Getting Cat6 down a mostly full conduit

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timmmay

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#131092 8-Oct-2013 19:33

I have a 1 inch conduit down an internal wall, with a break in the middle that's reasonably navigable. The break is so I can get cable out from the wall when I build a cupboard later.

When the UFB guys came they took up 4/5 of the conduit and it's made it very difficult to get anything down there, though mostly I think just poking it down isn't the best technique. It gets most of the way down but I just can't push it any further. Can anyone point me in the right direction? My current plan is to find some string, tie on a weight, drop that down, tie it to the cable, and then pull the cable down.

I've attached a couple of photos of the UFB conduit. Should I be opening the UFB sheath somehow, which goes down the conduit a little way but not far, or poking the cat6 down beside it? It'd be a bit tricky to get the weight past the sheath. I might be able to get it the whole way along the conduit the UFB guys installed (2-3 meters, multiple bends), but it'd be tricky, I might have to open it up.

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#910044 8-Oct-2013 19:42

Can you tape a smaller wire to the CAT6, then use that to pull it through? It will make it a bit bigger still, but might be strong enough with only a couple of winds around it.

RunningMan

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#910047 8-Oct-2013 19:46

How far down does the flexible conduit go? Can you pull it back up out of the way and trim it?

Failing that, if it's a straight run, then use something rigid and thin like dowel, a cable snake to slide down, then pull a draw wire back through.

timmmay

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#910049 8-Oct-2013 19:47

Wire, string, either can work I guess. Hoping someone with experience well weigh in.

rscole86

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#910051 8-Oct-2013 19:48

What do you base experience on? Ive done it before, if that is what you are asking. No harm in giving these a go.

timmmay

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#910054 8-Oct-2013 19:52

RunningMan: How far down does the flexible conduit go? Can you pull it back up out of the way and trim it?

Failing that, if it's a straight run, then use something rigid and thin like dowel, a cable snake to slide down, then pull a draw wire back through.

Not sure how far down the sheath goes. It's screwed to a rigid conduit with a cable inside, not sure how I'd get it out.

It's a 4m or so run straight down. Not sure how dowel would work?

rscole86

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#910068 8-Oct-2013 19:56

If it just a straight run you could try lower gauge steel wire, something smaller than fencing wire. Either with a draw wire attached, or taping your CAT6 directly onto the end of it, making it 'one' cable/wire.

timmmay

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#910069 8-Oct-2013 19:56

rscole86: What do you base experience on? Ive done it before, if that is what you are asking. No harm in giving these a go.

Do you mean a stiffer cable? Don't think I have one of those, or string.

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CYaBro

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#910073 8-Oct-2013 20:06

It looks like you're trying to do 2 CAT6 cables at the same time, have you tried just one?
If you could get one through then use that to pull the 2nd one through then pull back any excess from the 1st.

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timmmay

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#910084 8-Oct-2013 20:22

I'm not sure one cable at a time will help, but I'll give it a go.

gregmcc

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#910095 8-Oct-2013 20:34

You need to use something like a cable snake, which is kind of a flexiable nylon rod, or a metal cable snake which is typically 2mmx5mm flat spring steel desgined to push thru pipes etc with an eye on the end, or catinery wire, again this is alumium wire/plastic coated, or at a pinch a bit of fencing wire.

A string with a weight on the end may not work too well as the weight will get caught up on the other cables.

your other option, do you have an air compressor? if so using the string tied several knots in the end to make a small ball at the end and "blow" the string thru using the compressed air.

chevrolux

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#910101 8-Oct-2013 20:42

Right... Firstly, how far down does the flexi go? I would hazard a guess and say it is just in the top of the conduit. It might go down maybe 300mm or so (at a complete guess). I say that because that is about how much I would put down.
If that is the case simply make sure there is some slack at the bottom of the conduit and pull it up then just use a stanely blade to cut the conduit off the cable. Just be aware though it may be just a duplex fibre which aren't the most resilient things around. On the other hand it could be a hybrid cable which are relatively tough and won't mind other cables being pulled past it.

Is there no option to drill down again and get another conduit in place? How many dwangs before you get to the cupboard?
If 2 cables is the extent of what you want to run just then just get one down and the tape on the next and pull it down. Silicone spray is excellent to help things slide down. If you can't even get the first one down then unbend a wire coat hanger and pole that down. Then tape on the first cable, then the second etc.

DarthKermit

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#910108 8-Oct-2013 21:04

If you have a length of light chain like in the top of this pic, it's great for snaking down thru a conduit.

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timmmay

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#910114 8-Oct-2013 21:19

I'm starting to think I should just have the electrician do it. I was going to run the cable and have him terminate it, but he probably has all the bits to do it on him. I probably really need to get that last bit of flexi pipe off.. unsure how though, as the pipe isn't straight, it has a break in the middle where I was going to build a cupboard.

gregmcc: You need to use something like a cable snake, which is kind of a flexiable nylon rod, or a metal cable snake which is typically 2mmx5mm flat spring steel desgined to push thru pipes etc with an eye on the end, or catinery wire, again this is alumium wire/plastic coated, or at a pinch a bit of fencing wire.

A string with a weight on the end may not work too well as the weight will get caught up on the other cables.

your other option, do you have an air compressor? if so using the string tied several knots in the end to make a small ball at the end and "blow" the string thru using the compressed air.

No compressor. No flat cable. No wire. Good point about string with a weight, may or may not work, but probably no great harm trying... if I had string.

chevrolux: Right... Firstly, how far down does the flexi go? I would hazard a guess and say it is just in the top of the conduit. It might go down maybe 300mm or so (at a complete guess). I say that because that is about how much I would put down. If that is the case simply make sure there is some slack at the bottom of the conduit and pull it up then just use a stanely blade to cut the conduit off the cable. Just be aware though it may be just a duplex fibre which aren't the most resilient things around. On the other hand it could be a hybrid cable which are relatively tough and won't mind other cables being pulled past it.

Is there no option to drill down again and get another conduit in place? How many dwangs before you get to the cupboard?
If 2 cables is the extent of what you want to run just then just get one down and the tape on the next and pull it down. Silicone spray is excellent to help things slide down. If you can't even get the first one down then unbend a wire coat hanger and pole that down. Then tape on the first cable, then the second etc.

Not sure how far down it goes, I didn't check and it's up in the ceiling. Not far is my guess. I could cut it, but the extra flexi will fall down the pipe and get caught half way on the flush boxes and pipe break, making things much more difficult. To get it off upwards I'd have to take apart their whole conduit system, which could break the fiber. They installed the fiber but may not have tested it yet, since they couldn't connect it to the road, but I wouldn't want to break it.

It's not practical to drill down, it's a very high ceiling and you'd have to go about 4m, plus the wallls are stuffed full of insulation. There's no cupboard in this location. This is why I put a conduit in place, until the geniuses decided to use the whole thing. I may also want to run a TV antenna cable in future.

I can't get one cable down either. There's just not the strength along the cable to let me, the conduit has that break as it goes through flush boxes. I never thought to run a straight pipe, I thought I was going to build another cupboard there but I haven't yet.

DarthKermit: If you have a length of light chain like in the top of this pic, it's great for snaking down thru a conduit.

Light chain... that might work. I don't have any, but it might work if I did.

Bung

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#910137 8-Oct-2013 21:28

If you can't blow a draw string through I've pulled a light string through using vacuum cleaner suck.

PaulBags

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#910142 8-Oct-2013 21:38

timmmay: ... I could cut it, but the extra flexi will fall down the pipe and get caught half way on the flush boxes and pipe break, making things much more difficult. ...

Start the cut into the level where you want to strip it away to. To stop it from dropping use this hole to clamp something onto the section that your cutting off, or cut a little bit further down and tie something through these holes. You don't have string, but what about cable tie, dental floss, shoelace, flax; there must be something. Then you can cut around the rest of the section, then carefully cut down the length while pulling it up until you've cut through it all and can lift it out. Probably want to cut the length on the other side from the clamp/string, else you might weaken that hold and drop the peice down.

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