That moment my fish tape snapped mid-pull in a 3 inch conduit

Last Wednesday I was running 4 cat6 cables through a 90 foot underground run near the new courthouse downtown. About 60 feet in, my fish tape just gave out and I heard it snap somewhere inside the pipe. I ended up having to dig up a section of the conduit to find the break, which took me like 3 hours extra. Has anyone else had a fish tape fail on them like that, or was I just using the wrong kind?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_cooper16d ago

That's why I stick to string and a shop vac for long runs, saves a lot of digging.

butler.abby16d ago

Last year my buddy Dave had his tape snap in a 4 inch PVC. He was pulling 3 cat6 cables through a 40 foot run under a parking lot. Fish tape broke about 25 feet in and he couldn't find the end. Ended up renting a mini excavator and cutting out a 10 foot section of asphalt. Took him almost a whole day. He said he'll never use anything but mule tape for underground stuff now.