atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring tough pull, looking for suggestions

justbill: I have thought of that already, but the hole for the alarm wire is seperate, and is really small. They caulked the alarm wire into place so the cold air wouldn't escape. I think the alarm sounds when you remove any of it's components anyway.

Added: I was thinking maybe some of those fiberglass fish tape reels. Might see about getting one on tuesday. I have a thick coat hanger now, I'm going to try and get it through, If I can see it, I need to get tape (or brake tubing like KLD said) and see if I can get it out of the crevise and up into the cieling.

If you're doing this is a supermarket, see if they have a cardboard baler on site. The bales need a wire wrap after they're compressed, so there's always a pile of them near the baler. These wires are generally 4 or 5 feet long, and work great for fishing cables, especally in coolers as I've discovered myself.

OK Ken, now I know which tubes your all talking about, the trailer floor thing through me.

Ed's entrance tubes are the white ones ----

The metal tubes were about a foot long, fit inside a 1/4" drilled hole, and you fed the IW (Inside Wire, Jeff) through it so it didn't disappear inside the wall. These were issued after the 22 ga. wire showed up. The older 19 ga. was stiff enough to stay straight. Once the wire was through the wall, you slipped the tube off the wire and away you go. (Don't forget and staple the IW around the corner and come back only to see the tube still sticking out!)

When the thick insulation in trailer house floors started showing up the 12" metal tubes weren't long enough as well as the standard SWBT issue 1/4" drill bit. Went to the electrical supply house, ordered 24" bell hanger bits and went to the auto parts store and got steel brake line. Boss wrote off the tickets, I was doing six to eight trailers a day at that time, a new trailer park had just opened, so I guess he thought it was worth it.

Update: As of today while I sit here on site, I have the hole drilled through, I can point a flashlight inside the cooler and see the light through the metal siding. I can't get anything fished through, and I don't think tubing is going to work. The wire has to go down into a crack thats not even 1/4" and down 5", then into the 2.5" thick wall, and out into the cooler.

I will let you know if I get this figured out...*sigh*

vertical to horizontal? That's what it sounds like your doing. From the top take a wire and on the end of the wire loop tie a bunch of string loops. What I do is take about a 3 or 4 foot piece and fold it back and forth about 8-10" long, just tie it to a loop in your wire so you have several inches hanging down on each side of the wire, which would mean 4 or 5 " on each side. Doesn't matter if it's more, but I wouldn't go any less. Push it down past the hole, than pull it back so only the string is hanging at the level of the hole. Now go to the horizontal hole and use a fish wire to grab the string, you have a lot better chance of catching the string this way then having just one piece of string and a weight. This works well in insulated walls also. If I'm following you this should work. 1/4 inch isn't much, but I've fished narrow opening before this way.

mind if i ask why you need a cat 3 cable inside a cooler

The fiber-glass push-pull rods are great for getting thru a really thick wall that may have a "void" in in, but, I also keep some "tie wire" ( you know, the stuff that hangs ceiling grid's? ) handy in my vehicle as we only have the one set of rod's.


This stuff is really flexible & can be bent easier than a "coat-hanger".

Another purpose I use it for is when you think you took out the right ceiling tile only to find to can't reach the cable...

Hey Jeff, sometimes we have to install phones & paging horns in these things!

We once had an account that was a "sub-zero" storage facility & the warehouse was huge! I hated going out there to troubleshoot a Valcom horn not working. Seriously, it was like 60F below in there, had to wear one of there "snowsuit's" to go in there!