shikuto t1_iy4o865 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 6:53 PM

Reply to comment by knightlife in can you run an ethernet cable through an empty conduit in your house on your own? by VanillianArt

We use tools to help us pull wire/cable in conduit. The one that would be applicable here would be a steel fish-tape. Something like this, of a sufficient length, would be appropriate: https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/steel-fish-tape-18-inch-x-50-foot

u/VanillianArt tagging you here so you see it. If you’re going to go this route, PLEASE verify that the conduit doesn’t terminate into an electrical panel. If it does, and the conduit is appropriately grounded the way it should be, you aren’t in much physical danger. However, the fish tape will probably explode inside the panel, causing far more extensive AND expensive repairs than just getting a professional to do the work from the get go.

If the conduit isn’t properly grounded and does terminate into a panel, or is non-metallic (PVC, for instance,) then it the fish tape will essentially turn into an uninsulated wire that you’re holding on to. Definitely not a good time.

One way of checking would be to get a shop vacuum and run it “in reverse” (blow mode) and put it up against the junction box. Go over to the panel, and if you have air coming out of a conduit, it’s a no-go.

I think you’ll probably find that the conduit goes to the panel. Residential electrical doesn’t tend to use conduit for very much at all, except when it’s absolutely required. It would be cheaper and faster to install for the contractor to have just ran plenum-rated Cat5/6/etc cable than to have ran conduit for it. It seems pretty unlikely that they ran spare, future conduits in anything other than a custom home. From my experience building custom homes.

Edit: also, if it’s at all possible, I would recommend completely removing power from the panel in question before removing the cover, and only restoring power after the cover has been replaced. Otherwise, something could go horribly wrong. Even as a professional, taking a dead front off of a live residential panel can be a bit nerve wracking.

Edit 2: a word, for clarity

Source: former electrician of 9 years, with residential, commercial, and industrial experience.

knightlife t1_iy5c91h wrote on November 28, 2022 at 9:30 PM

These are really good points; I guess I was just assuming OP already knew it was an empty conduit for Ethernet/speaker/etc wire, instead of something that might terminate at the label. Smart to check beforehand!

Also, I’m just a DIYer so I’m not aware of all the specific tools, I have used fish tape in the past and have a set of fish rods I use for installing new outlets at my home, but if the conduit behind the wall twists and turns many times, would fish tape still be indicated? Would it be able to, say, fish a wire through multiple right angles? I’ve never done it, I’m just curious. I suggested the magnets because I saw a video online of someone hooking up a cheap magnet to (unpowered) romex and then using a powerful magnet on the outside of the wall to magnetically “drag” the cable inside the wall downward. I figured you could perhaps do roughly the same with turns if needing to move laterally.

shikuto t1_iy5de2x wrote on November 28, 2022 at 9:38 PM

Yeah, fish tape is flexible, yet stiff enough that it should be able to make it through multiple bends. Additionally - at least in the US - code requires there be no more than 360 degrees of bend in conduit between boxes. For exactly the purpose of being able to pull wire through it. It gets to be exceptionally difficult to pull wire past anything more than 360.

Anything more than that, and the original installer hated everyone else anyway. I’ve seen examples of what you saw in that video. Works awesome inside a wall with no insulation in the cavity. Works much less well when there’s insulation involved. And the amount of friction that’s inside of a conduit would almost certainly overwhelm the holding power of the magnet. Also, if it’s steel conduit (EMT, IMC, or rigid,) the conduit itself would also get magnetized.

knightlife t1_iy5ejik wrote on November 28, 2022 at 9:46 PM

You sure know your stuff! Thanks for indulging. I’ve vastly enjoyed running my wires through interior partition walls way more than my exterior walls with insulation (and blocking in one case! That was a nightmare!). I’ve just never run with conduit so wasn’t too sure about all the particulars. Who knows how OP’s conduit was installed but these are all great considerations to take into account.