Pulling 400' of cat 5e

['putertutor]

I am about to finish up a project connecting two buildings together. We trenched out between to buildings, I have the direct burial cat5e, and will be running it through pvc conduit. It's about 400+ feet, so I have some vdsl extenders on either end. Then it occurred to me. I've never really run 400+ feet of cable through conduit before. I've got an idea of how to do it, but I want to checkity check myself before I wreckity wreck myself. (Sorry).

So I'm planning on pulling in sections, maybe through 20' at a time (two sections of pvc). I'm thinking I ought to pull all of the cable through each section, rather than be tugging on 400' of turns and angles at the end. I'll either glue the pvc as we go or all after the line has been pulled. That sound good? Anyone have any other suggestions? Is there some special knot or pulling tool I ought to have?

 

[DataMedics]

There are different grades of CAT5/6 and some have a solid nylon center core which makes it much stronger for pulling without damaging the wires. That having been said, what you can do is just pull a piece of nylon string along with it and every so often tape or tie it around the cable (keeping the string very tight) so it takes the brunt of the pulling force instead of the CAT 5. Just be careful about the number of 90 degree bends, as those will add a ton of tension. The straight run shouldn't be much issue.

 

[DataMedics]

I think the ones with the stronger core are usually listed as "riser" rated cable. Meaning it's suitable for use in pulling through chases between stories of a building.

 

[Mokester]

Get one of those wet vacs that you can reverse the flow...blow up a plastic bag and tie one end of some really light twine to it...blow it up the pipe. Then tie your cable to one end...and pull from the other. That's how you pull coax, cat5, etc. Never done a 400+ ft pull but have done over 200' from street to house and never had an issue.

 

[alluseridsrejected]

Are you not supposed to put a repeater (or switch acting as a repeater) after every 100 meters?

Edit: sorry, didn't see the vdsl extenders you mentioned

 

[Markverhyden]

Get one of those wet vacs that you can reverse the flow...blow up a plastic bag and tie one end of some really light twine to it...blow it up the pipe. Then tie your cable to one end...and pull from the other. That's how you pull coax, cat5, etc. Never done a 400+ ft pull but have done over 200' from street to house and never had an issue.

Yep, common method in a situation where the conduit is already run/in place.

So I'm planning on pulling in sections, maybe through 20' at a time (two sections of pvc). I'm thinking I ought to pull all of the cable through each section, rather than be tugging on 400' of turns and angles at the end. I'll either glue the pvc as we go or all after the line has been pulled. That sound good? Anyone have any other suggestions? Is there some special knot or pulling tool I ought to have?

I've never done that much through conduit. How have you priced this out. If it's flatrate then you probably want to expedite things by assembling the conduit first, using the method mentioned above, then pull the line. Pulling is not an issue as long as you have someone on the spool end to make sure it is not feeding kinks/loops into the conduit. I've never run direct burial plastic conduit but I would think the wanting a good seal would be important so I wonder if pressure tests are normal?

FYI, there are several methods for lubricating a cable run. Came across this product a while ago. I've not had a reason to use it yet but if I do get in that type of situation I'll buy a can.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Blowin' the bag should do it. Seams of the pipe connections clean, "burr free" from the cuts. Careful not to put too much glue in there..else it smudges on the inside and can be a drag on the bag.

 

[gikstar]

Got me to thinking... once you have the wire pulled, if you want to seal each end to keep water out, you could try the "Window and Door Insulating Foam Sealant" found at Home Depot. Anyone tried this?

 

[Markverhyden]

Got me to thinking... once you have the wire pulled, if you want to seal each end to keep water out, you could try the "Window and Door Insulating Foam Sealant" found at Home Depot. Anyone tried this?

Not used it for that purpose myself but I've seen many sites with something similar. But they always had the conduit entering the building where the foam was applied. I'm sure it's great as a no pressure vapor barrier.

 

[Mercenary Roadie]

First do not try pulling the cable and then glueing the sections together. All you'll end up doing is gluing the cable to the conduit.

Before finalizing your conduit, add up the bends in degrees. If it adds up to 360 degrees you need to have a pull box to keep the number of bends (in degrees) under 360.

Shoot a pull string through the conduit. It's easy as there are several ways to do it. The vacuum method is very good. Most of use cable people will the pull a large pull rope to pull the cable, but if you are only pulling one cable you'll be fine with the pull string. Just remember there is a 20 lb pulling force limit or you could damage the cable you're pulling.

DO NOT use any type of lubricant. Doing so will cause problems down the line as it will penetrate the cable and change its characteristics.

If you want to seal the end with foam. Be sure to put something in the conduit (like a bag) to keep the foam from going too far in and then not being able to remove it if needed in the future

 

[mr m]

I've used an electricians mouse for getting a pull string down a length of conduit. They come in various diameters to match your pipe size. I've seen rubber or foam models. They have eye hooks on each end for tying the pull string to. You can use a shop vacuum to pull or air pressure to push the mouse down the conduit.

Go to your local electrical supply house and see what they have or order this online.

https://www.energyavenue.com/Tools-...nduit-Piston?gclid=CNDd3dTjtMUCFYwXHwodxEwAzg

 

[mikemcg]

Bends are bad.
Blow a thing twine/string through and use that to pull the cable.
Pull the Cat 5/6 along with a new pull string - this way if new cables are ever needing to be pulled you have a string to tie to and pull.