bare copper wire (pounds)"
__________________________________________________________________________

"Size Weight | Size Weight"
__________________________________________________________________________

#14 solid 12.40
#12 solid 19.80
#10 solid 31.43
# 8 stranded 50.97
# 6 stranded 81.05
# 4 stranded 128.90
# 2 stranded 204.90
#1/0 stranded 325.80
#2/0 stranded 410.90
#3/0 stranded 518.10
#4/0 stranded 653.30______________________________________________________________________

3/0 = 167KCMCM x 3 = 500KCMCM

(3/0 x 3 = 1555 per 1000')

1555 x .2 (200') = 311 per conductor

311 x 3 = 933 pounds

Take at least 1844 pounds of force, to move ...if it was easy.

Might take a pretty good tug to move "the problem".


Edit - clean up weigh column
 
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If there's any of that yellow lube used when wire was pulled, chances are, you might not get them out. That stuff is like cement when it dries. If there's any pulling points like L's, T's or boxes, see if there's a way you can cut and pull smaller portions, even try pulling one conductor at a time to see if any can come loose. I've been in situations where we've taken some of the conduit loose to get a good bite on the wires. Taking a 5lb mall to a 90 bend may help release the tension when wires are being pulled.

One of the toughest time I had was trying to pulling out old feeders 4-600's out of conduit 4 or 5 inch rigid (I can't remember exactly) at a sugar plant.
Through last 30 years of use, somehow, sugar gets inside the conduit and the wire is stuck inside the pipe. After burning up 2 tugers and using a super tugger we went for a last resort of pouring hot water to try to melt the sugar. 12 hours later and a few hits with a 5lb mall while tugger was screaming and smoking, they finally came loose. Talking about a sweet job.

Good luck on your efforts and if and when you're successful, please let us know what solution you used to get them out. That kind of information is always good to have being that's a pretty common situation.
 
Just leave the site unsecured and some homeless guy will yank it out for you.



Put a watered down quart of that blue/green lube in each end and let it sit overnight.
 
witnessed a job not long ago where there was an under the building run of almost 500 feet of pipe. No as builts, so who knows how many bends. They did not want to dig up the floor ( a hotel), so they finally used a very large bulldozer to pull out the conductors when all else failed. They broke several of the tugger cables before they finally were able to pull out the existing conductors (originally installed in 1951).
Also, the advice of staying clear of those tugger cables is very good advice...when they break loose, there is no telling where they wind up.
 
Reminds me of the time we were called to remove some faulted cables in a conduit. We used a cable puller and that snapped our rig a few times. Heck with that. time to dig it up. we got a call the next day. The guy asked why we wanted to use a tugger to remove the UF cable.
 
I have had to use lots of crushed ice to get old cables out the cold makes the cable less sticky if I remember type r had a outer cover that feels like roof tar had one job where we had to pull out 600' of 500 mcm 15kv cable
couldn't get it to move with anything come to find out they didn't tighten the gland on the pothead at the substation and the first 90 was full of potting compound
 
Here is the best advice anyone can offer you.


popeyolivecan1.JPG


If This Doesn't Work--Nothing Will​
 
iwire said:
What have you already tried?

Getting 600' of 500 kcmil copper moving after years of being in the raceway is going to take a lot of force.
Click to expand...

I've tried pounding the conduit and the "armstrong" method :)

Vern
 
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