Fish Tape

[asalcedo]

I need to purchase a good quality 100 feet fish tape to lay cables in my house.

I have already experienced the difficulty of laying long cables even when done by professionals with iffy tapes.

The house is large, with garden, and long flexible (corrugated) conduit runs.

I see this fiber glass one:

a cheaper steel with nylon jacket one:

one should I get if price is not a consideration?

Any other that will be better?

Thanks,

Antonio

[RubberBiker]

I have a steel fish tape - and it's only marginally better than improvised wire pullers. Maybe fibreglass ones are better.

However looking at the screwfix range:

(rather expensive) kit stood out as having a few innovations:

's a glowing review too - but does sound a bit like it was written by the manufacturer)

[Dave Liquorice]

I hope the flexible conduit has been laid in straight runs. I doubt you'll be able to pull a cable around any bend. I found that out when putting a single Cat5 through some of that stuff no way was it going through unless the conduit was virtually straight. Lubrication might help but I wouldn't like to put any money on it.

I have a plain steel fish tape works well enough. I suspect that the rods might be better, though I'd look closely are how they join together. What is awful is a nylon one it "remembers" it's coiled up state and always wants to be like that fing useless in floor voids and jams in ducting...

[asalcedo]

It is near imposible to push a rod around any meaningful bend.

Yes, the cable runs are quite straight with plenty of junction boxes in between.

[John Rumm]

IME, I find that the fibreglass rods are actually far more useful that the tapes. Something like :

a basic set.

There are more elaborate ones as well:

you do go for a tape, make sure it is one on a spool - the coils of nylon tape without are unmanageable!

[Cicero]

==========================================

Some good prices here although stock isn't as comprehensive as Screwfix etc.:

[ARWadsworth]

The rods will not go around bends.

Adam

[ARWadsworth]

The coils of nylon cords do have 2 advantages though

If you hit a bend in conduit and you then can twist the cord whilst pushing it, it usually clears the bend.

1. If you want a pull cord inserting through a small hole that you want to grab from the other side (eg through a ceiling into the loft in the eaves) the natural self coiling mechanism of the cord means that it is usually easy enough to grab with rods that have a hook on the end.

Adam

Adam