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MODEL SPECIFICATIONS

Insert a Pre-Written Model Pulling Lube Spec
Into Your Project Specifications.

We've Done the Work for You!

Engineers!

Cable pulling lubricant is a critical component in properly engineered cable systems. Cable compatibility, friction reduction performance, residue combustibility, green project certification, and application method are but a few of the criteria to be considered.   Don't risk your expensive cable system by leaving pulling lubricant choice to the uninformed.   As explained in our free "Cable Installation Engineering" video, over 90% of cable damage occurs during installation.   If you're specifying fire-retardant cable, do you really want to fill the duct with a low-tech wax-based lube, leaving a combustible track throughout your system?

Presented below are two versions of a cable lubricant specification suitable for insertion in a general electrical project specification.   One is a short form, which calls out Polywater® Lubricant J as the approved lubricant.   The other is the long form, which lists specific performance criteria a lube must meet for approval (real engineering!).

Please feel free to use these in your projects.   You can print, save to disk, cut and paste, or contact the factory for a hardcopy.   The work is already done for you.   And rest assured, you'll have chosen the finest, most rigorously tested, and most commonly specified and approved cable lubricant in the world (it's cost competitive too).

CABLE PULLING LUBRICATION AND LUBRICANT

The cable pulling lubricant shall be compatible with all cable jackets.   (Excludes LSZH/LSHF cables. Use Polywater LZ instead.)   The lubricant shall be UL or CSA listed.   The lubricant shall contain no waxes, greases, silicones, or polyalkylene glycol oils or waxes.

A 200-gram sample of the lubricant, when placed in a one-foot, split metal conduit and fully dried for 24 hours at 105°C, shall not spread a flame more than three inches beyond a point of ignition at a continued heat flux of 40 KW/m². Total time of test shall be one-half hour.

Approved Lubricant is:

No substitutions are permitted without certification from an officer of the manufacturer that the substitute products meet all of the requirements of this specification.

CABLE PULLING LUBRICATION AND LUBRICANT

The cable jacket and/or conduit walls shall be completely lubricated when cable is pulled into conduit.   The lubricant shall be applied immediately before or during the pull.

Minimum quantities of lubricant are as follows:

1 Quart of Lubricant Per 100 Feet of 1-inch Conduit
2 Quarts of Lubricant Per 100 Feet of 2-inch Conduit
3 Quarts of Lubricant Per 100 Feet of 3-inch Conduit
1 Gallon of Lubricant Per 100 Feet of 4-inch Conduit

This quantity shall be increased as needed for difficult pulling situations (high temperatures, multiple bends, poor conduit condition, etc.).

The cable lubricant shall meet the following performance specs:

1. When subjected to a 100 lbs./ft. normal force, between (type) cable and (type) conduit, the lubricated cable system shall have a coefficient of kinetic friction less than .25 (pulling force < 25 lbs./ft.).
   
   
2. The lubricant shall be UL or CSA listed.
   
   
3. Twelve inches of a one-inch diameter cable will hold at least 75 grams of the lubricant for one minute when held vertically (at 70°F).
   
   
4. The lubricant shall wet out evenly on all surfaces.   It will not bead up or rub off of the cable jacket.
   
   
5. The lubricant shall produce no deleterious effects on physical or electrical properties of cable jackets.   (Excludes LSZH/LSHF cables. Use Polywater LZ instead.)
   
   
6. The lubricant shall produce no stress cracking on LDPE cable jackets when tested per IEEE Standard 1210, Standard Tests for Determining Compatibility of Cable-Pulling Lubricants with Wire and Cable.
   
   
7. Cable jacket materials LLDPE, XLPE, CPE, and PVC heat aged in lubricant shall pass tensile and elongation compatibility requirements from IEEE Standard 1210, Standard Tests for Determining Compatibility of Cable-Pulling Lubricants with Wire and Cable.
   
   
8. When used on high voltage cable, the lubricant shall not affect the volume resistivity of any semi-conducting jacket or insulation shield present.   The volume resistivity of the semi-conducting material shall at no time increase more than 100% when tested via the ICEA T-25-425 method, 90°C exposure, 7-day test, reading made at 23°C daily.
   
   
9. The lubricant shall experience no more than a 20% change in Brookfield viscosity from 40°F to 100°F (5°C to 40°C).
   
   
10. The lubricant shall contain no waxes, greases, silicones, or polyalkylene glycol oils or waxes.
    
    
11. The lubricant shall have less than a 6.0% solids residue after drying for 24 hours at 105°C.
    
    
12. The lubricant shall not separate into phases after exposure to 90°C for 24 hours.
    
    
13. The lubricant shall not phase-out after five freeze/thaw cycles or 5-day exposure at 140°F (60°C).
    
    
14. A coating of 3 mils of the lubricant fully dried for 24 hours at 23°C shall show a coefficient of friction, < .25 when tested as described in (1) above.
    
    
15. A 200-gram sample of the lubricant, when fully dried for 24 hours at 105°C, shall not melt, liquify, or flow at temperatures below 200°C.
    
    
16. A 200-gram sample of the lubricant, when placed in a one-foot, split metal conduit and fully dried for 24 hours at 105°C, shall not ignite with a pilot flame and continuously burn for more than one minute at a continued heat flux of 40 kW/m².   Total time of test shall be one-half hour.
    
    
17. A 200-gram sample of the lubricant, when placed in a one-foot, split metal conduit and fully dried for 24 hours at 105°C, shall not spread a flame more than three inches beyond a point of ignition at a continued heat flux of 40 kW/m².   Total time of test shall be one-half hour.

Approved Lubricant is:

No substitutions are permitted without certification from an officer of the manufacturer that the substitute products meet all of the requirements of this specification.

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