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Pulling 200 amp service from meter to panel

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Get a good sized rope, secure a plastic bag to one end. Get a shop vac and suck the rope thru the conduit. This not a one person job. It's very helpful to have someone helping feed and making sure it doesn't get tangled going in. It may take a couple of tries. Hopefully there's no water in the conduit yet. Once it's thru all the way, cut the rope with about 10' of slack and attach the rope to the 4/0 via TONS of high quality duct tape, not the cheap stuff. At least 12" of rope should be taped to the wire. Hopefully your wire is on a spool, if so, you'll need to rig up something to get it off the ground (horizontally) so it can rotate freely. To get going on the pull is probably best done with 3 people: 2 pulling on the rope and one at the other end helping push the wire into the conduit. I believe commercial electricians use a powered winch. Maybe others here have a better approach, but I've done this on a couple of runs and it works pretty well.

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    We use electrical tape, not duct tape. That works well for moderate sized cables (I do data), but for a 4/0 service feed, a braided swivel cable grip or at least using hollow braided rope that will act as a cable grip when expanded to slide over the wires is well worthwhile. Many bad words will be said if you have to pull the wires back out because the rope pulled loose partway. Also, pulling lube where the wires go into the conduit. Use a wet-dry shopvac (there will be water), and feel free to vacuum a smaller rope or tape to pull in a bigger one to do the pull with.
    – Ecnerwal
    Mar 19, 2022 at 19:15
  • @Ecnerwal Good suggestions! I'd forgotten about the braided cable grip (AKA Chinese finger trap! LOL) I don't think it'd make a lot of difference using electrical tape vs. high quality duct tape, but that's just my opinion. I've used lubes before an maybe I'm just clumsy, but they are messy.
    – George Anderson
    Mar 19, 2022 at 19:22
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    No doubt cable pulling lubes are messy. I don't love them, but trying to pull a service entrance (unless it's a stunningly short and easy pull) any help you can get is probably worth the mess. Most of the mess should be inside the conduit if the lube is only applied as the wires go in. When they get to the other end you can wipe down what sticks out.
    – Ecnerwal
    Mar 19, 2022 at 19:26
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    @Ecnerwal I said many bad words one time. Used cable grips from then on. Definitely need someone pushing and someone pulling.
    – JACK
    Mar 19, 2022 at 21:31
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    @JACK Yep. agreed, it's at least a 2 person operation, if not 3.
    – George Anderson
    Mar 19, 2022 at 22:11

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