Last week’s presentation of Tube-Lube 326 to the attendants of the Western Underground Committee’s January meeting went really well, with the support of the WUC Executive, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Pacific Utilities. A thirty minute PowerPoint presentation was followed up with a walk outside to have a look at SDG&E’s cable pulling trailer.
 

Two main points emerged from conversations through the afternoon and into the evening’s “Table Talk” session:
1) An environmentally responsible lubricant option generates a lot of interest! A cable pulling lubricant that’s water-based and chemically inert protects your workers on the site, the natural environment surrounding the site, and the installed cable throughout its lifespan.
2) A water-based lubricant doesn’t require a thick surface coating on the cable to do its job. Less thickness per square inch means you’re using less, and a 5-gallon bucket can go two to three times as far as a thicker lubricant. You save money by getting more miles per gallon.
Tube-Lube can also be applied with built-in nozzle sprayers, so the installation crew is doubly protected: besides a nearly blank MSDS sheet, the crew can stand back from the cable under tension and adjust the application from the other end of a twenty-foot hose extension – outside the vault entirely!
Fortunately the weather in Tucson cooperated – we were between the weather systems that deluged on the Southwest through last week. And I took the scenic route down the Pinal Parkway, and one detour up Redington Road into the Santa Catalina range. Saguaro, tumbleweeds, and dust storms!