This thread is hilarious I had to read it several times because I though I was missing something. 120ft pull of alum conductor in 2 in pipe and he needs no less than 5 guys and a gallon of lube.
You probably should read post #1 again. He's never done this. Nobody said five guys. I said four, and I would be one of those four, because, IF things go wrong and the wire gets stuck, it might take another person to help get it free. I could probably pull it by myself, I've pulled larger wire farther by myself, but I would for sure have two people at the feed end, especially if the wire is on spools. And as far as the gallon of lube, it's easier to get the lube out of a bucket vs. screwing around trying to get it out of a bottle when it's 1/2 empty and whoever is using it has to bang the top on something to get it to fall to the hole. Since he will probably never need it again, why not use the whole gallon? If I didn't use the whole gallon, it wouldn't bother me, but it would wind up on a shelf and the next time I needed it, it would be moldy and get thrown away anyway, just like almost every partial bucket of lube I've ever had that sat for more than a couple of months. Ideal used to have quart tubs, a couple of those would do it, but they are a thing of the past.
Provided all the bends are sweeps and going in the right direction you could probably almost push 120ft.
Now, go read post #33 again. He is going to dig it straight with distinct intersections. There won't be any sweeps. That's why this gets a little more difficult.
I personally am a fan of mule tape and would never use a three braid rope in a duct because I have seen them eat sweeps like the Cookie Monster.
The one and only time I tried to use a mule tape to pull, it broke. It was four #6's and a #8, about a 150' straight shot with a 90° at both ends. It broke after about 100' and it wasn't a pulling hard. Why would anyone want to buy a 1000' mule tape to use 120' of it? He's probably never going to use it again. A 3/8" rope isn't going to cut into anything, and if he needs to buy a 100' and a 50' and tie them together, so what? Rope can always be used for other things and is a good thing to have around. A string will cut into the 90's for sure, a 1/4" rope might if it's a hard enough pull. What would you be using if this were a 200 amp feeder? A rope is what's used, that's why Ideal makes and sells wire pulling rope.
I also am not a fan of the halfhitch/lock stitch because I have seen what it does under tension. It usually pulls the end of the cable to the side causing the of the cable to form a L not good in conduits as the L lights to get hung up. But being this is 120ft I would use it in a second but I would put a clove hitch at the start then 2 half hitches with tape on both ends like shown
And if it's on wrong and slips off? Why not use a tried and true, proven method that's been used millions of times? I've probably stripped the wire and cut about 1/2 the strands off 20 times. A sock or pulling head would be even better, but he doesn't have either one of those.
but no duct tape because it adds to much bulk
If 1/2 the strands are cut off and the duct tape is used to keep the loop in the end closed, where is the bulk?
. Don’t over think this. Remember pulling cable is usually grunt work.
Again, the OP has never done this before. If he had, he wouldn't be on here asking what the best way to do it is. Based on the info that has been provided, I would do it the same way I suggested. The only differences would be that I would use my pulling head to attach the wires to, and if possible, I wouldn't have back to back LB's. If I laid eyes on the job, there might be a lot of things done differently, but that isn't going to happen.
