Feeding draw rope into ducting

[tybach]

I am having to lay 50 meters of 50mm ducting for our new electricity supply. The DNO (Western Power) have kindly given me 100 metres and have told me to cut to length and to thread a draw rope.

I have never done anything like this and have 2 questions-
1. what's the best/easiest way to thread the draw rope?
2. can I use a 10 mm climbing rope (I have lots of this from work)

Any advice on these points (or anything else to do with laying the ducting) would be well received!!!

 

[viewer]

Tie a rag to the rope making a ball of size just smaller than the duct. Push down duct as far as possible with a rod. Then put in the garden hose and use the water pressure to push the rope through.

 

[Chri5]

Or if you hire a compressor for the ground break, do as above and blow through a light rope / string and then attach the draw rope to the string.

The water trick is poor form, it allows water to sit inside the duct and only really works if from one end to the other there is a proper drop end to end.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[Chri5]

If you have flexible duct ie on a roll, you have no chance.

OP mentioned

The DNO (Western Power) have kindly given me 100 metres and have told me to cut to length and to thread a draw rope.

Air compressor and fishing line, then attach fishing line to min 6mm draw rope, 8mm or 10mm might be better depending on mains cable size and weight.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1. what's the best/easiest way to thread the draw rope?

Use ducting which comes with a drawstring already threaded through it.

I'm not taking the p*** - you may have been given ducting for free, but if it doesn't have a string in it then for the sake of £50-60 I'd go and buy some which does, rather than spend ages faffing around trying to get your own threaded through.

 

[Deluks]

Something long heavy and point. a pointy SDS chisel for example, wrap bricklayers line around and tape up with gaffa tape pulled very tight. Lay duct out in a straight line, drop weight in one end and walk the length of the pipe keeping it raised by feeding it over your shoulder so the weight is constantly dropping forward in front of you.

*edit* Mulling it over, this would probably work whilst still coiled up, chuck it in and roll it along. Although the weight needn't be so long as it might get stuck in the bend.

 

[Chri5]

But he's still got to keep it dead straight and not backfill until after the the cable is pulled in..

And he's needs to tie something on to the line, I reckon a ping pong ball would do the trick.

The air compressor method works, done it dozens of times and if the OP is digging 50m+ x 600mm surely a compressor will be on site ?

Make up a ball of paper 35-40mm, wrap with gaffer tape, attached to string or filament line (which will need to be on a mini rod stand to free wheel). The compressor pushes the ball, the string follows due to free wheeling on the stand. Job done in 20 seconds !

Anyone remember blown fibre

 

[NamelessRob]

Do you know anyone who keeps pet ferrets? (If Qi is to be believed, that's a fairly common solution in industry.)

 

[Chri5]

http://www.paramountzone.com/racer.html

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[ban-all-sheds]

http://www.paramountzone.com/racer.html

Actually, that might be a BGI. As long as the ducting was reasonably flat and straight, and you used it to pull a very light thing through (fishing line?) I could see that working.

 

[NamelessRob]

Tie a steel washer onto a fishing line & drag a magnet down the outside of the duct?

 

[ColJack]

methinks I see a gadget idea for dragons den...
something with 3 or 4 spring loaded tracks and either a long cord for power or battery powered..