My fish tape snapped inside a conduit run yesterday

Was pulling some Cat6 through a tight bend in an old office building and heard a loud pop. Had to cut the cable and start over, which wasted about 45 minutes. Anyone got a trick for getting a broken tape out without having to re-pull everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

murray.betty5h agoMost Upvoted

Avery's right about the stress, that pop is a dead giveaway. I've seen guys spend half a day trying to hook a broken piece with a bent coat hanger. If you already have to cut and re-terminate the cable, just tape the new fish tape right to the end of the Cat6 before you pull it back out. You'll waste more time on a rescue mission than just doing a clean new pull.

avery_roberts676h ago

Honestly I'd just pull a new tape through with the cable. Trying to fish out the broken piece usually takes longer than redoing the pull. That pop sound means the tape was already stressed.