Mule Tape - Anyone use this cordage?

[Woodwork]

Hey, all,

I recently discovered a type of polyester webbing called "mule tape" or "pull tape" which is I guess is often used to pull wire through conduits. Here's some:

Amazon.com : mule tape

The 3/4" wide stuff is commonly rated at 2500# and the 1/2" at 1250#.

Does anyone here use this material, and if so, what purposes is it good for?

I use 1/4" nylon braid for prusik loops, but wondered whether this stuff might be decent for the same purpose, using maybe a prusik or Klemheist... I could also see using it in place of nylon webbing loops. I like the idea that polyester is much more resistant to UV degradation...and the prices I see on Amazon and ebay are good by comparison... I was considering buying some to try it out but wanted to check here first.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jeff

 

[hseII]

Hey, all,

I recently discovered a type of polyester webbing called "mule tape" or "pull tape" which is I guess is often used to pull wire through conduits. Here's some:

Amazon.com : mule tape

The 3/4" wide stuff is commonly rated at 2500# and the 1/2" at 1250#.

Does anyone here use this material, and if so, what purposes is it good for?

I use 1/4" nylon braid for prusik loops, but wondered whether this stuff might be decent for the same purpose, using maybe a prusik or Klemheist... I could also see using it in place of nylon webbing loops. I like the idea that polyester is much more resistant to UV degradation...and the prices I see on Amazon and ebay are good by comparison... I was considering buying some to try it out but wanted to check here first.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jeff

We use it to pull wire- industrial Plant setting.

I would not use it with tree work personally except for maybe a temporary redirect/ anchoring out of the way of small save trees.


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[flushcut]

I have about 100' and use it for throw away applications. Like a loop I use to pull out T-posts. I use some to hang hydro/starter motors for easier install. I got it for free and use it in dirty non critical application that require some strength.

 

[evo]

I have about 100' and use it for throw away applications. Like a loop I use to pull out T-posts. I use some to hang hydro/starter motors for easier install. I got it for free and use it in dirty non critical application that require some strength.

Same here, lineman left a hank of it on a job….

 

[SumoClimber]

I've used it a few times, still have a couple thousand feet of the stuff. Jobsite I was on a while back, the electrical crew used it once and was throwing it away. Their complaint was they can't get it spooled well enough to feed again(lazy, lol)

As said before, it's useful for throwaway applications. One thing I use it for is buoy dropping. We hang the anchor from the bottom of the nav buoy with a loop of this, drag the buoy into position, then use a hook knife on a boat pole to cut the loop. Lot less hauling the buoy, no need to bang the anchor off your boat, etc. It's a good method considering we're not buying a buoy tender w crane for less than a dozen channel markers, lol.

The lubed tape doesn't like normal knots, get used to water knots and fig 8 follow throughs. It'll pull a square knot apart before it hits it's breaking point.

 

[Jehinten]

I used this one time when I did electrical work (once in 5 years...) . It came pre-installed in a large roll of flexible conduit for wire pulling. It has a bit of stretch if I remember right (at least in 300' lengths of it) but that could have also been the sag of the conduit pulling on it. When cutting the conduit to length you had to make sure to hold the pull tape or it would shoot several feet into the pipe and be worthless for pulling wire.


Pretty sure we threw it away after that pull as well. Electricians are pretty wasteful and the ones who terminate wires in a panel often don't know how to pick up their own trash. It's similar to climbers and raking.

 

[Reach]

I used this one time when I did electrical work (once in 5 years...) . It came pre-installed in a large roll of flexible conduit for wire pulling. It has a bit of stretch if I remember right (at least in 300' lengths of it) but that could have also been the sag of the conduit pulling on it. When cutting the conduit to length you had to make sure to hold the pull tape or it would shoot several feet into the pipe and be worthless for pulling wire.


Pretty sure we threw it away after that pull as well. Electricians are pretty wasteful and the ones who terminate wires in a panel often don't know how to pick up their own trash. It's similar to climbers and raking.

As I former electrician, I can speak to having used the stuff on occasion. The utilities buy rolls of conduit with it preinstalled, the rest of us buy a spool and pull it into place with a string.

And not all electricians are wasteful, some of us know how to use a broom, carry a shop vac, and even wear booties to save the carpet!

(I built one of the panels, and found the other - you can guess which is which…)

 

[Jehinten]

I hated finding panels like that 2nd one. Lol.

A clean panel is so much nicer to work with. We did all commercial and industrial wiring, as for pulling wire we either used a plastic pull string (cut off what you need out of a bucket and throw away afterwards) or a half inch rope for the bigger stuff (500 and 600 MCM) which got re-rolled on a spool and used next time.

I don't have any pictures from when I was there, but here is a recent build by the company I used to work for.

 

[evo]

There’s a special place in hell for people with that much patience

 

[Stumpsprouts]

As I former electrician, I can speak to having used the stuff on occasion. The utilities buy rolls of conduit with it preinstalled, the rest of us buy a spool and pull it into place with a string.

And not all electricians are wasteful, some of us know how to use a broom, carry a shop vac, and even wear booties to save the carpet!

(I built one of the panels, and found the other - you can guess which is which…)

And then you got into tree work??

 

[Woodwork]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the information.

 

[Reach]

And then you got into tree work??

Sort of. Lawn care/landscaping first, and transitioned into trees. Long story, but in short, my parents wanted me to be an engineer, but compromised and agreed an electrician was ok, but I wanted to be a landscaper. I tried electrical work for three years, went to school for it and all, and then quit as soon as school was done and went into lawns. From lawns, started climbing trees, and eventually got rid of the lawns altogether. It’s a long story, and it’s been quite an interesting journey.

 

[Reach]

I hated finding panels like that 2nd one. Lol.

A clean panel is so much nicer to work with. We did all commercial and industrial wiring, as for pulling wire we either used a plastic pull string (cut off what you need out of a bucket and throw away afterwards) or a half inch rope for the bigger stuff (500 and 600 MCM) which got re-rolled on a spool and used next time.

I don't have any pictures from when I was there, but here is a recent build by the company I used to work for.

View attachment 78611

Me too! I like things neat and orderly. I’ve built panels like that, but only back in school. It was never my kind of thing. I don’t like big wires either, I only pulled 500 MCM copper once and that cured me.