Best way to run cable through long runs of conduit?

[TonyR]

Been doing this since 1970-....

Me? About 3 years less but have pulled thousands of feet of all types and sizes of conductors through various type and sizes of conduit.

.....and use about anything for a lubricant. While Wire Lube is best. It is very expensive so for my home projects I use whatever I can get my hands on. Lotion is great, even dish soap is ok. You will probably need more lotion than you would WireLube.

It's your house but I personally would not recommend using it; I'd use a lubricant made specifically for the task.
Do you know the long term effects of that soap and its surfactants on the insulation?

.......Done this for many years many many times.

How many times have you gone back in 5 years to re-pull in some of those conduits ?
Was it a sticky mess?
Do you know if the insulation was in any way compromised?

 

[SecurityCams]

Me? About 3 years less but have pulled thousands of feet of all types and sizes of conductors through various type and sizes of conduit.

It's your house but I personally would not recommend using it; I'd use a lubricant made specifically for the task.
Do you know the long term effects of that soap and its surfactants on the insulation?

How many times have you gone back in 5 years to re-pull in some of those conduits ?
Was it a sticky mess?
Do you know if the insulation was in any way compromised?

Your Points are good Tony. No long term issues, I have checked.. Very little residue and remember this stuff is used on your skin so it is not going to causes issues with deteriorating wire insulation, I have seen no problems after going back after a year or 5 years. Just had to replace an outdoor pull that got dug up by a back hoe that was in the ground since 2012. No issues at all.

But I don't disagree- Wire lube is best but not absolutely necessary if your on a budget, Wire lube does not seem to have a long shelf life in my experience so I hate buying a bottle and throwing away most of after it died out.

 

[TonyR]

Your Points are good Tony. No long term issues, I have checked.. Very little residue and remember this stuff is used on your skin so it is not going to causes issues with deteriorating wire insulation, I have seen no problems after going back after a year or 5 years. Just had to replace an outdoor pull that got dug up by a back hoe that was in the ground since 2012. No issues at all.

But I don't disagree- Wire lube is best but not absolutely necessary if your on a budget, Wire lube does not seem to have a long shelf life in my experience so I hate buying a bottle and throwing away most of after it died out.

All good to know, man.Thanks.

Just had to replace an outdoor pull that got dug up by a back hoe that was in the ground since 2012.

So true regarding the backhoe.

We had to go locate and mark our underground traffic signal and street lighting conduits when someone was going to dig/excavate nearby (One Call, Call Before You Dig, Underground Service Alert, etc.) and I used to tell the guys that worked for / with me: "......A backhoe makes a pretty good conduit finder in that if we don't find it and mark it, it will find it for us."

 

[rufunky]

Wow, tons of good info here. Thanks for all the advice!