Question about electrical fish tape

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navycop

navycop

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I bought a 50' fish tape to run some coaxial in the attic. I noticed the end was lasered etched with 50' at the end. Then a foot down it reads 49' and so on. This seems confusing to me.. Say if I was running wire for some pot lights in the cieling and I didn't know how much wire I needed. If I ran the fish tape and then pulled it out. I would think it should read 5' instead of 45'.. It seems like it would be easier to read the amount needed instead of substracting.. For instance reading the 37' mark (50-37= 13) instead of just reading 13' (kind of like a tape measure 0'-50').
 
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When you feed the tape through from the start hole, to the finish hole. you then pull that amount of wire , it is a more accurate way of estimating the amount of wire you are charging for. Instead of guesstimating. Flip it over and see if it is numbered the other way on the other side. I have seen that too.

Mine are so old that they have no numbers on them, plus the round nylon ones don't.
:clown:
 
:confused::confused: Mike:In 38 years of doing electrical work in a large papermill, I have never seen a fishtape with numbers on it!! And the numbers do seem backwards. The only reason I could come up with would be that sometimes the tape gets twisted and you have to cut a chunk off. This way you would know the length of your tape if you needed a long run. A few tips on pulling wires. Strip the covering off the wire about 4"s. Thread it through the loop on the end of your tape and bend it back over itself and twist the wires together. Tightly wrap the wires with electrical (gray) tape going back over the loop. This will give you a stronger hold on the wire and prevent it from catching on any fittings you may be pulling through. Don't pull wire through conduit containing other live wires without turning off the power to those wires!!! Best fishtape to use is one made out of fiberglass. It doesn't conduct electricity. When pulling wire into your main panel, trip the main breaker if you have one. When in dought, don't do it!!!! 120 volts is by far the largest killer of any voltage. A telephone call and a pros bill is a lot cheaper than a caskit. Work safe!! Jim S
 
:smile::smile: Preston: Both would come under the heading recessed lighting. The other choise being surface mount such as rope, track, flourscent, or puck lighting. Most can lights are rated non IC (no insulation may touch the can), IC (Insulation may come in contact with the can) or IC/AT (Insulation may touch the can, it's air tight, and can be used in damp areas). If you are putting them in a non-insulated area or basement there should be no moisture problems. If installing in an attic area, I would build a styrofoam box around the fixture and seal the bottom with tape to keep any moisture or cold air from entering the lower area, and cover with insulation. I'm sure that was more information then you wanted, but I hate someone answering with a simple "yes" or "no" with no explanation as to thier choice. Jim S
 
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