How to pull a very heavy bundle of cables?

[reader2580]

I just bought 450 feet of 1/0 cable that needs to be pulled through a 2" conduit. The cable is very heavy. Two of us could barely lift the spool into the back of my minivan.

It will get cut into three pieces for neutral and two hots. How do I pull that much weight in cable through my conduit? It is Southwire cable that has the slippery coating. I have pull tape I will run through the conduit.

 

[mike93lx]

A winch, excavator, truck, come along

Don't forget lube

 

[Shiftless]

I’ve never pulled more than 12 ga. through half inch conduit. So I know almost nothing.
That sounds like a tough job. Is it a totally straight run or are there sweeps? I know there are different grades of pull tapes. Watching the tape break when the pull is mostly done would not be fun.
I hope you are not trying to do this all by yourself.

 

[PCustoms]

I just bought 450 feet of 1/0 cable that needs to be pulled through a 2" conduit. The cable is very heavy. Two of us could barely lift the spool into the back of my minivan.

It will get cut into three pieces for neutral and two hots. How do I pull that much weight in cable through my conduit? It is Southwire cable that has the slippery coating. I have pull tape I will run through the conduit.

No ground?

How far is the pull?

How are the bends?

I pulled a 60' bundle (hots were 2/0) a few years ago solo. Stuffing/pulling the additional 25' through the LB sucked and I used a come along.

 

[sparky 1971]

Whatdo youhave available? I have a wire tugger but I've also used tractors, skidloaders, forklifts, avan, and an ATV. If there are only a couple of 90's, pulling it by hand won't be too terrible. Four of us just pulled three 3/0 copper conductors through 200' of 2" EMT with two 90's by hand. I did wish I had the tugger for that one , but we were able to get it done.

 

[Dagny]

**** a string pull a rope in. A helper will save a lot of time.

 

[mm08822]

For starters (and probably too late), this is when the most simplistic conduit routing helps tremendously.
Part of that routing can include a strategic location of an LB to split the run up.

I have cheated in the past and dropped lube in the run as I was assembling it to get the lube where it would be most useful.

(I have even drilled a hole in a sweep and fed it foam in both directions as I knew I would be screwed once I hit that next turn during a pull. Most of my pulls are 1 man only so that can increase the "this *****" factor quickly. (Silicone caulk tells no tales of an errant hole.)

Your pull tape will want to be replaced with rope. Do you have anchor points to attach a come-along to at the recieving end?

 

[PCustoms]

Your pull tape will want to be replaced with rope.

Yes, missed that but in the OP.

I bought generic mule tape off Amazon.

 

[Norcal]

The days of being allowed to run a
Three wire feeder are long gone, a grounding conductor is required also.

 

[MarineScott]

I used my winch, 2500# atv size. Some cable lube and the correct knot for the line. Hook the winch end to the line and re adjust as needed. I welded an A frame to hook my winch to because I had to pull mine up at the garage wall.

 

[sparky 1971]

The days of being allowed to run a
Three wire feeder are long gone, a grounding conductor is required also.

It could be EMT, doubtful it's rigid.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

It will get cut into three pieces for neutral and two hots.

what is this for? service entrance from meter or branch feeder? if latter, you will need a 4th cond for an EGC as well

 

[wyliesdiesels]

**** a string pull a rope in. A helper will save a lot of time.

dont use rope. it will burn thru any bends or sweeps you have. you want flat mule tape

 

[reader2580]

No ground?

How far is the pull?

How are the bends?

I forgot to include ground since I already have the ground wire. The ground will be #4 because I already have that.

115 foot pull. If I recall correctly there is a 45, a 22.5, and a 90.

 

[reader2580]

what is this for? service entrance from meter or branch feeder? if latter, you will need a 4th cond for an EGC as well

Branch feeder. I forgot to mention the ground since I already have the wire for that. There will definitely be a ground.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

what size circuit/breaker?

 

[reader2580]

This will be at least a two person job. I don't have any sort of equipment to pull the cable with, but I might be able to get a Dingo if that would help. I was planning on mule tape as rope supposedly can damage the conduit.

This is a 125 amp circuit. 1/0 is overkill, but I got the wire really cheap on clearance. I would have rather had #1, but #1 would cost double what I paid for the 1/0.

 

[MOS3522]

A winch, excavator, truck, come along

Don't forget lube

A wench, come along, lube and word that rhymes with truck sounds like a good Saturday night in New York City . . .

 

[mike93lx]

A wench, come along, lube and word that rhymes with truck sounds like a good Saturday night in New York City . . .

No shaming from this guy.

 

[sparky 1971]

I forgot to include ground since I already have the ground wire. The ground will be #4 because I already have that.

115 foot pull. If I recall correctly there is a 45, a 22.5, and a 90.

Two people can pull that by hand pretty easy. Just make sure to stay in sync, one guy pulling while the other is pushing. I'd be using a 1/2" diameter rope, but I already have that available.

 

[aka Larry]

Crazy question....is the conduit already assembled and buried?

 

[mike93lx]

Crazy question....is the conduit already assembled and buried?

Crazy question, you aren't going to suggest assembling the conduit with the wire in place, right?

 

[PCustoms]

Crazy question, you aren't going to suggest assembling the conduit with the wire in place, right?

'cause that's not code

 

[aka Larry]

Crazy question, you aren't going to suggest assembling the conduit with the wire in place, right?

'cause that's not code

Is there a (non-arbitrary) reason for this just for my education?

 

[mike93lx]

Is there a (non-arbitrary) reason for this just for my education?

Potential for damage like knicking or pinch a wire, plus pvc glue can damage insulation

 

[reader2580]

Crazy question....is the conduit already assembled and buried?

Yes.

 

[aka Larry]

Potential for damage like knicking or pinch a wire, plus pvc glue can damage insulation

OK, didn't know that about the glue. Thanks for the info.

 

[dave*99]

I helped a neighbor pull an underwater LED low voltage light out from conduit in his swimming pool. During initial installation, he put the light in while the glue was wet. Damn that stuff sticks to insulation good.

 

[Dagny]

it will take longer to tie the wires on than it will to pull it. I would use some lube though.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

OK, didn't know that about the glue. Thanks for the info.

the glue for PVC uses a chemical welding process which essentially melts/softens the pvc. this same chemical can soften and eat the insulation on the wire. plus if you drag wire thru the glue before it has set and hardened, youre likely to glue the wire to the conduit making it difficult to remove if needed. or cause the insulation to come off exposing bare conductors to water.... its just not a good idea all around and just the reason why its prohibited by code

 

[mm08822]

A wench, come along, lube and word that rhymes with truck sounds like a good Saturday night in New York City . . .

Are you saying find a wench to come along and dont forget lots of lube?

 

[mm08822]

I forgot to include ground since I already have the ground wire. The ground will be #4 because I already have that.

115 foot pull. If I recall correctly there is a 45, a 22.5, and a 90.

That shouldn't be too difficult in 2" as it even just meets the fill requirements for 1.25".

Just lube it from the start.

 

[reader2580]

My main concern is simply the weight of the cable. Southwire says their 1/0 THHN weighs 372 pounds per 1000 feet. That makes the 450 feet weigh 167 pounds plus the 23 pounds for the #4. That is a lot of weight for two people to push/pull.

The reel of cable probably weighs between 175 and 200 pounds. No wonder it was so hard to get into my vehicle. We probably should have had three people to lift it.

 

[mike93lx]

My main concern is simply the weight of the cable. Southwire says their 1/0 THHN weighs 372 pounds per 1000 feet. That makes the 450 feet weigh 167 pounds plus the 23 pounds for the #4. That is a lot of weight for two people to push/pull.

The reel of cable probably weighs between 175 and 200 pounds. No wonder it was so hard to get into my vehicle. We probably should have had three people to lift it.

If you are pulling in the right direction (into the bell ends) and have it lubed a bit, it should go through without much drama, I expect. You aren't hoisting the cable, just sliding it along the pipe

 

[wyliesdiesels]

but youre not pulling/pushing that all at once....

 

[cvairwerks]

Try pulling a stuck 2000 pair cable....After smoking all of the tuggers to get it out, it took us a D-6 dozer, and more than 200 gallons of lube, to finish the pull

 

[mm08822]

And make feeding it easier by laying it out on the ground.

 

[mike93lx]

Try pulling a stuck 2000 pair cable....After smoking all of the tuggers to get it out, it took us a D-6 dozer, and more than 200 gallons of lube, to finish the pull

Feels like that needs a safe word

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

The trick is to make sure the wires are "laid out" with no loops (aka: A$$ Holes) and feed the wires so they aren’t all twisted/bundled up.……….. Lube is your friend!

 

[Shiftless]

it took us a D-6 dozer, and more than 200 gallons of lube,

How many of us have 200 gallons of lube available for various jobs?