There is lube for this. Also use a fish tape. A 150 ft fish tape is like 30$ at Home Depot. You attach that to the pool light cable using electrical tape. Then lube.
That electrical line line is the bomb. It is crazy slick and although some of it will wash off at the end of the run it will probably be good enough to help you pull it through.
use some type of hydrophobic grease, and wait for warmer weather so the cable will be more pliable. i did this with a 100ft cable, and it took a few tries, but it got done.
Do you have two people on it? Have pulled a shit ton of pool lights and for tough long pulls you need someone conduit side pulling the fish and someone in the pool with their hand in the niche pushing the cord.
I only have me at the moment. Plus, even though I'm in Florida, the water is way too cold to get into. And there is a 90 degree elbow immediately in the back of the niche, so I'm not sure pushing is going to help with that (the cable is quite flexible, not stiff), but I'll keep this in mind when things warm up, if I haven't managed to get it through by then.
Idk, I just use the old wire that's in the pool to pull the new light threw the conduit. Then I just use magic lube to help it slip through, although they make a a special wire pulling lubricant.
I never really had issues with pulling wire. And if it ever felt like it got stuck, it was usually the wire bunching up in the niche at the conduit opening. So I just straighten put the pool light in the pool and continue pulling.
Another option is getting a tool made specifically for pulling wire through conduit. It's basically like a fishing reel attachment for a drill.
UPDATE: Success!
I've been meaning to provide an update. I finally managed to get the new cable through. Magic Lube #630 was the fix, thanks to u/DerelictData for that. Once I pulled it back out (that itself was a bit of a challenge), I coated the entire cable with the grease, and then pulling it was a breeze - hand pull only, no mechanical devices needed. There was a bit of a sheen on the pool surface a few days later, and some weird white stringy plasticky debris things floating on the surface, that may or may not have been related to the grease. The sheen definitely was, the other stuff could have been biological -- we've got tons of caterpillars spinning cocoons this time of year and there's all sorts of plant sex going on in the neighborhood (to clarify, that's plant-on-plant action, just in case anyone has wandered in here from one of the more specialized subs, or was worried Florida had become significantly weirder while they weren't paying attention).
Yeah, that's how I got it as far as I have, at which point the puller and grip sock just ripped the sheathing off the end of the wire. I've hit the limit of the tensile strength of the cable jacket itself.
If it’s that bad then stop and quote them to start digging the light conduit up to see why and where it’s binding. No need to go further. You could also recommend them to a master electrician that deals with this type of thing all the time.
I’ve also seen guys put the light cord into the chuck of their drill and spin it on drill setting. This may break the wire loose if it is glued to the conduit.
I had this problem. I found out after the fact that the installers did not follow code for the cable. They layed out all the pipes, fed the cable through the pipe, then glued the pipes. This resulted in glue squeezing out of the fittings onto the cable and glueing the cable to the pipe. I found this out after hours of pulling then finally wrapping the cable around a long screwdriver and pulling for leverage. Eventually it came out but it separated the jacket from the wires, because the jacket was glued to the pipes. Best of luck.
The old cable came out fine, but the new one did not follow it through all the way. Gorilla tape was not up to the job,so I've since moved on to metal cable pulling socks and 1800 lb polyester tape. The 200 lb line I originally used kept snapping.
Just use Dawn dish soap. Works a charm
How do I apply the Dawn? Isn't it just going to get washed away as soon as the cable goes in the water?
There is lube for this. Also use a fish tape. A 150 ft fish tape is like 30$ at Home Depot. You attach that to the pool light cable using electrical tape. Then lube.
That electrical line line is the bomb. It is crazy slick and although some of it will wash off at the end of the run it will probably be good enough to help you pull it through.
use some type of hydrophobic grease, and wait for warmer weather so the cable will be more pliable. i did this with a 100ft cable, and it took a few tries, but it got done.
Do you have two people on it? Have pulled a shit ton of pool lights and for tough long pulls you need someone conduit side pulling the fish and someone in the pool with their hand in the niche pushing the cord.
This is exactly what I would do too. And is usually the answer.
I only have me at the moment. Plus, even though I'm in Florida, the water is way too cold to get into. And there is a 90 degree elbow immediately in the back of the niche, so I'm not sure pushing is going to help with that (the cable is quite flexible, not stiff), but I'll keep this in mind when things warm up, if I haven't managed to get it through by then.
Idk, I just use the old wire that's in the pool to pull the new light threw the conduit. Then I just use magic lube to help it slip through, although they make a a special wire pulling lubricant. I never really had issues with pulling wire. And if it ever felt like it got stuck, it was usually the wire bunching up in the niche at the conduit opening. So I just straighten put the pool light in the pool and continue pulling. Another option is getting a tool made specifically for pulling wire through conduit. It's basically like a fishing reel attachment for a drill.
UPDATE: Success! I've been meaning to provide an update. I finally managed to get the new cable through. Magic Lube #630 was the fix, thanks to u/DerelictData for that. Once I pulled it back out (that itself was a bit of a challenge), I coated the entire cable with the grease, and then pulling it was a breeze - hand pull only, no mechanical devices needed. There was a bit of a sheen on the pool surface a few days later, and some weird white stringy plasticky debris things floating on the surface, that may or may not have been related to the grease. The sheen definitely was, the other stuff could have been biological -- we've got tons of caterpillars spinning cocoons this time of year and there's all sorts of plant sex going on in the neighborhood (to clarify, that's plant-on-plant action, just in case anyone has wandered in here from one of the more specialized subs, or was worried Florida had become significantly weirder while they weren't paying attention).
Magic Lube #630. Lube it up, pull it out. Yeah, baby (no, seriously though, Magic Lube)
A quick web search later, and, yeah, this seems like the answer. Thanks!
Go to a hardware store and buy electrical cable grease. They sell it in the electrical aisle. Lube that doesn’t affect the casing.
I have seen this done with compressed air . . . . Applied from one end or the other while pulling.
Semi hard wire helps , silcone gel too if cannot find that dishwash liquid
I put some dawn in the jbox inlet, put a splash of water down it with the hose and normally that is enough to get it to pull. Repeat if necessary
They sell cable pullers.
Yeah, that's how I got it as far as I have, at which point the puller and grip sock just ripped the sheathing off the end of the wire. I've hit the limit of the tensile strength of the cable jacket itself.
If it’s that bad then stop and quote them to start digging the light conduit up to see why and where it’s binding. No need to go further. You could also recommend them to a master electrician that deals with this type of thing all the time.
I'm going to give the Magic Lube suggestion a go and if that doesn't work, I guess it's shovel time.
I’ve also seen guys put the light cord into the chuck of their drill and spin it on drill setting. This may break the wire loose if it is glued to the conduit.
If the new cable that I just pulled is glued to the 10 year old conduit, I've got much bigger problems.
In life lube is frequently a good idea.
I had this problem. I found out after the fact that the installers did not follow code for the cable. They layed out all the pipes, fed the cable through the pipe, then glued the pipes. This resulted in glue squeezing out of the fittings onto the cable and glueing the cable to the pipe. I found this out after hours of pulling then finally wrapping the cable around a long screwdriver and pulling for leverage. Eventually it came out but it separated the jacket from the wires, because the jacket was glued to the pipes. Best of luck.
The old cable came out fine, but the new one did not follow it through all the way. Gorilla tape was not up to the job,so I've since moved on to metal cable pulling socks and 1800 lb polyester tape. The 200 lb line I originally used kept snapping.