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Pro tip: My old way of pulling wire through long conduit runs was killing my back

For years I'd just muscle it through with fish tape, especially on those 100+ foot underground pulls. Last month on a job in Tacoma, an old-timer showed me how to use a shop vac with a plastic bag trick on the other end to suck a pull string through first. It took maybe 5 minutes instead of 30 and saved so much effort. Anyone have other low-effort tricks for long conduit runs?
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3 Comments
park.abby
park.abby1mo ago
Come on, that plastic bag trick is a total gamble. Half the time it gets stuck on a coupling or some debris in the pipe. I've wasted more time fishing out a stuck bag than just pushing a steel tape through. For a straight run maybe, but on any real job with bends, muscle and a good fish tape is still the only sure way.
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finleyw99
finleyw991mo ago
Totally agree with you and king.derek on this. Watched a guy on site last week spend twenty minutes trying to suck a bag through a simple 90. He had to cut the pipe open in the end. My old steel tape might be heavy, but it never gets stuck on a weld.
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king.derek
king.derek1mo ago
Park.abby has a point, that bag trick seems pretty hit or miss to me.
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