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  ALLEN HUNZEKER April 14, 2010 at 6:49pm

  WAY COOLL, ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS!!!
  
  Scott Kaiser said:

  First off I wanted to say thank you to everyone that gave suggestions. The solution that we found that finally worked was to have 1 person in the water, feeding the cord inch by inch, and the 2nd person was using a large set of channel locks and was more or less prying the cord from the conduit with the jaws facing up, and using the back of the channnel locks as a pivot point with the J-box. It literally was pulled one inch at a time. It was a pain in the butt the entire time. The old cord was not bulged or pinched, but when it was out, we found a sticky white film on it. The closest I can compare it to would be joint stick. The new light cord pulled pretty easy with lube on the cord. Once again, thanks everybody for your great suggestions.
  
  Scott
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  Scott Kaiser April 14, 2010 at 3:09pm

  First off I wanted to say thank you to everyone that gave suggestions. The solution that we found that finally worked was to have 1 person in the water, feeding the cord inch by inch, and the 2nd person was using a large set of channel locks and was more or less prying the cord from the conduit with the jaws facing up, and using the back of the channnel locks as a pivot point with the J-box. It literally was pulled one inch at a time. It was a pain in the butt the entire time. The old cord was not bulged or pinched, but when it was out, we found a sticky white film on it. The closest I can compare it to would be joint stick. The new light cord pulled pretty easy with lube on the cord. Once again, thanks everybody for your great suggestions.
  
  Scott
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  Clint Combs April 13, 2010 at 9:40pm

  On old cords stuck in 1/2 inch conduit I have had success with running a trickle of water from a hose down the conduit. Run the hose until you see dirty water come out of the niche in the pool. This washes out dirt that is stuck in the conduit. It takes patience.
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  brian thomas April 7, 2010 at 5:47pm

  i recently ran some new wire for a mainteanice job that hav and i ran into that situation as well in two places one a tree grew in to the conduit and broke the line and it snapped. the second was when they pulled the wire they stripped the insulation pulling on the wire through metal conduit same a yours 1/2'' metal and the hot wire melted to the conduit when it filled with water from the rain i had to replace the conduit and wire on both. as far as pools go i would say have someone in the water and someone up top and pull at opposite times to try to free it. i have done many 100' cords and they are usually hard but they are also ran it in at least 3/4'' conduit to allow for all the bends and long runs. which may be your problem. the oher posibilty is the wire swelled in the pipe. good luck
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  ALLEN HUNZEKER April 2, 2010 at 6:24pm

  HAVE HAD MY SHARE OF HARD PULLS. THIS SOUNDS LIKE A ROOT BUSTED CONDUIT OR IF CHIP ROCK WAS USED FOR BACK FILL AND CONDUIT STUB UP NOT TAPE A ROCK MAY BE PINCHING WIRE. .
  I HAVE GOTTEN IN POOL AN CLOVE HITCH LITE WIRE AROUND SHOVEL HANDLE AND USE AS A LEVER.
  A SEPERATE BOND GROUND IS USUALLY A UN SHEILDE 10 GAUGE BARE COPPER WIRE WHICH DOESN'T ATTACH TO LITE BUT TO LUG INSIDE OF NICHE
  HAVE USED DISH SOAP AS LUBRICANT IN CONDUIT, ALSO USE COMMERCIAL WIRE PULL "SLIME" TO LUBE WIRE.
  GOOD LUCK.(HAVE HAD TO CODEMN ONE NICHE CAUSE I NEVER GOT THE WIRE FREE)
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  Bruce Hudson April 1, 2010 at 7:37pm

  Scott'
  Sounds like you're dealing with red brass conduit. Dave and Jeremy have good suggestions. I feel like the high percentage call is that the cable has simply bonded itself to the conduit for the first 1 to 2 feet and will come loose, but not with steady pressure. Use the short jerks mentioned, combined with attempts at pushing the cable into the conduit as well (back and forth movement). I feel confident you'l get it to move on your next try. When installing the new cable, I like to use Magic Lube #2 (silicone based, red letters on tube) lightly smeared along the cable to reduce friction. This works better than wire lube when the cable is submerged.
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  Scott Kaiser April 1, 2010 at 6:56pm

  Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think using compressed air as David suggested will be the next step.
  
  Bruce, To answer your questions, 1) 1/2" Conduit, 2) it is metal but I don't know exactly what kind. I believe it is electrical metallic tubing. It is the type which is is commonly installed in Arizona, kinda brown color. 3)Pool was built in 2006, 4) No evidence of settling or tilting (is all decking between house and pool) and I don't see any cracks or tilts. 5) No trees between the pool and equipment or house. Bushes are in planters. 6) Not exactly sure of the niche maker but assuming is Amer. Prods./Pentair When pilot screw is top and center, the hole in the niche for the cord is approx 1-2 inches above center. There is no nut in place in the niche, and no silicone or packing material in the hole and can freely move the cord at the niche (Not to pull, just wiggle), 7) I'm not exactly sure what a separate ground run is. The wiring is from a breaker sub panel right at the equipment, then underground approx 4 feet to j-box and then from there is the run to the niche.
  
  To make things worse, it is not a straight run. Because of the location of the light, the conduit run is most likely an L shape.
  
  Thanks again for your suggestion, and keep em coming.
  
  P.S. I talked to another "old timer" in the biz, and he told me to pour some liquid chlorine down the conduit. Any thoughts on that?
  
  It's looking like we will be giving this another try early next week. I'll be checking this discussion daily, and will definitely let everybody know the final results. Thanks again
  
  Scott
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  Jeremy Hine April 1, 2010 at 9:35am

  I had an issue like this once. I called an electrician, showed me a trick. After confirming you have removed any packing material, nut, etc. From niche end, give the cord a series of sudden tugs in a quick - jerking action and it will most always free up. Remember when running replacement cord to lube the heck out of the thing.
  
  I wish you good luck. I too will check back in and see what other tips the crew might offer.
  
  -Jeremy
  Florida Leisure Pool & Spa
  www.FLLeisure.com

  Florida Leisure Pool, Spa, Hot Tub Repair, Pumps, Filters, Heaters, Salt Chlorinators, Automation

  We repair pools, spas and hot tubs, pumps, motors, heaters, filters, automation equipment in Gainesville and North Central FL
• 

  Bruce Hudson April 1, 2010 at 7:45am

  Scott,
  A few more details might be helpful. 1) What size is the conduit 2) Is it metallic and if so what material 3) Approximately how old is the pool 4) Is there any evidence of settling 5) Any trees near the run that may be distorting or invading the conduit. 6) What brand of light niche is it, is there a nut attached to the conduit around the cable (Hayward and Pentair) 7) Is there a separate ground run along with the light cable (this should be pulled first)
  
  Many times the cable will adhere to the inside of the conduit for about two feet and with persistent pushing and pulling from the niche end will free it up. However, steel conduit, pinched or crimped conduit, or a joint separation may be the end of it.
  
  Also, look closely where the cable enters the conduit for silicone caulk, putty, or packing and nut (Hayward and Pentair). It is common practice to pack material in the conduit to prevent or stop leaks and all this material must be removed or the cable won't budge.
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  David Penton April 1, 2010 at 7:28am

  I had one bad one in the past like that. What I ended up doing was removing the J-Box, and threading on a 1/2" galvanized coupling. I attached my CO2 tank (with the flexible hose and a series of reducer bushings) directly to the conduit and forced the cord out through the niche.
  
  Good luck! This situation is always why I quote the job with 2 prices... 1 standard price if the light comes out as planned, and another that is open ended to cover yourself in just such a situation.