To all the innovative types out there…I’ve got a customer who needs to have pull-line put inside an existing 1/2″ copper water line. It will be cut off and no longer used for water; just a low voltage 4-strand phone wire to control a shower push button. Does anyone have any idea how in the h*ll you can fish something through this? You’d have to go horizontally about 18″, pass through a 90 degree elbow, drop about 6 feet go through one more 90 degree elbow and out the end of a 4″ piece. I made a mockup (photo attached) to show what it would “typically” look like. I’ve tried twine with a nut on the end and compressed air to force it through – no luck. A metal fish tape is way to heavy and won’t make the bend, of course. I can “feed” it from the top and push it to the first 90, let it drop via gravity but I haven’t been able to get the blasted thing to go past the first 90. Man, this is driving me crazy. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!
Ken
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“They don’t build ’em like they used to” And as my Dad always added… “Thank God!”
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just a thought....use string, and a vacuum cleaner...try to suck the string instead of blowing it...
Shop vac.
Feed in sewing thread while sucking on the other end with the shop vac. Tie a bit of cloth ribbon on the end if want, but it will go either way. Mark the length so you know when you're done feeding thread.
You can try to suck a fuzzball with a vacuum or push it with compressed air. That usually also works, not sure why it didn't for you. A nut is heavier than I would use. I'd cut a dingleball off a low-rider's Impala or tie a thread around a bundle of 12 one-inch pieces of yarn.
With the thread-only approach, you aren't creating a big differential pressure behind one object. Rather, the high velocity creates forces along the whole length of the thread.
You guys are amazing! Now, that should work as slick as can be. I'm going to try it on the test piece and see how it goes. And the observations about using the nut...makes sense as the nut would just lie there while the air whistled around it. Thanks fellas!
And bundle up, it's getting pretty brisk out there!
Cheers!
Ken"They don't build 'em like they used to" And as my Dad always added... "Thank God!"
use the vac.
you can also try a magnet to coax the nut along, especially that last foot if you drop it from the top. Save lugging in the vac.
Like the other guys said, suck a string through with a vacuum. I usually see the electricians around here tie the string around an old sandwich bag left over from lunch; for a pipe that skinny you'd probably only need a little scrap torn off the bag.