String/cable through an underground tile??

[Ralphxj]

I need to get a cat5 cable out to the shop, I'm sick of dealing with wifi that barely works if I'm standing in the doorway.

I have a corrugated field tile that goes from my attached garage out to my shop (80ft or so) and it contains 2 plastic lines that around 1/2in each (one for water, one for compressed air). I'm hoping to use that tile if i can so i don't have to dig a new trench if I can help it.

Any tips on getting a pull string out there to pull my cat5 through? I was thinking I would try to tie a plastic bag to the end of the line and use a shop vac on the other end to pull it through, or a leaf blower to blow the bag through. Just wondering if it will make it through without getting hung up in the 2 plastic lines??

Tips?

 

[BFBOB]

A fish tape would by my first try, but you may not have one handy. The vacuum method does work - the best type of string I've found is 2 lb monofilament. Plastic bag is a good idea - I've always used pieces of Styrofoam or similar. Then use it to pull something sturdier through, then the cable. Use Direct Burial rated cable!!! Cat 5 direct burial is available by the foot at Home Depot, and probably the rest of its ilk. Also electric supply houses, but you may not have access to them.

Final advice: If you need one cable, pull two- plus a pull string.

 

[Charlie51]

That's pretty much how the local telephone company brought a fiber optic line to my property after I got the house in. (with suction at the end of the conduit and a light bag on the end of the cable) It was an almost 300 foot run.

 

[doorfx]

Tie a rag on the end of a rope and 110 psi it will go. That's how we ran rope through all our underground utilities.

 

[LXCam]

I have no idea what you mean by corrugated tile? But here's the deal for class 2 wiring. You can basically do what ever you want with it. Personally I'd suggest making sure it protected as well as isolated from running directly parallel to line voltage but for the most part you can do what you see fit.

 

[sberry]

A 4 inch pipe is different than a 1/2 conduit.

 

[nickelmore]

ping pong ball and fish line and leaf blower. And pull a another pull line when your pulling the cable....ya never know.

 

[Ralphxj]

Its a 4in tile and there is no power in it, just the 2 lines i mentioned. I will be pulling 2 runs of cat5 and will also leave at least 1, possibly 2 pull strings as well. I hadn't thought about using air from my compressor, its sitting about 8in from where the line comes into the shop, so that would be eaiser then a leaf blower!

Sounds like the way to go! I'll start with a bag and then try it out!!

 

[rburke65]

And this is why everyone should bury an extra PVC conduit.....or 2....or 3 when they have the trench opened in the first place. You aren't even talking an extra $25 in a 3/4" PVC and there would be no problem.

 

[Ralphxj]

And this is why everyone should bury an extra PVC conduit.....or 2....or 3 when they have the trench opened in the first place. You aren't even talking an extra $25 in a 3/4" PVC and there would be no problem.

I agree, but the tile was run long before I bought the house! I was just happy that the previous owner ran the airline into the garage and pulled the extra line which I used for water!

 

[rburke65]

Oh no....not pointing a finger......just saying. Use that shop vac and the compressor. Might try a foam ear plug and the fishing line.

 

[Bert_]

A shop vac or leaf blower would be the best bet. An air compressor wont supply enough volume. I also like to use a plastic bag. But it's doubtful that it will go though with other lines in the tile.

You could also try a stiff fish tape with something round stuck on the end so it doesn't get caught on the corrugations. But again with an 80' run and other lines in the tile it may not go though.

The last ditch effort, but most reliable, would be to tie a rope to one of the existing lines and pull the old line out and the rope in. Then pull the old line back in and your new wire, and pull in an extra string too!

 

[toplessHO]

Ive pulled many a line using a trash bag and a vacuum,even thru places where other stuff was in the way.
Keep in mind that the pull string can get wrapped around the air and water line,so have some one feed the line in as you pull it.
I would buy 100 ft of 3/4 carflex and pull it in.can always add if you need more cable that way.

 

[mx500]

push 80' of 1/2"pvc conduit through it. If ya can't do that. push a fish tape in as far as ya can with a string taped to it. Push a fish tape with a small hook on it from the other side and hope to hook the string.

 

[Elginz]

Pull the airline or water line with several strings/ropes to pull things back.

 

[mizzoutrover]

you could al try pushing poly water line through tape a round ball on to the end that starts into the pipe to ride over the ridges in the corrugations in the pipe...the poly water pipe will be stiff enough to help you push it, if you get hung up twist it to get it loose.

 

[aircommuter]

As a former underground contractor I have put in hundreds of strings then tied them to larger stronger pull tape or rope. Oh I almost forgot the real secret, tie the string to a heavy duty balloon inflated as need and it will flex as needed, **** it through with a shop vac.

 

[toplessHO]

As a former underground contractor I have put in hundreds of strings then tied them to larger stronger pull tape or rope. Oh I almost forgot the real secret, tie the string to a heavy duty balloon inflated as need and it will flex as needed, **** it through with a shop vac.

balloon works when the conduit is round and empty.
trash bag works when theres something already in there
key is to only partially inflate the trash bag before tying the open end up with the pull string.
Idea is to have it fill all the voids while being sucked in.
be prepared to get wet on the vacuum end

 

[Backyard Imports]

And this is why everyone should bury an extra PVC conduit.....or 2....or 3 when they have the trench opened in the first place. You aren't even talking an extra $25 in a 3/4" PVC and there would be no problem.

I thought this same thing when I was building and went ahead and did it. Then when I was getting an inspection the guy saw a couple stubs sticking out of the ground and asked about them. I told him that I ran a couple for future projects. He went off on me, telling me how I can't just lay a bunch of conduit in the ground without permit and inspection, how I needed to go and get a permit, blah blah, blah. The look on the faces at the permit counter were hilarious as I told them that I was there to get a permit for conduit that had no actual purpose yet and may never actually get used.

The lesson I learned... if you have future inspections to do, hide things so they don't see them. (This, obviously, only applies when you are actually doing work that requires inspection.)

 

[kbuhagiar]

Does the air line have removable connectors at both ends of the conduit (tile)?

If so, I would strongly urge you disconnect that air line and use it as a pull to bring in as many strings as you may need.

I spent many years working voice & data construction. Looking back, we wasted many many hours trying short-cuts to save time; 99 times out of 100 we ended up eventually just disabling an existing low-priority circuit to use as a temporary pull string.

Bottom line, if you don't mind fiddling and you have no time constraints, try some of the solutions previously mentioned. However, if you need to get this done as quickly as possible, cut your losses now and use the air line as a pull rope.

Just my two cents...good luck, you'll be happy to finally have a hard-wired LAN connection in the garage.

 

[Newell33]

Have you considered using wireless radios? I recently installed two Ubiquity Nanoloco M5 radios to solve the same issue as my shop is about 75 feet from my house. The cost was about $60.00 each. It took me a while to figure out how to set everything up, but once configured, it works great. The radios essentially take the place of the Cat-5 cable. I set an old router up as an access point in the shop, and have a nice full signal. If the underground cable thing doesn't work out, you might consider this as an option.

 

[aircommuter]

I use one of these.
http://www.engeniusworks.com/ENH202.asp

It covers my 15 acres and beyond, but I have cat underground into shop as the double steel wall keeps out signal really well. Everything has its drawbacks.

 

[Ralphxj]

I was running a bridged wifi signal to the shop, but the steel siding keep most of the signal out, making it very slow. i prefer wired when ever possible. Plus I already have a 1000ft spool of cat5e and my budget for this project is around $5 max! I need to look at the lines coming into the garage again (they are behind an access plate) but I seem to remember them being some kind of crimp connection I didn't want to mess with. However if my memory isn't correct and one of the lines can be easily removed at both ends, i will go that route.

Looks like i need to find time to actually start pulling some cable!

 

[Ralphxj]

Trash bag worked like a charm!! Took about 45 minites for the shop vac to **** out about 30 gallons of water from the tile!!! After that was clear of wayer and a random broken ax handle removed from the tile, it pulled the bag in about 0.6 seconds!! Now i just need to run the cat5 from the basement out throw the garage and to the shop.

 

[sberry]

Cool, I wondered how well it would work on a tile that big.

 

[Ralphxj]

Cool, I wondered how well it would work on a tile that big.

I used my new shopvac that had never been used so it had great suction and went with a trash bag since I would fill more of the tile. Worked like a charm!! Having everything in the tile wet might have helped as well. Not sure if the ax handle would have helped or not if it was left in the tile!

 

[padroo]

I used to work with the electricians in the mill and they always use plant air. When I tried it at home I had pressure but not the volume of a 3/4 inch air line with unlimited volume. I used masons line tied to a Kmart bag and a shop vacuum. Always pull another line in and leave it there just in case.