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Glow Rod's over Fish Tape? 2
- Thread starter mikey62
- Start date
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daronwilson
Vendor
I have been through three different sets of push rods, and that was after starting out with 5' sections of 1/2" pvc pipe with screw on couplings and then chimney rods. Here is what I have found:
* the PVC was cheap, but it worked
* the chimney rods were pretty good, plenty strong, far too bulky and the couplings were rather large.
* next was a set from mike the sandman ( i think) which were yellow fiberglass, and great. They were 6' rods i think, quite small 1/4" in diameter and very strong, and the best part was the screw together portion...the two parts nested together before the threads, hard to explain, but in short there was no stress on the threaded part because there was a sleeve that the tip slid into, NEVER had a problem with the coupling and uncoupling. ONLY downside was after repeated flexing and bending the fiberglass splinters a bit and gets little teeny slivers in the hands.
* next was a product I found at a BICSI show, screw together fiberglass rods with a poly coating. They fixed the sliver part, but the couplings were not strong and the rods were flimsy. I still have them, they are slick on the outside, great in a cable tray/conduit/trough but not rigid enough to span much. The same company also made a fiberglass/poly tape, like a metal fishtape but fiberglass, that was only 20 feet long for walls and short hops, I use that all the time, very nice.
* tried some bright green rods that were supposed to be great. They were fiberglass, almost translucent, with very small bolt/coupling combination. The bolts were maybe 6/32 size. We broke 4 in one job, they sucked.
* latest addition is a 3 piece set by greenlee. They rock, much like the yellow ones I got from the sandman, these bolt together with the same sleeve concept that protects the bolt. No problem flexing and breaking, they just are very durable yet flexible. Also they came with a screw on hook for one end, very handy.
Now, all that said *laughs* I also have a metal fish tape and a poly fish tape as well. They all have their own uses. In conduit, the fishtape is the way to go. Down walls, I really like the rectangular fiberglass short one, you can rotate it and almost steer it down the wall.
Pushing over the ceiling tile....we havent put wire on the tile for years, its a NEC violation, closest we get is mounting "D" rings to the structure above the ceiling, or some other support, and pushing the rods thru the rings with wire attached to the end.
Lots of personal preference, but if you are pushing wire in open spaces above the drop ceiling, the good fiberglass rods should get you 12-15 feet without having to open a tile, which can save quite a bit of time.
Good luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
* the PVC was cheap, but it worked
* the chimney rods were pretty good, plenty strong, far too bulky and the couplings were rather large.
* next was a set from mike the sandman ( i think) which were yellow fiberglass, and great. They were 6' rods i think, quite small 1/4" in diameter and very strong, and the best part was the screw together portion...the two parts nested together before the threads, hard to explain, but in short there was no stress on the threaded part because there was a sleeve that the tip slid into, NEVER had a problem with the coupling and uncoupling. ONLY downside was after repeated flexing and bending the fiberglass splinters a bit and gets little teeny slivers in the hands.
* next was a product I found at a BICSI show, screw together fiberglass rods with a poly coating. They fixed the sliver part, but the couplings were not strong and the rods were flimsy. I still have them, they are slick on the outside, great in a cable tray/conduit/trough but not rigid enough to span much. The same company also made a fiberglass/poly tape, like a metal fishtape but fiberglass, that was only 20 feet long for walls and short hops, I use that all the time, very nice.
* tried some bright green rods that were supposed to be great. They were fiberglass, almost translucent, with very small bolt/coupling combination. The bolts were maybe 6/32 size. We broke 4 in one job, they sucked.
* latest addition is a 3 piece set by greenlee. They rock, much like the yellow ones I got from the sandman, these bolt together with the same sleeve concept that protects the bolt. No problem flexing and breaking, they just are very durable yet flexible. Also they came with a screw on hook for one end, very handy.
Now, all that said *laughs* I also have a metal fish tape and a poly fish tape as well. They all have their own uses. In conduit, the fishtape is the way to go. Down walls, I really like the rectangular fiberglass short one, you can rotate it and almost steer it down the wall.
Pushing over the ceiling tile....we havent put wire on the tile for years, its a NEC violation, closest we get is mounting "D" rings to the structure above the ceiling, or some other support, and pushing the rods thru the rings with wire attached to the end.
Lots of personal preference, but if you are pushing wire in open spaces above the drop ceiling, the good fiberglass rods should get you 12-15 feet without having to open a tile, which can save quite a bit of time.
Good luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
I use a telescopic pole (gopher pole)
It is about 4' in length and you slide out each section and then turn it to lock it in place. Very simple to open and close, great for straight shots. Can expand to 22'. It has eye holes on both ends and a little hook on the front end.
It is about 4' in length and you slide out each section and then turn it to lock it in place. Very simple to open and close, great for straight shots. Can expand to 22'. It has eye holes on both ends and a little hook on the front end.
I agree with Daron Eilson. One of my co-workers has the Greenlee rods and they are nice, but expensive. He also has this crossbow looking thing that shoots a dart with polyline attached to it. It is nice to get pul string in, but you still have to go back and tywrap cable in. As you can see there are lots of choices. Only you will know what is best and easiest for you. Good Luck!!
- Thread starter
- #6
ive been pulling cable for a while
I have a set of the green labor saving rods that are being slamed by some here Ive had mine over 10 years the fittings do break but then you just epoxy new ones on.
i havent tried the one mike sandman sells but they do look pretty good
I have a pole similar to the gopher pole except mine goes to 35' collapses to 5' its my most used one
I have a short 12' grabbit by labor saving devices with a z tip that hooks the wire great for tight spots
I also have yellow fibergalss fishtape that extends to straigt , its great for insalated walls
another usefull one is a little GB 20' metal one i picked up at home depot great for short runs
I have a couple of golf ball retrevers that I have fashende hooks for .
the key is to have a assortment of tools and use whats appropriate
ALWAYS pull a pull string saves tons of time on the next run
I have a set of the green labor saving rods that are being slamed by some here Ive had mine over 10 years the fittings do break but then you just epoxy new ones on.
i havent tried the one mike sandman sells but they do look pretty good
I have a pole similar to the gopher pole except mine goes to 35' collapses to 5' its my most used one
I have a short 12' grabbit by labor saving devices with a z tip that hooks the wire great for tight spots
I also have yellow fibergalss fishtape that extends to straigt , its great for insalated walls
another usefull one is a little GB 20' metal one i picked up at home depot great for short runs
I have a couple of golf ball retrevers that I have fashende hooks for .
the key is to have a assortment of tools and use whats appropriate
ALWAYS pull a pull string saves tons of time on the next run
jeffmoss26
Technical User
by closet stack, do you mean that the cable is in conduit?
I was working on a small job and we had a similar sized run (probably shorter though. There was an existing conduit that went through a firewall. one end goes through to a hallway and the other end comes out near the phone room
we pushed the cables through the existing conduit and then hooked it to rings in the ceiling. Another guy went a few tiles down and i just coiled the cable up and tossed it to him. It is all supported with rings, so we didnt have to deal with light fixtures or conduits in the way. jeff moss
jeffmoss26@adelphia.net
I was working on a small job and we had a similar sized run (probably shorter though. There was an existing conduit that went through a firewall. one end goes through to a hallway and the other end comes out near the phone room
we pushed the cables through the existing conduit and then hooked it to rings in the ceiling. Another guy went a few tiles down and i just coiled the cable up and tossed it to him. It is all supported with rings, so we didnt have to deal with light fixtures or conduits in the way. jeff moss
jeffmoss26@adelphia.net
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