Cable pulling

[tom262]

Hello all, I've got to pull in a 35mm 3 core swa 150m of it!!! ALONE!
i was wondering if anyone knew of any machinery to hire to help it along (instead of getting 3 labourers!!) I've seen CEF hire a cable puller but it's £150 a day which seems abit steep! But unsure if there any good or not, thanks in advanced
tom

 

[Guest111]

You're not going to do it alone,full stop and even with a winch you will still need extra eyes and hands otherwise it's going to end in tears.also if there are a few bends in it they will make it harder too.

 

[benji]

is it a straight run /how many bends ?what height -is it on tray is there room to safely lay it on floor in loops?

 

[Engineer54]

Need a lot more information than that Tommyboy. What are you pulling this relatively small SWA into, a trench a duct, a duct with inaccessible bends, onto cable tray/basket, fixed direct to wall/ceiling etc?? Hire yourself some cable rollers, and don't try and pull 150m of SWA cable by yourself, apart from straining or otherwise injuring yourself, (3 and 4 core 35mm SWA cable starts to get heavy over those sort of distances) ....you will damage the cable sheathing for sure!!

Oh and if you do decide to use mechanical means to pull this cable, DON'T be tempted to use any form of vehicle, you WILL stretch the cable. Use a made for purpose cable winch o ruse manpower, ....nothing else!!!

 

[Marvo]

Yep, a few extra hands would save you a lot of heartache plus some of these;

 

[LeeH]

^^^^^ As above with 2 extra bodies is a minimum requirement IMHO.

 

[Pete999]

150 mtrs 35mm 3 core on your own, I would say you have two choices slim and none, that's too much for one person Tom cant you get some help for a few hours? I would help if I was near you trouble is I'm a bit past all that huffing and puffin, but good luck too you

 

[Engineer54]

There is also an ART to cable pulling, that will generally only come with experience. Different methods for different scenarios. A good/experienced cable pulling team, can be worth their weight in gold, in more ways than one!! lol!!

 

[Deleted member 72666]

Who says you have to do it alone? Get the right equipment and help to do the job professionally!

 

[UNG]

Hello all, I've got to pull in a 35mm 3 core swa 150m of it!!! ALONE!

Do you ever think you are biting off more than you can chew, I sense a disaster waiting to happen trying to do this on your own you obviously have little or no experience of installing a cable of this size and length not to mention the fact that it weighs nearly a 1/3 of a tonne on the drum and will feel a lot heavier when you start to pull it in

i was wondering if anyone knew of any machinery to hire to help it along (instead of getting 3 labourers!!) I've seen CEF hire a cable puller but it's £150 a day which seems abit steep! But unsure if there any good or not, thanks in advanced
tom

The best machinery to assist you is good old manpower as it comes with eyes and ears that will greatly reduce the risk of cable damage. Your quest to save money can only mean you grossly under estimated this job due to inexperience as previously mentioned you would be wise to employ someone who has experience of cable pulling and put any losses down to experience

You don't show your location as there may be someone on here local to you who may be able to help

 

[LeeH]

Do you ever think you are biting off more than you can chew?

Most days....

 

[tom262]

Do you ever think you are biting off more than you can chew, I sense a disaster waiting to happen trying to do this on your own you obviously have little or no experience of installing a cable of this size and length not to mention the fact that it weighs nearly a 1/3 of a tonne on the drum and will feel a lot heavier when you start to pull it in



The best machinery to assist you is good old manpower as it comes with eyes and ears that will greatly reduce the risk of cable damage. Your quest to save money can only mean you grossly under estimated this job due to inexperience as previously mentioned you would be wise to employ someone who has experience of cable pulling and put any losses down to experience

You don't show your location as there may be someone on here local to you who may be able to help

It is nothing to do with being inexperienced to be honest it's the first time I've used 35mm, I've pulled in 16mm plenty of times alone, all I was wondering is if anybody had used these machines before and if it's worth doing that or getting more people Involed, I'm doing the job for a good friend and am trying to keep costs to a minium, the cable it's self will be run about 60m underground and the rest of the way fixed directly to a wall,

 

[benji]

is the underground bit a trench or duct

 

[thekingiam]

ive used some but gave up in the end and used manpower,from one end of container ship to other four blokes two days on top of cable tray thought i was rowing the boat it was that difficult its all about the rythm get it wrong and the swa can wack you in the head as i found out.

 

[Knobhead]

You’ll never beat having the manpower. I don’t mean a few guys from the bar of the Nags Head either. Damage the cable and it’s going to cost you dearly.

I’ve had mile upon mile of cables pulled, always used the same cable gang. I could just leave it to their ganger.
1KM of 120mm PILCSWA dual circuit weighs in at 20Te+ I just left them to it.

 

[UNG]

It is nothing to do with being inexperienced to be honest it's the first time I've used 35mm,

I'll have to think about that comment

I've pulled in 16mm plenty of times alone, all I was wondering is if anybody had used these machines before and if it's worth doing that or getting more people Involed, I'm doing the job for a good friend and am trying to keep costs to a minium, the cable it's self will be run about 60m underground and the rest of the way fixed directly to a wall,

The difference is that 16mm 3c is about half the weight of 35mm 3c so it will be a bit easier to handle

If you are trying to keep costs down then I suggest you and your friend find some friends that owe you a few favours and rope them in to help

 

[7029 dave]

Even with all the mech aids, that task should not be carried out solo!!.

 

[Guest55]

i can just picture his face when a near 1 ton cable drum gets delivered to site whilst on his jack.

no amount of equipment will make the slightest difference to a lack of bodies.

if the mate wants a cheap job then he should provide the manpower.

 

[benji]

i recon at a push 2 of you could do it with a set of cable jacks ,but watch out for temperature it could crack insulation if to cold

 

[jeremy]

"it's nothing to do with inexperience"
Oh right , you've done this before?
" It's the first time I've used 35mm"
Hmmm.
Where are you? I'm sure there's people on here who would give you a hand, if you'd only ask. I'm not saying it'd be gratis, but could probably offer more advice than a cable winch

 

[amptramp]

Hi cable rollers over ground ,pull out loops on the corners ,you and two others ,should be enough two to pull one to guide down ducts to avoid damage to the outer sheath . ps rollers cheap enough o hire from speedy hire , 15 rollers ,3 men , 4 hours imho .

 

[Knobhead]

i recon at a push 2 of you could do it with a set of cable jacks ,but watch out for temperature it could crack insulation if to cold

Is that you and the incredible hulk?

OK a straight run maybe but the added time by the lack of manpower?

 

[PEG]

You will need help,plus,warm up the drum indoors a day at least,get rollers,a sock,roller cradle,lube,proper draw rope,and,drinks and dinner order for the lads that help....Melinda never has trouble getting assistance...

 

[Guest111]

We never found out where the op was so we couldn't help if we wanted to,lol

 

[benji]

Is that you and the incredible hulk?

OK a straight run maybe but the added time by the lack of manpower?


once installed 800mtr 70mm pilcswa in a trench at Maryport coal disposal in 1981, 2 guys and a JCB and lots rollers took half a day but sanding and cable tiles took two days

 

[Guest55]

once installed 800mtr 70mm pilcswa in a trench at Maryport coal disposal in 1981, 2 guys and a JCB and lots rollers took half a day but sanding and cable tiles took two days

well having a jcb is equivolent to having half a dozen blokes !!!
and how long would it have taken without ?

hardly bloody comparable to the scenario we have here is it lol.

 

[Engineer54]

Is that you and the incredible hulk?

OK a straight run maybe but the added time by the lack of manpower?


once installed 800mtr 70mm pilcswa in a trench at Maryport coal disposal in 1981,2 guys and a JCB and lots rollers took half a day but sanding and cable tiles took two days

And a guaranteed Stretched cable to boot!!

 

[LeeH]

Excellent idea!

Cable's 1m short....not for long...fire up the JCB!

 

[Knobhead]

Is that you and the incredible hulk?

OK a straight run maybe but the added time by the lack of manpower?


once installed 800mtr 70mm pilcswa in a trench at Maryport coal disposal in 1981, 2 guys and a JCB and lots rollers took half a day but sanding and cable tiles took two days

And a guaranteed Stretched cable to boot!!

Can’t add a lot to E54’s comment, but I will.

I’ve pulled 3.3KV mining trailing cables in with a bulldozer. The cables are designed for rough handling due to the armourings being stranded and having a resilient bedding.

Pull a PILCSWA like that and any stretch will cause the papers to separate. Both the core insulation and the belting will be compromised.
As for normal SWA I’ve seen the armours birdcage bursting the serving once tension has been released.

I won’t say the name of the cable gang we used but they are based in Yorkshire. They pulled 200 miles of cable on one job alone. Not a single failure.

 

[trev]

I hope the op shoots a video of this.

 

[shanky887614]

Where is he? Ill take the day off to watch

 

[UNG]

I hope the op shoots a video of this.

Might shoot himself when it all goes wrong LOL

 

[Brightspark2]

Now hold on everybody...


He didnt give a timescale. I think it could be done............in a week...or 2...LOL


Good luck with it anyway!!...