Pulling 16mm SWA through 150 M of conduit?

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Pulling 16mm SWA through 150 M of conduit?

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1Justin

1Justin

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Would you attempt to pull 16mm SWA through 150M of existing underground conduit?

A potential job I have taken a look at. I would need to be very sure I could get it through before shelling out £££ on that much cable! (- I already advised the Customer it would have made much more sense to install a cable before filling the trench!).

Facts:
-Conduit was laid about 1 year ago. It is 50mm dia corrugated plastic type, laid in 3 sections of 50M. - I have no idea of the quality and continuity of the two joints, but the Customer will ask the contractor who laid it in.
-Conduit ~ 600mm deep through a semi-wooded garden, no special precautions such as gravel layer or warning tapes.
-Laid pretty straight for first ~60M, then takes a gentle curve perhaps 20 foot radius and turns total about 60 degrees before the end.
-String is through already to start proceedings, so I would be investing first in lots of cord, and a damn great length of blue rope.
-150M of 16mm will weigh about 150Kg!
- I also am aware it only takes a little bit of mud to make a nice plug!


Questions:
Termination for cable nose and ways to stop it snagging?
Friction being the enemy, - so Lubrication?
Best way to fix cable to rope?
Will I need a tractor ...??? :eek: (- AKA how hard can you pull safely?)
I haven't seen any longer than 100M from distributors. - Can longer single lengths be got?

Homework:
Ongoing decision as to whether I can get away with 16mm anyhow, but that's work in progress, and not my question here.
 
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Not wanting to disappoint anyone looking for sporting action, but I think I've made up my mind to advise a no-go without more digging. The gardener (who is the primary recipient of this cable in his shed at the end..) won't get his kettle, - or at least not very soon.

Thanks for the inputs.
 
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I've just checked out how far 150m actually is...that is one frigging big garden!
If they can afford to live in a place like that, they can afford to pay for a few holes to be dug, don't make life hard for yourself for these rich basterds.

I can imagine you having friction trouble dragging it round that bend.
 
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JD6400 said:
If a couple of labours can get enough purchase on a bit of rope to stretch that piece of armoured I will eat my hat !!! I am not talking about yanking the hell out of it , and assume a modicum of sense is being applied to the pull and the cable is correctly secured , having said that .
Click to expand...


Going by that sort of statement, i dread to think of the state of some of the cables that have been pulled through small long ducts in the UK!! Going round even slow bends in a long ducted system and you'll be having to yank that cable when dead pulling, especially in a small 50 mm corrugated duct over 150 metres. ...But hey, what the hell do i know, ..Right??
 
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Use a cable sock, together with a cable pulling machine hired from HSS or Speedy along with the correct cord for cable pulling not polycord and it will go through slowly but surely
 
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Me and my old boss tried something similar years ago. Same ducting and cable size. Duct about 80metres long with a slight dogleg at one end. We had to tie the rope to the back of my van as pulling it by hand was impossible. Managed to get it 80% of the way but the rope snapped when the SWA reached the dogleg. we dug a hole found the break and managed to finish the job but to be honest I'd never wanna do it again.

Just let the customer be aware that it might not be possible.
 
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Dave 85 said:
Me and my old boss tried something similar years ago. Same ducting and cable size. Duct about 80metres long with a slight dogleg at one end. We had to tie the rope to the back of my van as pulling it by hand was impossible. Managed to get it 80% of the way but the rope snapped when the SWA reached the dogleg. we dug a hole found the break and managed to finish the job but to be honest I'd never wanna do it again.

Just let the customer be aware that it might not be possible.
Click to expand...

E54 ain't gonna be pleased with your van antics :lol: Daz
 
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I had a job a few years ago to pull 70m through a 50mm underground conduit. Have to say NEVER AGAIN will I take on that kind of job as even the slightest rise or kink on the conduit can result in the cable sticking, in the end it was a case of digging several holes and and two days locating the conduit before being able to get the new cable plus being out of pocket on the job.
 
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"Never again". - That's a recurring theme! I was just talking to the hire company about their winch, and they don't really know how to use it. For instance 10mm polypropylene (~ 1 tonne break, but very stretchy, maybe need to go bigger) or spend an arm and a leg on dyneema rope (winch manufacturers say use non-stretch rope).
 
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1Justin said:
"Never again". - That's a recurring theme! I was just talking to the hire company about their winch, and they don't really know how to use it. For instance 10mm polypropylene (~ 1 tonne break, but very stretchy, maybe need to go bigger) or spend an arm and a leg on dyneema rope (winch manufacturers say use non-stretch rope).
Click to expand...

While I don't know much about pulling very long cables (and I'm going to be very wary if anyone ever asks me to now), why does it matter if the rope is stretchy? Could it be good to have some stretch in it, to reduce the mechanical shocks to the cable? Perhaps E54 or someone can advise.
 
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