Pulling Electrical Wire Thru Conduit and Connecting Services to Shop

Big thanks to NorthOne for partnering with us on this video pulling electrical wire! Use my link to apply for NorthOne and create a business bank account in as little as 3 minutes: bit.ly/44QBibw
In today's episode we are pulling electrical wire thru the underground conduit as well as connecting other services to the shop. In a previous video Kirby Cable directionally bored three conduits for us from the shop to my house. Now it is our turn to do the dirty work and get my electrical into the house to be hooked up as well as all my services into the shop!
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[@Corey-dy2cq]

This is one of the most honest youtube videos ever. This is how these projects go for everyone that doesn't do that stuff everyday at work.

[@RRBuildings]

agree...I am capable and have done this sort of thing before..I thought it was going to be a done by lunch type of deal

[@robdennison1215]

@@RRBuildings As a man that has spent many years pulling cable, this one hit home, i love your content and channel, some times things look easy, and somtimes professionals make it look easy, but all of it is hard. i think about that a lot when i watch your videos.

[@JrNichols5]

I know it's mean of me to say, but it's really refreshing to see you struggle on something like this. You make building an giant post frame building look so easy, so good to know you're actually human after all. Nice tan there Greg.

[@TheBillyBlack]

As a contractor it makes me smile to see you working on your own house.

[@wolfpack4128]

I feel like your cameraman has the Nat Geo approach. Do not interact with the wildlife, even if it looks as if they desperately need your assistance. 😂

[@hifiandmtb]

hahahahaaa

[@shcaskey]

Union rules….😁

[@ryanwilson5222]

😂

[@Don-pq5gg]

Two words: Cable lubricant! Works great.

[@rickhoward6780]

And another pull wire...

[@matteberry58]

A hard earned win!! And Greg's farmer's tan was epic.

[@davidzierler4430]

Kyle and Greg are always so smooth in their videos because they are absolute pros and experts. I love this one because they are a couple of struggling dummies like the rest of us 😂

[@wavypt1981]

This was so fun to watch. On a Sunday watching another trades men struggle on seemingly simple tasks. Haha oh the joy of having days like this. Awesome farmers tan and great work gents!! 🙌🏼

[@jaybellefeuille5564]

I must say that this was one of the funniest videos I have seen because I am an electrician, and I was able to see where you were going to have a tough time with this installation. I have watched you two for a while now, and have found great new ways of doing things and that's what it's all about but by far, this was very entertaining for me and I appreciate it very much. I do really like the new HQ.

[@michaelwpaulin4876]

I kept saying. “Unbraid those wires. Handle them one at a time””. Tough day but you guys figured it out.. great job..

[@Fixitagain991]

I used the Chinese finger trap basket, lots of lube and a winch bolted to the wall on the last long run I pulled. Worked like a charm.

[@thebaron21]

I didn't think it would be this much fun watching carpenters pull electrical! 😂

[@euphgolf]

As a commercial electrician, this video is first class hilarity. Two first-day apprentices working on a wire pull without a j-man supervising. 4/0 3C wire can make any jacked up dudes look silly. Good on you for trying this project on your own. Your electrician is going to be laughing his bag off watching this. You should be slightly pissed at him for letting you try this on your own because if you mess up the insulation on those wires, there gon' be some fireworks when you throw that breaker the first time. For those watching, there are longer and deeper junction boxes that give you more space to turn the corner into the house. The code requires them for this exact reason! Thanks for showing you're willing to try new stuff even if humbles the s^&$ out of you.

[@diegojines-us9pc]

you wanna bet they have problems. lights flickering, low voltage problem running tools, and worse yet melted breakers. should have told them 400 ft is tooooo long to be useful.

[@williamhamill813]

That section needs conduit. You cant direct bury that wire right?

[@htroberts]

does that look like direct burial cable? that’s nowhere deep enough for NEC, is it? and what’s the pipe they’re using for conduit?

[@samdunn1807]

John Deere sells seed box graphite am wondering if you used that if it would pass code.

[@444MarlinSS]

Very well said!😂

[@johnhamilton2108]

As an electrical contractor I must say I would never try to pull the wire with the pull line in the conduit but you did it. Also I hope you don’t have much of a load in your new building because of voltage drop. Check voltage at shop under load to see difference from voltage at house. Also you should have pulled an equipment ground wire with the three 4/0-maybe inspectors enforce NEC differently in your location. Job is looking great.

[@kcdakrt]

How would you have pulled that wire? Also agree about the ground wire.

[@dougdiplacido2406]

The equipment ground is definitely needed for code.

[@paulmorrow8372]

I think he said they are running a 100 amp circuit. With 400 ft of copper 4/0 that is about a 6 volt drop. I thought you could install a separate grounding rod at the barn so you don’t have to pull a ground wire.

[@johnirwin1837]

@@paulmorrow8372 that was 4/0 alum.

[@Lilsparkie]

Yeah definitely need that egc. Your gonna have to repull that wire. No way to get around. Even if you put a ground rod in it wouldn't matter. That new ground rod wouldn't be allowed to be bonded to neutral which you would need to make that ground part of system.

[@stevenslater2669]

Makes you appreciate just how hard the pick & shovel guys work every single day.

[@josiahlofton9025]

Since your getting power from your main panel which is your first means of disconnect, you needed to pull a separate ground along with your three wires for your sub panel in your barn.

[@robedwards2897]

I was yelling this at the screen when he said 3 conductor

[@kyleciolli1140]

You need a 4th grounding conductor boss…

[@simplewick350]

​@kyleciolli1140 although this is true with the 2023 NEC standards, many states have not adopted the most current version and are still using previous version of the NEC code. Also many states have their own electrical amendments that they have set.

[@oPROProDucTioNz]

@@simplewick350 Some states allow sub pannels to have their grounds and neutrals bonded on a sub panel? seems odd that they would allow grounds on a sub panel to only rely on the ground rod connection..

[@simplewick350]

​@oPROProDucTioNz In this scenario, where you have a unattached building, some states allow you to run 3 conductors, (Hot,Hot,Neutral), to the building. Then you would pound a ground rod in or use an alternative grounding electrode. Note in the subpanel you will bond Ground to the Neutral to establish a effective ground fault path.

[@larrypeavy4517]

By electrical code, you have to run four wires from your house to the shop and have the neutral and ground separated

[@jmvanick]

I was thinking the same thing. The only place where the neutral and ground are permitted to be bonded is at the first means of disconnect from the utility.

[@FJB2020]

Maybe he is only running 120v.... I hope so, cuz if not, he messed up big time...

[@williamhamill813]

Not if you add grounding rods and disconnect at the barn.

[@donmclean1220]

@@williamhamill813the ground rods at the barn are still required even if an equipment grounding conductor is there. They do different things.

[@Live____]

In Ontario, Canada the trenching needs to be 18" deep (or 12" deep with a 2x4 of PT on top) minimum. Also when you re-fill the trench you fill it half way, then put down red electrical caution tape down before filling the rest of the trench. I know your house service is not using a raceway, but it is typically 36" down, and you're installing a branch circuit off your main, so it should have been in conduit under your deck. My biggest issue though, no ground wire. A new service, you can use ground rods, but his is a branch circuit and needs bonded to ground. It may be different where you are, but that would not pass inspection where I am. It is tough work for sure, we don't just run steel conduit and pull wire indoors like some people assume.

[@wm79198]

Article 250 n the NEC, specifically section 30. You’re required to run an equipment ground with the feeder to an accessory building. You’ll need ground rods and a main disconnect too.

[@Hagar2670]

Always a fun watch when Abbot and Costello get on the tools. LOL Nice video of what others have to fight with so we dont have to.

[@prysin8890]

As a electrician, pro tip for pulling wires.... a glass of dish soap to half a gallon of water. Mix well, enjoy a easy time pulling wires through pipes. to avoid snags, take some wide zip-ties, snip off the lock, tape one end of the zip-ties about 2 inches down on the tip. bend the zipties in a cross over the end and tape the other end to the cable... congrats now you got a bendy blunt nose to keep the stubby cable end from snagging.

[@SoarPilot]

Also silicone spray is nice.

[@prysin8890]

@@SoarPilot Silicone spray isnt that effective for longer runs. Great for short runs of say 10 yards... but longer runs, you just need to dump a bucket or two of soapy water into the pipe and let the cable lubricate itself as its pulled through

[@tbggaming4385]

if you use dish soap, it'll be the last time you are pulling anything through that conduit. When it dries it leaves a very sticky surface. In my country we run everything through conduit, so have quite a bit of experience. I use 3M LUB-I, not sure if it's available in the US.

[@prysin8890]

@@tbggaming4385 yeah we use 3m LUB-1 here too. But as long as the Dish soap is watered out enough, its fine. pure dish soap is like glue indeed

[@willb3018]

That soap and water mix has a multitude of uses but here it is almost critical.

[@robertrohler3644]

Greg, check with your electrician but in the video I only see new three conductors into your house. These new conductors function as a feeder to your Shop headquarters 2.0. If you are feeding your shop headquarter 2.0 with 120/240V singe phase you need two hot conductors, one neutral conductor, and one ground conductor. I think you are missing a ground conductor? Your electrician will know about NEC article 225.30 feeder to separate building or structure. Keep up the hard work, we are pulling for you.

[@matthunter1424]

Sorry to say you absolutely need a GND conductor since the out building is not the main service panel.

[@hallenw]

This was one of your best videos. It showed your human side… both you and Greg. Remember this motto: if it doesn’t slide easily, lube it up! ❤️😇

[@davenewbitt]

For me my advise as an experienced cable pulling uy. Get contractors in to pull your cable, it is always so much easier. It may have been worth placing manholes outside each building and run direct ducts into your buildings. Here you can add spare ducts for future use from the manholes to the buildings, so you will not need to dig up around your foundations again in the future.

[@Thejakegee]

I had to wrestle that wire once. Never again. Looking great!

[@toddlemons5952]

So the lesson we learned today is leave electrical to electricians. So many code violations. Also, use lube on the PVC. Much easier. By using the screwdriver to force the wire down you weakened the integrity of the wire jacket.

[@tylercousins7779]

An electrician I used to use who was originally from Ireland was telling me that they had a really long run to do on a military base and were having a tough time pulling the wire and somebody came up with the idea that they could attach a tank to it. They pulled several hundred meters of heavy gauge wiring using a tank. That’s about as cool amd easy as it gets.

[@tmenzella]

My Italian Father would have been nuclear seeing a core drill being spun dry into a footing - there would have been all sort of references about love making with grandmothers 😂😂

[@dylanmiller7792]

One thing I live by to this day that I learned in the military. Is that you either get strong or you get smart, and one of those ways will teach the other!

[@nonenowherebye]

If you ever need to cut another core, the way I have always done it in tight situations like that is to cut an ever so slightly larger hole in say a 2x6 or 2x8 and then use that as a guide to keep the core drill contained until it actually bites into the concrete fully. Used that trick to drill probably a dozen 2.5" holes into 80 year old concrete that had granite cobble throughout it. It worked a treat.

[@HoldenMcG]

"...It's quite easy, all you need is a little bit of stupidity and some brute strength.." Words to live by my friend. Heck it's good enuff to be the new RR motto... get it on a t-shirt today!

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

I was impressed with the underground boring! I was impressed by that!

[@6by6by6]

All that equipment sitting and you do everything the hardest way possible.. 👍🏽

[@xephael3485]

No kidding... And the end result is crappy. They go from conduit to direct buried cable back to conduit.

[@BraxxJuventa]

Double thumbs up for you two hard workers!! 😁👍🏼😁👍🏼

[@robertnorris1808]

You have such a great work attitude so when you run into a problem you just deal with it. Glad you got all those things ran. Great job as we always see from you and Greg and your video person.

[@martinsparks6410]

After years of pulling high voltage armoured cables, you guys did good, my only advice is always tape off the ends to the draw-wire to stop any snags. Great job

[@RoHo702]

And I like to add pull tape to the wires I'm pulling through, just in case we need to add a wire later. ;)

[@DozIT]

@@RoHo702 Makes a lot of sense for IT, not sure that would ever be the case for electrical though!

[@tylercousins7779]

I had to do this exact thing about 15 years ago in the pouring rain. We had 375’ to pull through and was a larger wire. We too thought pulling it off of the spool would work well. Boy were we wrong. What we ended up doing was using the tractor and unspooling it across the lawn then using the tractor to pull the rope.

[@mikemarriam]

If your build a jacket around ABS conduit and fill it with boiling water it will get as soft as a cooked noodle in no time at all.

[@bryanlamb319]

🤣🤣🤣 “A little bit of stupidity and brute strength”. Been there bro!!

[@ssgLunchbox]

Love seeing the struggle and perseverance. Everything else you guys make look too easy as you have done it so much. It makes me feel good that you are human too.

[@dogcreek8547]

This is like watching the Key Stone Electricians.

[@pearcomputers2542]

Lubricants don't only help in the beedroom with reducing friction. They help in construction too. Putting a bit of Soap (of course check that it won't mess the cables up or get some specialiced lubricant) on those wires would have helped enormously. Pulling and pushing those wires dry looked quite painfull and wet there is much less of a chance of messing those wires up. I'll hope you learn from it and if theres a next time it will be wetter.

[@n16665]

Had to do that a fue year back in Virginia county ireland but whit a 6 inch diamond dry bit into a swur drane lying down pushing hard tock at lees 2.30 hour to get trough it... after laying 300 to 400 feet of swur waving pip down whit 3 manhole too on the line

[@ChiefNonsense]

Dude you actually did great for not pulling much cable. One thing that helps is to stagger your starts so you go from just rope to one cable, then a few inches later add another cable, rinse repeat. Your bundle should grow nice and slowly.

[@davidbishop2101]

I love the channel and content. As a fellow ginger I could not stop laughing over Greg’s pasty white shoulders. I first thought it was sunblock SPF 180. 😂😂😂

[@95dodgev10]

More like spf-whiteout lol

[@mudbunny6388]

Mayonnaise!

[@harrisond8132]

It's so relaxing watching these boys work.

[@trob9880]

As an industrial electrician we just finished up a 4 conductor 500MCM pull in embedded conduit. I feel your pain gentlemen.

[@irishmike519]

You two guys are doing the work of three men! Moe, Larry, and Curly!

[@charliemurphy2523]

As I was sitting here watching this , I caught myself grunting along with you guys. I feel your pain because I worked for a DOT in the traffic signal dept. and pulled many a wire through conduit and pull boxes under roadways. Was not fun. Good job!!

[@troysgarage]

It's actually refreshing to see you "pros" making mistakes that the common man would make. It's EASY to watch from the comfort of home and criticize, but honestly I see a lot of the same mistakes I would expect myself to make. Thanks for not filtering or editing out some of the hard stuff! You guys are human after all! hahaha

[@mikeweckesser4450]

Nice work fellas. Not gonna lie it made me feel a lot better about myself seeing you guys struggle with things today. Knowing the professionals (although not electricians but still much more knowledge and tools than the average joe) have those days also is nice to know. Way to power through it and get it done. "Good enough for the girls I go out with"

[@Ty1on3twelve]

You needed a 72" San Angelo bar for digging & staking. Secondly, a hand or electric winch would probably have worked with manipulating the conduit. It's about leverage and winching or some sort of pulley system would have helped tremendously with that project. You guys got it done with determination & brute force. Well done.

[@prestonlane6253]

Even just a couple of ratchet straps tied off to the deck and the Kubota would have helped manipulating the electrical conduit.

[@jeremychambliss2315]

I feel your pain I did this last year when I built my shop. It was only 18 feet but took me all day with 2 45's and 2 90's to go thru.

[@royreynolds108]

Long-radius bends are much better than 90* elbows.

[@jeremychambliss2315]

@royreynolds108 Had the same box Kyle had takes a hard 90 into wall from long sweep 90.

[@TheNicgannon]

For the most part you two make everything look easy. Not this time That was 49 minutes of my life I can't get back. Lol👍

[@johnjohnson3302]

Working around that deck was a huge challenge. Nice job pushing through!

[@terrynichols7199]

I don't mean to chuckle but they have cable lubricants and you could make your own. But for newbies you guys did great! Imagine guys that do this for a living everyday.enjoying your build, it's funny that Greg had a Menards shirt on. I live 20 miles from Menards headquarters in Eau Claire, WI.

[@Trad-Mom]

Happy wife happy life 100% great job as usual guys!!!

[@ronkennedy213]

Happy spouse, happy house

[@jaimelago8941]

I have seen every video that you have about the construction of the building you and Greeg are doing a super excellent job

[@markpalmer5311]

All part of it! New visual for Trigger Man. That was worth it!

[@markpalmer5311]

“That’s my knee.”

[@robertrohler3644]

Also check with your electrician about NEC code about restrictions on service conductors in the same conduit with other non service conductors, exception for ground conductors.

[@SephYuyX]

This has been one of the best videos in this series.

[@therealdojj]

Hard hard work From experience the radius of the pipe turns needs to be twice what you think it is

[@Ty1on3twelve]

Good point. I was thinking that but don't know the science behind it.

[@Overpar73]

You guys crack me up! I loved watching every minute, it's fun to watch you guys struggle. I got my floor done and got the rooms painted, the lifts are going to get picked up next week, it's starting to really come together! Take care and don't work too hard guys!!

[@nixonnow33]

Awesome to see you guys trying out different trade details! Great stuff.

[@mattzembower2042]

Water line is not supposed to be in with electrical conductors, nor is internet to be in with conductors, Love to hear what your electrician says about your grunt work !

[@jonathang6920]

Electrician is happy. Gets paid a consultation, gets paid to demo, gets paid to do it right.

[@EthanMatlack]

It’s fiber, so that’s no problem at all. That said - there’s definitely still some issues lol. This was definitely humorous to watch as a master electrician.

[@NASTYcraftX]

I asked this question a few times and now its answered. I wasnt sure if the new shop was behind your house or not.

[@HealthCarePC]

Use lube always. Water for drilling, vasoline for pulling wire.

[@RandomName1145]

As an electrician from the U.K. I was in stitches watching this 🤣 Seems like such an unnecessary struggle bring that 3Core wire through that box then in the basement, surely taking the cable straight into a ducting and sealing would of been much easier Great to see how the US does electrics tho…… bit behind us 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 😅

[@stevemccormick4938]

You need a ground on an accessory building sub panel (bonding).

[@ohhpaul7364]

Kyle, great job on grunting that wire in there. I have no idea what your authority having jurisdiction enforces for the electrical in your area, but if the panel in the shop is a subpanel, then it should have also had a ground wire pulled to it from the house service. I hope they will provide you with a work around for that or you will be digging that up to pull that wire in with the rest of the pipe. So, that said, it is direct burial wire, where I am you only need to have the wire sleeved where it goes under the creek or driveways or various other permanent obstacles; it may be cheaper to get the underground boring crew to shoot a new pipe under the creek and install the wire into a trench. How do you stop from destroying the lawn? Sod cutter, cut the grass off in a 18inch wide strip, roll it up and store to the side in the shade for the day, dig your ditch and put the dirt on something that is easy to get the dirt off of when backfilling, lay the wire in and reverse your work, water the sod well for a few weeks afterward.

[@stupiduser6646]

soapy water on wire helps it slide through the conduit better.

[@1bcordell]

I got nauseated when I saw the post hole digger. The thing nightmares are made of.

[@willb3018]

Except when you really need it.

[@pseggons9512]

Don't you just love the commitment......🥵 I'm sitting here eating my Sunday breakfast thinking bucket of very soapy water........... !!!!

[@RW-to2fy]

Perfect the hole is filled and job is completed

[@tonynewton7902]

Should’ve got them to bore it with the rest. Great job as always guys. 👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@pjmorgan]

29:48 "that was horrible" exactly my thoughts on core drilling. Who would ever do this more than once?!

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Of all the videos in this series, I watched this one the longest. That looked tough!

[@migueltor6434]

It's always good to soap those wires. You guys 👦🏿 saved yourselves a lot of money 💰.

[@jerrys2346]

I did this exact same job last fall and my father-in-law and I struggled in identical fashion. I wish I had seen this first. Maybe I wouldn't have felt so incapable.

[@cs233]

Where is your 4th wire - the equipment grounding conductor? Maybe you have some odd ,o Al code in your area, but even I, who is not an electrician, know that code considers what you are installing in your shop a sub-panel, which requires separate neutrals and equipment grounds grounding conductors, as well as a separate ground rod since it’s being run to a separate building which is connected to the equipment grounding conductor at that end. Good luck trying to pull an additional #4 ground conductor through that conduit when the inspector tells you that it’s required!

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

Great job! It’s hard for us electricians too, so no worries!

[@markdalton55]

Kyle & Greg, did you guys ever ask an electrician how to pull wires? Like pulling with some soap? Electricians’ always find an easy way to do a hard job. Use cable soap and a machine if possible. 😎❤️👍

[@freddien7]

Really tough day , but you got er done!!. Bet the wife has a list of jobs need doing. Great video Thanks from UK. @ 6.10 in de evening.

[@billdavage1205]

You know how hard the work really is when Greg looks exhausted. Great job guys!!

[@missulu]

Great job guys! It becomes really apparent the value of having machines make it look easy!lol!

[@patrickd9551]

Ratchet straps is all you need for bending all that tough stuff :) Don't fight it, when you have equipment that can fight for you.

[@sidmorgan4980]

I like how you bring in new tools and show us how they perform, kind of you and Gregg ha ha

[@bengesell]

Nice. Looking forward to seeing it all electrified.👍🏻🤠

[@joedirte6476]

If you ever do this again, oversize your LB to a 3" and use reducers on your in/out pipe, it makes stuffing the conductors in the LB vastly easier

[@robertdean9392]

Kyle and Greg, next time on pulling big cable bundle, use cable soap to make it alot easier. We just ran a 975 foot cable from next to transformer to inside of house. Power company provided us a 10 gallon barrel of cable soap if we bought him lunch.

[@johnbailes7118]

You guys have me knackered. Dish washing soap would have made so much difference 😊🇬🇧

[@Brewdiss]

Sometimes, Greg's silence says alot. 🤘😎

[@MrThuggery]

Awesome work boys! The only thing I could of thought of is go a bit bigger conduit (Future proofing) and lube up the cables going into the conduit through the wall.

[@fredericrike5974]

Kyle, as a plumber, I am a naturally lazy sort of guy- too many of my parts and tools are way heavy. For this, a Milwaukee product is top of the line; as loud as I was screaming from here in Texas, I cannot believe you couldn't hear me! Water is liquid gold for coring in any masonry. I'll add that I would have cut at least the three joists parallel to the house wall, and sistered them back together; any tool that can drive a bit through hard rock and concrete can potentially break your arm off and beat you to death with it. If your are in Dallas sometime, look me up and I'll tell you how I know this. For all my blabber, I have to give Gregg a big grin for that Farmer's Tan- he's not the first construction guy that looks like Oreo stuffing under his t shirt! PS; Another hint from the plumber; if the NEC says a pipe size to run conducters in, go one size up if it's more than a 100 feet; my cousin, who is an electrician told me that, as well as lubing the cable and making a really nice tapered head out of my pull line/ cable make up. Do it two more times and you both will be experts at it! Several down below are talking about a ground wire needs to be added- definitely a must. Get with your electrician to size it for local codes and your liability insurance- this is why a lot of dodging the permit process is so hurtful- a client's liability insurance can go "no pay" if code rules were side stepped- and this is your home, for real. On your wooden stakes- an inspector wouldn't like them, but they will not hurt your job; by the time they rot, the plastic pipe will have taken it's 'set" or shape for good, and the earth will hold it there. Me, I would have run two six inch long radius bends for the juice and water and two 1.5- 2.0 inch for the little stuff- you have my admiration for a struggle well earned! I warned you that plumbers are a tad lazy! Fred

[@rs2024-s4u]

We would mic the cutting part of the bit before and after then bill client for amount of bit used so that these pricey bits were paid for. Ray

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

Good thinking on taping the head! You’ll make a good electrician

[@jackpotjim4040]

Garden hudson sprayer with water for dust and cool bit

[@grizzle4155]

That was so funny….that’s why they have pull boxes where it’s easier to transition the cable at a bend. So, I noticed a joist to the left(looking towards the house) why did you run another on the other side from post to post and cut the stringers out where digging. Can just remarry them back…Great job guys and workout…😂😂

[@ransomtester5347]

Good afternoon 👍👍👌happy Thursday

[@Prowler1963]

Those deck boards don't really need to be replaced until the deck gets redone :), A "Watch your step" sign at the house door should do the trick till you get back to it. Shop is killer..Thanks for the content !