Poking wire through pulpit tubing

[LONG_KEELER]

I am renewing the bow port/starboard nav light . The new 6mm electrical wire needs to be poked through the tubing to the deck gland.

It already has the holes drilled but there is quite a sharpish bend to negotiate.

What could I use as a guide for the cable ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[pvb]

Can't you use the old wire to pull the new wire through?

 

[dolabriform]

I am renewing the bow port/starboard nav light . The new 6mm electrical wire needs to be poked through the tubing to the deck gland.

It already has the holes drilled but there is quite a sharpish bend to negotiate.

What could I use as a guide for the cable ?

Thanks in advance.

Use a fish tape :
☆RUNCCI 10M Fish Tape Ribbon Threader Puller Pull Head, Electrical Wire Threader: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[Hoolie]

Use a fish tape :
☆RUNCCI 10M Fish Tape Ribbon Threader Puller Pull Head, Electrical Wire Threader: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Thanks for that suggestion! I've just bought one of these to solve the same problem as the OP

 

[DipperToo]

A tip I had some years ago was to spray some ptfe lubricant onto the cable which makes it very slippery when feeding it through restricted spaces or round corners

 

[rszemeti]

What you need is an "electricians fish tape" ... its used for exactly this purpose. Very useful device for all sorts of tasks.

6 mm Wide Steel Fish Tape 7.5 m Great for Short Runs, Conduit Measuring and As Pull Line KLEIN TOOLS 56005: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

The only downside to this one is that it is American, so it was designed by someone with an IQ similar to their shoe size. Functionally, it works perfectly ... It has handy laser markings along the length .. but for some reason best known to the designer, they start at 7.5m and count down, not up.

 

[Davy_S]

A Cockroach with a fishing line tied to its back leg!

 

[colind3782]

Can't you use the old wire to pull the new wire through?

+1

 

[dgadee]

I would first try to use a fishtape but often it won't go round odd bits. Then I use a strong magnet with a small piece of steel tied to a string. The magnet lets you direct the path in ways you can't do with a fishtape.

Edit: obviously the magnet is outside and the steel inside ...

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Can't you use the old wire to pull the new wire through?

Unfortunately there is nothing inside the stainless tubing.

Some idiot tried to pull the old wire through, lost patience and pulled too hard. It parted.
I've now forgiven myself - I mean him .

 

[Medway Mudlark]

Used a length of Net Curtain wire to route Radar/AIS/VHF and running light cables through an aluminium tubular goalpost arch on mine with a good degree of success, bit fiddly though. Then tape the cable to the end and ease through.

 

[dolabriform]

Unfortunately there is nothing inside the stainless tubing.

Some idiot tried to pull the old wire through, lost patience and pulled too hard. It parted.
I've now forgiven myself - I mean him .

I've never done that before... honest guv

 

[Hoolie]

In my case the pulpit was re-manufactured after damage. They did feed a steel wire through as it was made up but managed to weld it to the stainless tube inside. Of course it broke when pulled

 

[Yellow Ballad]

A fishing diamond eye threader might be a bit easier to get round tight corners.

 

[Aeolus]

I tried and failed to rerun my wiring through the pulpit tubing. Ended up using this stuff, cable-tied externally along the pulpit tubes.

Black spiral conduit. 10mm. Tube. Pipe. Non-split. Audio. PC cable wire. | eBay

Anyhow, I hope you're more successful that I was.

 

[Pye_End]

A fiddly job. I tried several ways to do this a couple of years ago. What with the restriction in size at the base, and no doubt internal restrictions where the uprights join the rail, I found that only one direction worked - up from the baseplate. In the end whatever went up (coat hanger?) held some whipping twine which I was able to hook through the hole using the equivalent to a bent paperclip. Then used the whipping twine to feed something a little bigger through, which then attached onto the cable (coax in this case).

 

[Eeyore]

Steel wire, the sort you use to secure shackle pins. I got a big reel of SS wire from a fishing tackle shop (for making traces) and it works a treat when doing this sort of work. Thread it through, make the end secure to your electric cable and pull it through.

 

[Daydream believer]

Whenever I have installed a wire on my boat, I have added a cord alongside it. This is on the basis that having struggled to get one wire through, there is a chance that one day I might need to get another one through, for something else. So having the draw cord ready will save some hassle. The draw cord is always cut just over double length, so that in pulling a wire through I attach it to the middle & still have the cord available once the wire has gone through.
I have a number of cords, each with large washers tied each end, to stop them being accidentally pulled through. In 16 years it is surprising how often one has to run wires for new/extra electrics

 

[rogerthebodger]

When ever I was pulling electrical wires through steel pipe /conduit I started to add 10% extra wires but now I add 20%.

I also use a fish tail with the end tapered to prevent catching on any inside ridges.

 

[jmad]

Small polystyrene bead with some light sewing cotton threaded through. Vacuum cleaner to exit hole.