How to pull a wire through a pipe: 5 steps

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2023 Author: Martin Macey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 06:41

Let's say you have a tubing for wires. Attempts to push a wire through it lead you to despair. The answer is simple - you have to pull! But how do you get the wire through the tube?

Steps

Fish Wires Through a Conduit or Pipe Step 1

Step 1. Unwind some light thread and insert the end into the tube

Fish Wires Through a Conduit or Pipe Step 2

Step 2. Turn on the vacuum cleaner and bring it to the other end of the tube

Try to do this in a way that makes the most of your vacuum cleaner. The resulting vacuum should pull the thread through the tube.

Watch the other end of the rope so that it does not snag or stop. You should also calculate how much thread has to get into the pipe for it to come out on the other side.
Watch the moment when the thread appears from the side of the vacuum cleaner. Otherwise, too much filament may enter the vacuum cleaner.

Fish Wires Through a Conduit or Pipe Step 3

Step 3. After you have pulled a light thread through the pipe, tie a heavy thread or rope to it and pull it through the pipe by hand

Fish Wires Through a Conduit or Pipe Step 4

Step 4. Now tie the stretched rope to the wire and pull it through the pipe by hand

If you need to run multiple wires, try to make sure that the connection between the wires and the rope does not become a huge bundle of wires. This can make it difficult to "pull". Instead, tie only one wire to the rope, make one or more loops on it, 15-20 cm from the junction. Tie the second wire to the loop. Repeat this until you have connected all the wires by wrapping them around the rope with duct tape near the junction. This will make it much easier to pull the wires.

Fish Wires Through a Conduit or Pipe Step 5

Step 5. Use metal or fiberglass pull wire

If the pipe is long, has bends, is more than 25% full of wires, and so on, a pull wire will help you. Sometimes it can be used to immediately push the wire through, saving time. Fiberglass is non-conductive and is therefore highly recommended for use in place of metal wire.

Advice

Tie a cotton swab to the end of the string to make it easier to pull.
If you are pulling heavy cables that get stuck in pipe bends, lubricate them with grease. Be aware that some types of grease can damage wires, so get the right one. Many major home improvement stores sell special wire-pushing lubricant. Ordinary soap may also work for these purposes.
If there is already a cable in the pipe, it can be disconnected and used as a pushing tool. Connect two more wires to the new wires. One is to replace the wire that was used for pushing and the other is for pushing in the future. Examine the pulled out wire for damage and the possibility of reuse.
A spool of line is a great source of "thread".
Sometimes it is easier to pull the wires on one side and push on the other. In this case, you will need an assistant. Thin wires are very easy to damage if pulled sharply. Thick wires can get stuck in the pipe.
If you are going to place multiple wires in a pipe, feed them together, not separately. Glue them together with tape so that no wire gets stuck somewhere inside.