A fish tape is a flexible flat tape, usually steel and 50 to 200 feet long, wound on a reel with a hooked or looped end. It is pushed through an empty conduit or a wall cavity until it reaches the far end, where wires or a pull string are hooked on and drawn back. Fiberglass and nylon tapes are used near live parts or where steel would scratch, and the hookup is taped smooth so it slides through fittings without snagging.
Feed the fish tape in from the panel end, I'll catch it at the LB and hook the wires on.
Also heard as
- fish
- snake
- fishtape
Related terms
Jet line
Lightweight pull string blown or vacuumed through empty conduit, then used to pull in heavier rope or wire.
Mule tape
Flat woven polyester pulling tape printed with footage marks, used for long pulls and to measure runs.
Yellow 77
Wire-pulling lubricant named for a familiar yellow brand, smeared on conductors to cut friction in conduit.
Old work box
Box made to fit into an existing finished wall or ceiling through a cut hole, without access to the framing.