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In addition to our direct competitors selling cable pulling lubricants, Polywater faces indirect competition from so-called "enhanced" THHN cables, such as SIMpull® from Southwire, which are marketed as slippery jacketed cables requiring no cable pulling lubricant for installation. We've commented before on our testing of enhanced THHN, which confirms a slight improvement in coefficient of friction (COF) in certain duct types. The question now, as always, is whether that improvement is enough to support their claim that no pulling lube is needed. Obviously, we don't think so, and we have the Testing To Prove It. Ultimately, however, the market will make the determination. Which is why we now choose to share an anecdotal indication from the market of why buyers need beware, and why we believe that claims of the obsolesence of cable pulling lubricants are greatly exaggerated. Peter Marzahl Jr. of Desert States Electrical Sales, Polywater's C&I agent in Arizona, recently wrote: "I Met with the engineer for the Phoenix Sky Train job connecting our light rail system with the airport in Phoenix. He told me an interesting story regarding a SIMpull cable failure on the last portion of the project where the contractor was pulling $100,000 worth of 15 KV pre-lubed SIMpull cable through GRC (galvanized rigid conduit) and it was destroyed due to lack of lube and had to be replaced at no charge by Southwire! They said they will never use it again (at least for large cable). It was a big issue! They are planning the next phase of the project connecting terminal 2 in a few weeks, and plan on specifying fiberglass conduit instead of GRC--and they will be using lube. Thank you for your support in this matter and feel free to call with any questions or comments." |
