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Old timer told me my wire pulls were too sloppy
I used to just tape my pulling head and hope for the best. Then this master electrician in Austin watched me struggle on a 200 amp service and said 'you're fighting the conduit, not feeding it'. He made me switch to a swivel pulling head with proper lube every time and it cut my pull time by almost half on a 3/0 copper run last Friday. Anyone else have a simple trick from a senior guy that totally changed how you pull wire?
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haydenbutler1mo ago
That "you're fighting the conduit, not feeding it" line hits hard because it's so true for most of us starting out. I had a similar wakeup call when an old timer watched me struggle on a 4/0 run and just handed me a bottle of cable lube with a look that said everything. Makes you wonder how much time we waste fighting those pulls before someone shows us the simple stuff, right?
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haydenbutler1mo ago
Hold up, I gotta push back a little here. All this talk about lube and tuggers, sure, they help, but I've seen too many guys lean on that stuff and skip learning the actual finesse of a pull. You get someone who can't read a conduit bend or figure out a fish tape without a gallon of lube, and they're just masking bad technique. @abby_wilson51, that 4 hour to 45 minute thing sounds great, but what happens when you're on a job without a tugger and the lube's gone? You end up with a whole generation of electricians who can't pull wire without a crutch. Sometimes fighting it a little teaches you how to do it right when you've got nothing but muscle and a prayer.
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abby_wilson511mo ago
exactly!! my buddy jake was doing a big residential job and his pulls were taking forever. this old timer neighbor saw him struggling and just goes "you ever try a tugger?" Jake didn't even know what he was talking about. next day the guy lets him borrow this old greenlee tugger and it turned a 4 hour pull into like 45 minutes. he said it felt like cheating but man those senior guys just know all the little shortcuts that save your back.
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