A fish tape that doesn't unravel itself

[rslaback]

Does it exist?

We have an air blow tube conveyance for springs in our production facility. Think like the bank uses for the drive up but smaller and air rather than vacuum assisted. We use an electrical fish tape in our production facility to remove stuck springs and to run wipes through to clean the conveyance tube. We have an ongoing issue with the fish tapes being "broken" and replaced. In reality what happens is that the tape uncoils itself in the housing and the operators don't understand that and so they just try to wind it back up which forces the spring tape out the case seam or worse.

I'm doing a bit of research into the Milwaukee angler system which is honestly way more solution than we need but the powered in/out would solve our problem.

We've used mostly Klein and Gardner Bender tapes so far. Is there such a thing as a fish tape that has some type of integrated brake lock or something to keep it from internally unspooling?

 

[LXCam]

Ideal with the plastic handle.

 

[rslaback]

Ideal with the plastic handle.

Does it actually have a brake mechanism to prevent the spring from uncoiling?

 

[PCustoms]

Does it actually have a brake mechanism to prevent the spring from uncoiling?

Do fish tapes have a spring?

My Klein doesn't. It sticks winding it back in, if you jam it I'm sure the insides will become outside.

Maybe better Operators or consider it a disposable and replace often?

 

[rslaback]

Do fish tapes have a spring?

My Klein doesn't. It sticks winding it back in, if you jam it I'm sure the insides will become outside.

Maybe better Operators or consider it a disposable and replace often?

I consider the tape itself the spring. I'm pretty sure they are spring steel that gets rolled up inside like a clockspring. The cases have the friction for built in but that doesn't last very long euchre is why I'm hoping for something with a more positive stop.

 

[PCustoms]

I consider the tape itself the spring. I'm pretty sure they are spring steel that gets rolled up inside like a clockspring. The cases have the friction for built in but that doesn't last very long euchre is why I'm hoping for something with a more positive stop.

Got ya

The last 5' or so (lots of residential fishing in walls) of mine started not retracting. I hit it with a rough rag doused in oil, seemed to clean the rust off and work better.

 

[no704]

How long is the run??

 

[sparky 1971]

I've had Klein, Thomas and Betts, and Ideal. Ideal is by far, the best. Right now there is a 120' and a 240' Ideal on my truck and with all of the bouncing around on the frozen roads that during the non winter months aren't all that great, nothing comes unwound. I used to have a 240' Klein that was ok, but when I installed a leader on it, about 2' would creep out the end. I don't know if it would have continued on, I wound it back up every time I saw it.

 

[rslaback]

How long is the run??

18 feet

 

[yatg]

18 feet

try this instead of the reels

https://www.amazon.com/Greenlee-438-2X-Steel-Fish-Tape/dp/B001HWEEIY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[no704]

Just use a length of pe tubing.

 

[rslaback]

Just use a length of pe tubing.

no

 

[BreeStephany]

I've used quite a few fishtapes over the years and will say that the majority my Greenlee stainless tapes with leaders that I've had for 15 years are still going strong and still wind up fully without issue.

I did manage to really mess one up on a project a few years back because the pull was 230ft of #4 copper, the conduit fill was right at maximum fill and there were 360 degrees of bend in the run. It still wound up and pulled out without issue, but was curly cued so bad from pulling with quite a bit of tension that it liked catching on every single compression connectors/coupling/inline jbox it encountered.

I have never a fan of GB fish tapes, they are just cheap and seem to be pretty sprung even when new.

Had a coworker that bought a new Klein fishtape and I was not impressed with it from new... it NEVER unwound or wound back up easily, the reel always felt "gritty" like the tape had been drug through sand and clay and wound dirty, even though the entire tape was clean and had never seen dirt.

I've never used Milwaukee fishtapes. Their powered tape do look really nice for doing LONG runs a LOT, but the price tag had kept me sticking to my Greenlee tapes.

For almost anything, except fishing in conduits with conductors already installed or fishing into live panels, I prefer steel over fiberglass. They last longer, are much easier and quicker to fix if the end breaks by just cutting and adding a leader, or heating and bending a new end if needed immediately.

Fiberglass have their place and I have a few, but most of mine tend to get "memory" of the reel as they age and get progressively curly cued over time, especially if they aren't used routinely. I definitely prefer the Ideal fiberglass tapes over the Greenlee, as they seem to have less issue with this, but they, and the replacement end kits, aren't commonly stocked with most of the electrical suppliers I work with.

Just my two cents.

 

[Zeke]

With 18' of tubing that needs to be cleared now and then I'd have a tendency to have one of those sectional fishing tools set up nearby, screw a couple of pre assembled sections together and stuff it in there. Cleaning rag and all. You get a push/pull option.

IDK how tight your bends are. The fishing tools don't bend a lot. 3' radius no problem.

 

[nadogail]

Before I retired, my pet Fish Tape was the Ideal “Gold Worm”.