Jim greengo
Well-known member
So did the plumber use plumbing PVC and fittings,or gray electrical PVC and long sweep fittings?
Only place I'd ever use a 90 underground is on the end of trench pointing up to bring pipe back up out of ground.
Cable Pulling - Looking for some tricks of the trade
- Thread starter b-boy
- Start date
Only place I'd ever use a 90 underground is on the end of trench pointing up to bring pipe back up out of ground.
rlitman
Well-known member
Exactly. The wire usually pulls into the 90 easily. But the curve forces it to press into the conduit walls as it exits, and that's right where it wants to get hung up in the worst way. Particularly if you're in the middle of an S.
Actually, that's not true. I also have 1" PVC for fiber communication cables. That'll be another thread though.
Ugh. Pulling fiber *****. It's much more sensitive to bends and tension.
I have a somewhat related question concerning my wiring pull. This is part 2 of the pull.
My conduit runs from my barn to the back of my house. I have a box mounted there. I have THHN/THWN running into the box. I want to run SER from that point to my main panel.
My original plan was to run the SER through the exterior wall (about 12 feet) under a crawlspace, then run it through a wall into my basement, and continue about 30 ft to the main panel. In order to do this, I'll have to cut up some fairly new drywall. It's going to be a mess.
I have a covered wrap-around porch on my house. It runs the entire length of the house. Can I run SER on the underside of the porch or along the exterior wall along the porch? It's fully enclosed, so it's not much different than my crawlspace. I actually had to cut some panels to get under there. It's protected and does not get wet. There is already some conduit under there for my grinder pump that feeds into my panel.
Is this an OK environment for SER?
My conduit runs from my barn to the back of my house. I have a box mounted there. I have THHN/THWN running into the box. I want to run SER from that point to my main panel.
My original plan was to run the SER through the exterior wall (about 12 feet) under a crawlspace, then run it through a wall into my basement, and continue about 30 ft to the main panel. In order to do this, I'll have to cut up some fairly new drywall. It's going to be a mess.
I have a covered wrap-around porch on my house. It runs the entire length of the house. Can I run SER on the underside of the porch or along the exterior wall along the porch? It's fully enclosed, so it's not much different than my crawlspace. I actually had to cut some panels to get under there. It's protected and does not get wet. There is already some conduit under there for my grinder pump that feeds into my panel.
Is this an OK environment for SER?
Ser is fine outside, just not underground.
My personal preference is not to run it outside exposed because sunlight will make the jacket brittle and crumbly after 20 years. But that is not a requirement.
Awesome.
There is no sunlight getting under the porch, so I should be good there.
My biggest concern would probably be a chipmunk or squirrel getting under there and gnawing on the wire. I didn't see any evidence of them, but it seems like they can get into anything.
I can run it under the floor, or attach it to the concrete foundation's exterior. I'm leaning towards running it on the concrete. Any reason not to do this?
There is no sunlight getting under the porch, so I should be good there.
My biggest concern would probably be a chipmunk or squirrel getting under there and gnawing on the wire. I didn't see any evidence of them, but it seems like they can get into anything.
I can run it under the floor, or attach it to the concrete foundation's exterior. I'm leaning towards running it on the concrete. Any reason not to do this?
I just saw this and moved it. Next time, don't be afraid to shoot me a PM to move something like this, it's not a big deal and I'm glad to help.
alfredeneuman
Well-known member
If you strip back about a foot of wire and cut the outer strands out it will greatly reduce the overall size of the head. Only 3 or 4 strands are enough left to do the job.
Using a strand to wrap tightly around the whole bundle after it's bent at the attachment point will make sure they don't unbend.
Try not to have a pointed head on the bundle. It should be rounded.
EDIT: Don't insert wires into the fishtape head so that they're all on one side. One by one insert them in the opposite direction form the prior.
Using a strand to wrap tightly around the whole bundle after it's bent at the attachment point will make sure they don't unbend.
Try not to have a pointed head on the bundle. It should be rounded.
EDIT: Don't insert wires into the fishtape head so that they're all on one side. One by one insert them in the opposite direction form the prior.
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Thanks to everyone who made suggestions. I was finally able to get the wire pulled today.
I used 250' of nylon rope (expensive stuff) to do the pull. I also used 2 quarts of wire lube.
My son and I spent most of the afternoon struggling with it. We tried pulling from the opposite direction as before, to avoid hanging up on the 90. We still hung up on it. We got about 180 ft in, and then nothing.
I added an eye bolt on the ceiling above the conduit. We looped the rope through there so we could get a little more leverage. Both of us were hanging from the rope and it wouldn't budge.
After about 2 hours I decided to take the nuclear approach. I tied the rope to my truck hitch and pulled slowly. I figured it would either work, or the rope would break. Luckily, that did the trick. We got past whatever was hanging up the line, and had no problem pulling after that.
I'd planned on getting everything hooked up, but that'll have to wait for next weekend.
I used 250' of nylon rope (expensive stuff) to do the pull. I also used 2 quarts of wire lube.
My son and I spent most of the afternoon struggling with it. We tried pulling from the opposite direction as before, to avoid hanging up on the 90. We still hung up on it. We got about 180 ft in, and then nothing.
I added an eye bolt on the ceiling above the conduit. We looped the rope through there so we could get a little more leverage. Both of us were hanging from the rope and it wouldn't budge.
After about 2 hours I decided to take the nuclear approach. I tied the rope to my truck hitch and pulled slowly. I figured it would either work, or the rope would break. Luckily, that did the trick. We got past whatever was hanging up the line, and had no problem pulling after that.
I'd planned on getting everything hooked up, but that'll have to wait for next weekend.
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Glad you got it installed.
This is a good example of why you shouldn't use short radius 90's underground. Use them to 90* up out of the ground if you have to but everything else should either be a gentle curve in the pipe or use long radius bends. Wire this size should have flew through 2" conduit, even 200'.
This is a good example of why you shouldn't use short radius 90's underground. Use them to 90* up out of the ground if you have to but everything else should either be a gentle curve in the pipe or use long radius bends. Wire this size should have flew through 2" conduit, even 200'.
Yep. The first 180 ft was pretty easy. The last 20 was a bear. Once we got the head past the 90, it was pretty easy. I could almost pull it through by myself.
I'll add this to things I've done, but probably don't want to do again.
I also ran the 2-2-2-4 SER as well. I still have to join the cables up in my crawl space. Any recommendations on what size box to use? I have a 7x7, but that seems like it may be a little small.
I'll add this to things I've done, but probably don't want to do again.
I also ran the 2-2-2-4 SER as well. I still have to join the cables up in my crawl space. Any recommendations on what size box to use? I have a 7x7, but that seems like it may be a little small.