Getting a mains cable down underground ducting

Talcum powder.

then, I didn't know what I was looking for :-)

Scrap everything you have done, because its illeagla and will void your insurance and buy some armored underground mains cable.

It's not permanently wired in - the cable comes out to labelled standard pl= ug, used with its own RCD. There are no cable joins outside, which is one t= hing I wanted to avoid (the tiny pump comes sealed, with a 10m mains cable)= . I've laid bricks over the conduit, to protect it from above. The conduit = runs for five metres under a small lawn, which will soon be paved anyway.

Is this still illegal, even if not a part of the house wiring?

-- Jason

Don't know why I didn't think of that one. As a kid, flexible mains cable always seemed to contain white powder to help it bend. Haven't seen that for a while, so I guess they use something else, or different types of plastic.

En el artículo , Jason Judge escribió:

presumably you're using the string to pull the cable through.

I used something very similar to this successfully for a similar job a couple of years ago, albeit over about 50m of ducting.

I think you're right to consider that, especially with rubbery insulation which may be damaged by oils.

be helpful on shorter runs are the silicone sprays, also good on pushfit waste fittings, gutter couplings, plastic curtain tracks...

or, of course, a 19 mm diameter ferret...

Yes, I tried, but it just snapped. Once the cable gets stuck, it is pretty = firmly stuck.

I thought, "Seven metres? That's not going to be a problem!". Ha to me!

I may just get a bottle of this or any earlier one recommended, and it will= be useful for other jobs.

I doubt it is rubber, but it just that kind of feeling. =20 Thanks.

Sprays like furniture polish? I used that on a wooden curtain rail I put up fifteen years ago, and have only had to top that up once in all that time.

Any reason why you can't use the string to pull it through? Have I missed something?

Doing our garden, I have buried seven metres of ducting to run cable for a water feature. It is rubbery mains cable, and I need to get it through the ducting. The ducting is 19mm internally, and has a slightly "grippy" feeling to its inside, as does the cable.

Now, I was hoping I could pull the cable down the ducting. No such luck - it gets stuck at the tiniest of curves. I have tried sucking it down with a vacuum, which has been no more successful.

There are no tight bends, just gentle curves. String can be sucked down with a vacuum cleaner without any problems. So, I'm guessing the issue is friction - rubbery plastic against rubbery plastic.

The big question is, is there a lubricant I can add to the cable to get it around the curves? I could dig the trunking up, but if the water feature (a small, sealed pump) ever failed, then I would need to get a new cable down.

I don't want to leap in trying greases, because if I used the wrong one, and it made matters worse, I may be stuck with trunking I can't use at all. The pump cable needs to thread through the base of the water feature first, so the cable could not have been put in before the trunking was installed.

Cheers

Dave R

Talcum powder?

start with "dig it up". Please don't fail me ;-)

water feature. It is rubbery mains cable, and I need to get it through the ducting. The ducting is 19mm internally, and has a slightly "grippy" feeling to its inside, as does the cable.

gets stuck at the tiniest of curves. I have tried sucking it down with a vacuum, which has been no more successful.

vacuum cleaner without any problems. So, I'm guessing the issue is friction - rubbery plastic against rubbery plastic.

around the curves? I could dig the trunking up, but if the water feature (a small, sealed pump) ever failed, then I would need to get a new cable down.

it made matters worse, I may be stuck with trunking I can't use at all. The pump cable needs to thread through the base of the water feature first, so the cable could not have been put in before the trunking was installed.

KY Jelly? According to Wikipedia "it does not react with latex condoms or silicone rubber-based sex toys" so should be OK with the rubber conduit and much more resilient PVC mains cable.

And you can use what's left over in the bedroom.

As I said, this doesn't sound like metal ducting, and anything else is not legitimate.

Yes, Yellow 77 is the common one:

I have one of these which works very well in these circumstances:

Seems like a rather bold claim. As has been discussed many times in the past, DIY under part P is not illegal, it simply makes some jobs notifiable.

Generally speaking, using pre assembled "kits" for outside power fall into the non notifiable category. The exception to this might be when using them to provide a permanent installation of "fixed" equipment. A standalone submersible pump would arguably not count as fixed.