Using a Piston to Pre-lube Conduit ?

[TwoBlocked]

Got what I expect to be some tough pulls in a couple months. 3 runs of 200' of buried 2" PVC with rigid coming up, one end into a vault. 360 degrees of bend. Was thinking of pre-lubing and maybe using a piston to push the lube through, as I don't see a rag working very well. Has anybody tried it?

 

[infinity]

We've used front end packs of lube and conduit lube spreaders. Both work fairly well depending on the length of the run.

 

[kec]

How many conductors and what size?

 

[TwoBlocked]

How many conductors and what size?

Not sure yet. Haven't done much underground conduit.

 

[rambojoe]

Use a swab...

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I would be using a tugger and just soap the wire as it goes in the pipe. I don't see that as a difficult pull.

 

[rambojoe]

Im not sure what the pull looks like but i agree.. very rare i would ever swab unless we knew it was for whatever reason, a unique pull. Ive dry swabbed conduits more than lubed it...

 

[infinity]

One of the major disadvantages of pre-lubing the raceway is that if you're using a pulling machine the lube can really foul up the rope and also the capstan on the tugger possibly reducing friction to the point where you cannot pull in the wire.

 

[TwoBlocked]

Use a swab...

What kind of swab?

 

[infinity]

What kind of swab?

We used to make one by wrapping a cotton rag around a scrap piece of EMT and fastening it with some duct to tape. It looked like big Q-Tip. So much better than putting your hand into a bucket of lube on a cold day. I think that you can actually buy a commercially made product.

 

[TwoBlocked]

I would be using a tugger and just soap the wire as it goes in the pipe. I don't see that as a difficult pull.

You're probably right. This is new to me and I am taking this opportunity to understand the many options.