Switched from fish tape to glow rods for conduit pulls and I'm never going back

I used to be a fish tape guy through and through. Thought glow rods were just for homeowners and light duty stuff. Then I had a job at this new condo complex in Austin where the conduit had three 90 degree bends in a row. My fish tape kept getting stuck and I spent 45 minutes fighting it. A buddy let me borrow his set of 3/8 inch fiberglass glow rods. Pulled that run in like 10 minutes. They flex way better around tight turns and you can connect them together for longer runs. I still use my tape for straight shots in open ceiling but anything with bends I'm grabbing the rods now. Has anyone else switched and noticed a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige42726d ago

I still use my old steel fish tape for most residential work around San Antonio. Glow rods have their place but I find them too flimsy for anything over 1/2 inch conduit. Snapped two of them on a job last year when I hit a tight compression fitting. The fiberglass splinters are nasty too. Maybe the higher end ones work better but the cheap sets break easy. For three 90s in a row I just use a vacuum and a pull string instead. That saves me more time than any rod or tape.

the_margaret26d ago

Yeah, splinters are the worst part of those things for sure.

the_xena26d ago

Respectfully disagree, vacuum method is slower than a decent fish tape in straight runs.