A homeowner in Phoenix taught me a simple trick for pulling wire through old conduit

I was rewiring a 1950s house last fall, and the existing 3/4 inch conduit was packed tight with old, sticky wires. We were about to cut it all out when the homeowner, an older guy who used to work at the phone company, came out to the garage. He said, 'Try a little dish soap and water mix on a pull string first.' I was skeptical, but we sprayed some down the conduit with a squirt bottle, fed a new pull line in with the old wires, and it slid through like butter. Saved us probably two hours of fighting with it and kept us from having to open up more walls. He said they used that trick all the time for old lead-sheathed cable. It's not fancy, but it works. What other old-school lubricants or tricks have you guys found for tough pulls?

3 comments

3 Comments

river9521mo ago

My buddy swears by talcum powder for pulling wire through dusty old conduit. Said it works way better than he ever thought it would.

shanef341mo ago

Ever try that wire pulling gel they sell at supply houses? I had a nightmare pull through some gritty underground PVC last year. That gel was the only thing that got it through without tearing up the insulation. Made everything slick enough that the wire just fed right in.

vera1951mo ago

My uncle used cornstarch once, worked like a charm.