Quickly Fish Wire Through Conduit

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Running wire through long conduit can be a challenge. I need to run thin cable for my battery monitor through 55+ ft of conduit. I learned a trick to suck a string through the conduit with a shop vacuum and then use the string to pull the cable through.
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[@bavariabearfan]

When the conduit length is even longer. Try tieing a small piece of styrofoam to the end of the string. (a small round styrofoam fishing bobber works well) It help create more suction to offset the weight of the string. I have used this trick professionally for over 20 years to run cable. It is a tried and true method.

[@Simplegroundlife]

That is an awesome tip. I'm I wish I had thought of a fishing bobber. I'll be sure to remember for next time. Thanks a million!

[@nicholasbarishian4426]

bavariabearfan I tried this but the string keeps balling up - what do you think I’m doing wrong?

[@cutthroatflyfisher6577]

Or a piece of a plastic bag like from the grocery store that works the best it’s like a Parachute for the string

[@KREZSAMURAI]

I've been a master electrician for 23 years in Chicago.. We've been using this trick forever but with one catch.. just like some of your other commits mentioned., Put a couple pieces of cotton balls or a small piece of a plastic bag & tied to the end of the string. (Tough nylon string) ** Put a sock or mesh over the vacuum hose like a sleeve. Tape it up so it doesn't fall off. That way when the vacuum sucks the string through, the string will stop (get caught) right at the vacuum hose tip... instead of getting sucked in. ,***This is only for pulling the string through, The vacuum would not pull the wire through.!!

[@Simplegroundlife]

This is great thank you.

[@SumErgoMonstro]

When you pull the cable through, always also pull more string with the cable, and leave the string in the conduit with your cable. That way you have string to pull more cables later. (and if you need to use the string, tie more string to it with the cable you pull through that time, etc.)

[@Simplegroundlife]

This is really solid advice. Thanks.

[@mattbowen681]

Yup I do this when I run wire

[@visitslovenija]

Brilliant! Spent ages trying to feed a line through - unsuccessfully. Then this idea did it in minutes. Thanks.

[@ricardos.215]

It's a good idea.. But if you tie a small piece of plastic bag that fills about 75% of conduit the string will go faster. (It's called a mouse)

[@smartass6071]

Thats a great idea, who a thunk it would be so simple. Thanks for the tip, you just saved a lot of DIY people a lot of time. You get a gold star. Thanks.

[@myheaven2626]

Oh man you save my life. I was worrying a lot on that issue because i had fix all my conduit inside the flooring. The issue i was having is that whilst i pull in the fisher inside and at certain moment the fisher got stuck and hard to pull. You save my life 🙏

[@metal441]

Yes! Thanks for this video. This is the most helpful “how to do a thing” video I’ve probably ever seen!

[@jdblake22]

sweet Jesus.. this just changed my life.. well done sir.. I'll be using this tonight . Thanks again..

[@thomharrington7233]

Fabulous idea! I tried getting the pull wire through for about an hour. Frustrated I did a Google search and found this. 10 minutes later, I had my string pulle through and within 30 minutes my wire pulled. I was doing 1/2" conduit so I used the blower nozzle and duct taped a short piece of conduit to it.

[@dewan718]

Thank you soo much for this tip and making this video. You helped us save thousands of dollars by us not having to break the ground concrete and tons of headache.

[@johnlynn3625]

I do this all the time, just did a 250 foot pull last week.

[@missskinner]

What a great trick. Saved a headache for my son and I after trying to fish through a metal tape. Thanks for the post!

[@Simplegroundlife]

I'm glad it helped! Best wishes.

[@chayanikabohra6722]

Amazing idea ... I pulled a 40 feet nylon rope with a Dyson v6. Vacuum was not strong at joint so I duck taped it.. had to put couple of knots at start of string to increase the weight . Thanks for the tip ...

[@dodiezresibemol]

saved my freakin day. i would give a beer to the one inventing this!

[@Simplegroundlife]

I didn't invent it. I very glad this helped!

[@thomharrington7233]

a beer? Heck, a half rack at least! :)

[@williammccormack1950]

Thank you so much you just saved me hours trying to get cables into a skiboat tower

[@eightosaurusspelunk1598]

Hey! I've done this a few times but I always tied a little piece of thin plastic or foam on the string. Looks like it works just fine like this! Good little trick to know

[@Simplegroundlife]

I thought about tieing something to the end, but I couldn't anything quickly. I tried it without and it worked well with the narrow conduit. Someone recommended a fishing float, that sounds like a slick thing to use. I'll remember that for next time.

[@fredpierce6097]

Love that country fix! 😂

[@ivansandywyatt9016]

really cool, thanks for taking the time to make the video.

[@guitarhvac]

Thanks. Simple! Just what I needed for the weekend project! Saved me from buying a fish tape.

[@cliffchism9187]

Ok. That was simply awesome... and a week late for me...lol. Just finished wiring my barn. But, I’ll sure use it next time!

[@myplumbingcompany7970]

That is a nice trick. I think I am going to use that in the plumbing when I do a slab leak and have to sleeve a smaller pipe inside of a larger pipe. I will suck the string through with the vacuum cleaner. Then I will drill a hole at the end of my plastic pipe and start feeding it through as the string helps guide everything along and gets me through the tight spots. Very very cool trick

[@johnnyonthespotwebdesigns2225]

Totally brilliant! I was stuck and now I am not. Thank you!!

[@Jared_Albert]

Thank you thank you big help and I even impressed my mother in law

[@SeattlePioneer]

A vacuum develops only limited force. Use an air compressor instead. You can then use a foam pig to plug up the line and put 100 PSI or whatever to force the pig through the line.

[@benturner4439]

Hey, just want to say thank you for this tip.. worked brilliantly..

[@sitedev]

I was almost expecting you to pull a rabbit out of the line at the end of the video. Now that would have been cool trick!

[@Simplegroundlife]

Thats for sure... I'm pretty sure I'd make a junky magician though.

[@sciwolf359]

Nice!!!!!!! I need to remember this trick!

[@shblg]

very nice idea.. Thanks for sharing

[@Enonymouse_]

If you have direct access to it, sometimes a magnet can pull a line with a steel tip on it too.

[@442jetmech]

Straight to the point. thank you very much for making this video, saved be a TON of time.

[@modus16222]

that's amazing, thanks for the tip, had about the same length worked great! The only thing i would add is to use the same nylon string used in this video, if you use the binder twine with frays in it it could get hooked up. Cheers....

[@yencilgomez7572]

Very helpful thanks man

[@danieldraper4005]

Why didn’t I think of this. You’re a genius

[@MrYAZZ-hl7pw]

Cool. I always use a Bucket of Poly Line or a Jet Line with a small piece of plastic From A Shopping Bag. IT WORKS GREAT !!!!

[@ottosaeroescapadesandwhatn8219]

AWESOME and simple idea, thanks for sharing

[@darkisland04]

That's a really good idea! It'd be a lot easier to pulll the wiring through than to push it through, especially at those angles.

[@abdulelkhatib2674]

If you're having a hard time running the wire trough the conduit get some vaseline and put a generous glob on the conduit end and add more about every 6 ft. But be sure go wear gloves because it can get really messy real quick

[@stiger420]

Saved my day! Worked great! Thank you!

[@tvguyofnature]

Oh shit this is sick dude! I gotta try it.

[@theeiseles7480]

Noice...thx for taking the time to video and post!

[@rmhutchins7]

I enjoyed your video. It was very helpful. Thank you!

[@notredo]

Good idea. But if you have to pull more than a couple wires the mason string used will cut into the bends and bind up. Makink it impossible to pull either direction. Use a polystringline or pull cord. Will save headaches

[@papaster3678]

Thank you so much for your video! Your tip solved my problem!

[@RobertTaylor-hu5zb]

Great trick . Thanks for sharing

[@hermancells8322]

This is really cool. Thanks.

[@johnnguyen9375]

Amazing you are a genius!! 🎉

[@Simplegroundlife]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@La2venida]

Does this work on metal conduit with already existing wires running in it

[@prowebber1]

Genius!

[@rks3488]

Great Job Bro...And innovative thought...Liked it

[@Simplegroundlife]

Thank you.

[@AhmedAlShaalan]

Good idea 👍

[@saboorsaboor704]

wow. mine is about 18 feet long with 2 45 degree bent. i wonder if a regular portable house vacuum will do the trick?

[@chrisa2351]

Great idea. I'm moving into a house that has PVC underground going out to a garage for electrical. I want to get ethernet out there. However the pipe already has 3 lines of romex in it. Im afraid it might get tangled

[@wesleynichols5383]

Cool. Good idea.

[@JERRYMCELWAIN]

you can put some hand cleaner on your cable and it will go through a lot easier I do electrical work and it is a big help

[@2502860]

How can u do with existing wires installed in the pipe.

[@djtall3090]

genius

[@JM-qh5zi]

Thanks

[@richman117]

ahahaha spectacular!! Thanks!!

[@DVGuitar101]

The easiest way is to use a grocery sack/trash sack tied to the string.

[@justinmacy5026]

New to the channel love all the info. Was wondering what is the size of your yurt. We are looking at the 41 Sequoia from Smiling Wood Yurts. just would like an idea on the size. Keep up the awesome videos they are helping me and the wife start our adventure.

[@Simplegroundlife]

Weclome! We are building the 30' model though it did have a cool name when we bought it. They are really cool! Feel free to ask questions if you have any. Good luck to you.

[@cyrusfalatoon-rt5ug]

👌Tkx

[@dwaynericcio3877]

Brilliant

[@davekamal1711]

Hey Doc, what the hell is a trimetric meter????

[@summerland6397]

cotton ball on the string also works.

[@simbadurio444]

Brilliant!!

[@miamisammy4020]

I had this idea a while ago myself to pull a Romex cable after fishing the string through and unused 3/4 in PVC underground PVC line. But I was wondering if it would work on 100ft. What power is your shop vac and what kind of string did you use?How would you propose pulling Romex and a network Cat5. Should I do both at the same time?

[@Simplegroundlife]

I have a new shop vac now so I don't remember how big my other one was. You don't need much though. I would use something other than fishing line. I used mason's line like this amzn.to/475UToI because it was what I had on hand. I've heard it helps to tie a bit of light fabric or plastic shopping bag to the end of the string to help the vacuum pull it through. Definitely pull all wires through at the same time. Hope this helps!

[@biggredd2008]

Genius!!!

[@simonforget280]

If you intend to use this network cable for anything other than computer network and telephone, make sure that you do not exceed the recommended power defined in your Electric Code. Also, especially for off-grid applications, if you have to add Power over Ethernet injectors, make sure to procure one that is DC powered. These are more pricy but they will be more reliable in your situation. Keep up your good work.

[@Simplegroundlife]

I think I called the cable the wrong name in the video though I'm not sure. I'm not running the cable for anything more than my battery monitor. I have had some help designing the system and this was the wire recommended by the manufacture and the designer so I feel pretty confident about the size. It has a fuse on the battery side just in case. I do feel a little bit rushed in this project but I think I have it together. I will be off to pick up my batteries tomorrow and then I can start the video about the specifics of my system. I hope to have that out soon. Thanks as always for looking out for me.

[@simonforget280]

Most of these batteries monitoring systems requires a 2 (telephone) or 4 pairs (network) cable (RS-232 or RS-485 serial connection for what I have seen so far). My concerns where more if you would hack something to make it work, just like I would do... 🙂 Fishing a pulling line in a conduit with vacuum is easy when it is empty. Make sure to keep a pulling line in the conduit at any time to make your day easier down the road. Keep up your good work.

[@Simplegroundlife]

Well I'm sure glad you have an eye on me to keep me in line. Best wishes.

[@mr702s]

Wont work with metal flex :(

[@enquire422]

Thanks!!!

[@macoeur1122]

Whoop! There it is!

[@Simplegroundlife]

Awesome.

[@guudii]

Did you say Whoops, cause Aretha said, Oops? (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXWlnWiddthpjas) - at three minutes forty-nine seconds. I'll hang with Aretha this time!

[@macoeur1122]

No, but I love it...and I love her....One of my alltime faves kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqSvaoiCbtaVrJo

[@newc8385]

Will this work if there are already wires in the conduit ? I need to add a wire for additional electric in my shop.

[@HunterGeophysicsAustralia]

Did you ever find out the answer to this?

[@KILLZONE42421]

Only works on a completely sealed conduit. Will not work on EMT!

[@dlg1776]

How did you attach the string to the wire so that it didn't come loose during pulling?

[@chrisask2065]

susan scott: you’ll have to fart on it.

[@manvirsingh7789]

awesome

[@DjSkipAlexander]

Brilliant and hopefully same me some time cheers

[@willis23jm1]

what if theres wires already running through? surely this method wouldnt work.

[@Simplegroundlife]

I'm not an electrician by trade. I really don't think this would work on a pipe with wires running through. My electrician friend told me I should have left a pull string in there with my wires for future wires. If you have a pipe you are adding to you might find a pull string in there waiting.

[@willis23jm1]

@@Simplegroundlife ok....good idea to leave string in 👍

[@icedjax]

bloddy ledgend nice

[@PBS-nm1uu]

power full vac, next time up a female stocking at the end, it will be faster

[@cut--]

Woke the dog up..

[@KipBurbank1]

👍👍

[@ohske]

👨‍👩‍👧🏠👍👍👍👍☺️👌

[@flatearth3750]

Lol this would never work for 3 wires of #2 cooper

[@vontrap6942]

Worked just fine for 2-2-2-4 in 2inch conduit for me! Though I did the string and the pulled para cord through.

[@flatearth3750]

V COE I pulled 50 feet of 2-2-2-6 through conduit with 4 ninety degree elbows, without fish tape. I just used synthetic lubricant.

[@flatearth3750]

I didn’t fish the wire at all, I just pushed the wire through the conduit with lube, it took a little muscle and technique but it was pretty easy, and I used 1.5” conduit

[@AlScheuring]

This idea sucks! Thank you!