Tried using a shop vac to pull wires through conduit - actually saved me 2 hours

So I was trying to run some Cat6 through a 50ft conduit run in my attic last weekend. Couldn't get the fish tape to bend around this one corner no matter what. Got frustrated and taped the cable to the shop vac hose, sealed up the other end with a rag, and let it rip. Pulled through first try. Felt like a genius but also kinda dumb it took me 3 tries with the tape first. Anyone else got a weird hack that actually worked for a change?

2 comments

2 Comments

west.alice2d agoMost Upvoted

Well actually leaf blowers are the opposite of shop vacs in a way that matters here. A shop vac pulls things toward it, which works great for fishing wire since you're pulling the cable through. A leaf blower pushes air, so you'd be pushing a string away from you unless you somehow sealed it at the blower end. That sounds like a recipe for watching your pull string fly across the attic while the blower shoots hot air in your face. I've seen people use the vacuum trick for years in low voltage work, but blowing is a whole different animal. The physics just doesn't line up the same way unless you rig something really specific.

hugo_jones22d ago

Did you see that guy on Reddit who used a leaf blower to push a pull string through? Sounds sketchy but I bet it works just as good.