What happens if the conduit gets stuck during pullback?

Pulling harder is the wrong answer and usually destroys the product. The pull stops, fluid circulation and hole condition are evaluated, and the cause is identified. Depending on the situation the hole may be reconditioned and the pull resumed, or the product may be recovered and the bore reamed again. Most stuck pulls trace back to inadequate reaming or lost fluid returns.

Can fiber cable be pulled directly into a bore without conduit?

Direct-buried cable can be installed by pullback where the design specifies it, and we do that work. Conduit is generally the better long-term choice because it protects the cable, allows future replacement or additional builds without new bores, and makes locating and repair far simpler. The right answer depends on your network plan and budget structure.

How do you know the conduit was not damaged in the pull?

The duct is proofed with a mandrel or proofing device sized to the conduit while the pits are still open. That catches ovality, collapse, and intrusion at the point where correction is still possible. Proofing results are recorded with the bore log so the crew placing fiber later is working from evidence, not assurance.

Do you install tracer wire during pullback?

Yes, where the design or the facility owner requires it, and we recommend it on every duct run. Tracer wire has to go in with the pull because there is no way to add it afterward. It is checked for continuity before backfill and terminated at handholes or access points so the route can be located accurately later.

How fast is a pullback?

A pullback moves at a steady, controlled rate, not as fast as the rig allows. The right speed depends on hole condition, product type, fluid flow, and how load responds as the pull goes on. A smooth, continuous pull keeps peak loads lower than a fast pull with stops. Short residential crossings may pull back quickly, while long shots with large products take longer and are watched closely.

What is a breakaway swivel?

A breakaway swivel connects the reamer or drill rod to the product and does two jobs. It lets the rod rotate without twisting the product, and it contains a link designed to separate at a set load below the product's limit. If tension spikes, the link breaks before the conduit or cable is damaged, so the product can be recovered instead of stretched or crushed in the hole.

Can a failed pullback be recovered?

Often it can, if the problem is caught early. When load rises, the pull stops and the cause is investigated. The product may be pulled back out the exit side, the hole reconditioned, and the pull tried again. If the product is stuck and damaged, it may have to be abandoned and a new bore drilled nearby. Early stop criteria keep most problems in the recoverable category.

Why do you leave slack at the pits?

Slack gives the next crew working room. At handholes, vaults, and splice points, extra conduit or cable lets splicers bring ends to a closure, lets ducts be routed cleanly into structures, and absorbs small shifts as soil settles. The amount follows the design and the owner's standard. Cutting product too short at a pit can force a new excavation or even a new pull.

Directional Drilling

Pullback Operations

TLDR

Pullback is the stage where the product enters the ground. After the hole is reamed and conditioned, conduit or cable is attached behind a swivel and pulled back through the bore under monitored tension. Strilla Communications controls pull load, speed, and fluid so the product arrives undamaged and provable on the far side.

What Happens During a Pullback

Pullback is a one-way operation. Once the product is in the hole and moving, stopping creates its own risk, because a stationary pull in unstable sand can sit long enough for the annulus to tighten around it. The preparation before the pull is therefore more important than anything that can be done during it.

The product is connected behind a pulling head and a swivel, which stops the rotation of the reamer or the rod from transferring into the conduit or cable. Without a functioning swivel, product twists during the pull and arrives damaged or wound into itself.

Fluid keeps flowing throughout so the hole stays lubricated and supported. Pull speed is kept steady rather than fast, since a smooth continuous pull generates lower peak loads than a series of starts and stops.

Pull Tension and Protecting the Product

Every product has a maximum tensile load, and for fiber optic cable that limit is far below what a drill rig can produce. The rig does not know the difference, which is why load is monitored during the pull and why the setup includes limiting measures rather than relying on operator feel.

Load rises with hole length, the number and sharpness of bends, product weight and buoyancy, and how well the hole was conditioned. A properly reamed and swabbed hole in stable material pulls at a fraction of the load of a hole that was rushed, and the difference shows up immediately at the rig.

If tension climbs beyond the expected range, the correct response is to stop adding load and address the hole, not to pull harder. Pulling through an obstruction is how a conduit ends up ovalized, a cable ends up stretched, and a product ends up abandoned in the ground.

Preparing the Product on the Exit Side

Most pullback problems are made on the ground before the product enters the hole. Conduit is fused or coupled and laid out straight with enough clear run behind the exit pit so it feeds without a side pull, and rollers or cradles keep it off pavement edges, curbs, and gravel that would abrade the jacket.

Multi-duct and bundled products need attention at the pulling head so the load is shared across the assembly rather than carried by one duct. Cable pulls need the pulling eye or grip made up correctly and the swivel verified, because a failed connection mid-hole means a lost bore.

Tracer wire goes in with the conduit where the design calls for it. Adding it later is not an option once the hole is closed, and an unlocatable duct run creates a damage risk for every contractor who works that corridor afterward.

Proving the Installation After the Pull

Arriving on the far side is not proof of a good installation. Conduit is proofed with a mandrel or proofing device sized to the duct so any collapse, ovality, or intrusion is found while the pits are still open and correction is possible.

Tracer wire is checked for continuity and locatability, ends are terminated as the design requires, and duct ends are capped or plugged so the run does not fill with sand and water before the fiber crew arrives.

Placed footage, product type, and proofing results go into the closeout record with the bore log. That combination is what lets a splice or blowing crew mobilize with confidence instead of discovering a blocked duct on the day they were supposed to be productive.

Slack, Terminations, and What Happens at the Pits

The pits are where the next crew inherits the work, so how a pull is finished matters as much as how it ran. Duct is cut back cleanly, slack is left per the design at splice points and structure locations, and nothing is buried in a position that forces the following crew to reopen ground.

Where handholes or vaults are planned at pit locations, the structure is set before backfill so the excavation is used once. Duct entries are placed at the right elevation and orientation, which is the difference between a clean rack of ducts inside the box and a bundle that fights every splice tray in it.

Ends are capped or plugged, tracer wire is brought up and terminated where it can be accessed, and the pit is photographed before backfill. That photo is often the only permanent record of what is under the surface at that point, and it is worth the thirty seconds it takes.

How Do You Set a Safe Pull Load for Conduit and Fiber?

The product sets the limit. HDPE conduit manufacturers publish a safe pull strength for each size and wall thickness, and fiber cable manufacturers publish a maximum installation tension. The pull plan starts from those published values and stays well inside them, because a drill rig can easily exceed either one.

Expected load is estimated from shot length, profile bends, product weight, buoyancy in drilling fluid, and hole condition. For polyethylene pipe placed by HDD, ASTM F1962 is a widely used reference for that calculation. On most fiber conduit crossings the estimate shows comfortable margin. On long shots with large multi-duct, it shows where the margin gets thin.

Load is then controlled in the field. A breakaway swivel or weak link rated below the product limit protects conduit and cable from a sudden spike. The operator watches pullback pressure throughout, and stop criteria are agreed before the pull starts rather than decided under pressure halfway through.

How Does Pullback Differ for Multi-Duct and Direct-Buried Cable?

Single HDPE conduit is the simplest pull. It is fused or coupled into one continuous string, connected to a pulling head, and pulled behind the swivel. Its main risks are scratches from the layout area, ovality at sharp bends, and excess tension on long shots.

Multi-duct assemblies need more care at the head. Every duct must share the load, so the ducts are bundled and connected so that no single duct carries the full pull. The effective bundle diameter drives the reaming size, and the bundle has to stay together through the bore so it arrives in the order the design shows.

Direct-buried cable is the most sensitive product. Its tension limit is lower than conduit, its jacket has no duct around it, and damage may not show until the fiber is tested. Pulls are kept short and smooth, tension is limited at the head, and the cable is tested after installation where the design calls for it.

Key takeaways

Pullback is the stage where conduit or cable enters the ground, and its success depends on how well the hole was reamed and conditioned.
The product's published pull rating, not the rig's capacity, sets the maximum safe load on a pullback.
A breakaway swivel lets the rod turn without twisting the product and separates before tension can damage it.
Conduit is proofed with a mandrel before the pits are closed, while any damage can still be corrected.

Key terms

Pullback: The final HDD stage, in which the product is attached behind the reamer or a pulling head and drawn back through the bore toward the rig. Drilling fluid keeps flowing to lubricate the hole while tension is monitored against the product's limit.
Safe pull strength: The maximum tension a conduit or cable is rated to take during installation without permanent damage, published by the manufacturer for each size and type. Pull plans stay inside this value with margin, since a drill rig can produce far more force.
Mandrel proofing: Pulling a rigid test device sized slightly smaller than the duct's inside diameter through installed conduit. If it passes end to end, the duct is free of collapse, ovality, and intrusions. It is done before backfill so problems can still be fixed.
Tracer wire: An insulated copper wire installed alongside nonmetallic conduit so the route can be found later with standard locating equipment. It must go in with the pull, be tested for continuity, and be terminated at accessible points such as handholes.

Pullback considerations by product type

Product	Main risk during the pull	Key control	Proof after the pull
Single HDPE conduit	Ovality at bends, jacket abrasion	Rollers on the layout, load inside the published rating	Mandrel proofing end to end
Multi-duct assembly	Uneven load across the ducts	Bundled head that shares the load	Each duct proofed separately
Innerduct in a larger casing	Binding inside the carrier	Lubrication and a steady pull rate	Proofing of each innerduct
Direct-buried fiber cable	Exceeding the cable tension limit	Tension-limited head and breakaway link	Fiber test results where the design requires
Tracer wire	Breaks or nicked insulation	Pulled with the conduit, never alone	Continuity check before backfill

Handhole and vault layout

What this means for your project

Pullback is the point of no return on every bore. Everything before it can be redone at moderate cost. A product stuck halfway through can mean an abandoned bore, a second crossing, and a permit modification. That is why the pull is planned against product ratings and the hole is conditioned before anything is attached.

For the schedule, a clean pullback lets the next trade start on time. Proofed conduit, verified tracer wire, capped ends, and correct slack let splice and blowing crews mobilize with confidence. A blocked duct found on their first day costs both crews time.

Ask for pullback records with the closeout: product type, placed footage, proofing results, and photos of each pit before backfill. Those records support your pay quantities and give your network team what it needs to accept the duct.

What's Included

Hole conditioning and swab pass before product is attached
Pulling head, grip, and swivel made up and verified for the product type
Product laid out straight with rollers or cradles protecting the jacket
Continuous fluid delivery through the pull to reduce drag
Pull tension monitored against the product limit, with stop criteria
Tracer wire installed with the conduit and checked for continuity
Conduit proofing and duct end capping before pits are closed
Footage, product type, and proofing results recorded for closeout

Our Process

01
Condition the Hole
A swab or cleaning pass confirms the reamed hole is open end to end and carrying cuttings out, so the pull starts against a known condition rather than an assumption.
02
Stage and Connect the Product
Conduit or cable is laid out with a clear straight run behind the exit pit, protected by rollers and cradles, then connected behind a swivel with the load shared correctly across the assembly.
03
Pull Under Monitored Load
The product is pulled at a steady rate with fluid flowing and tension watched throughout. Rising load stops the pull for investigation instead of triggering more force.
04
Prove and Protect
Conduit is proofed, tracer wire is verified, ends are capped, and slack is managed at the pits before backfill so the run is ready for the fiber crew.

Capability Overview

Products pulled	HDPE conduit, innerduct, multi-duct assemblies, direct-buried cable
Connection	Pulling head or grip with swivel to prevent product rotation
Load control	Monitored tension against product limit with defined stop criteria
Surface protection	Rollers and cradles along the layout run
Verification	Mandrel or proofing device sized to the duct
Locatability	Tracer wire installed with the pull and continuity checked

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if the conduit gets stuck during pullback?: Pulling harder is the wrong answer and usually destroys the product. The pull stops, fluid circulation and hole condition are evaluated, and the cause is identified. Depending on the situation the hole may be reconditioned and the pull resumed, or the product may be recovered and the bore reamed again. Most stuck pulls trace back to inadequate reaming or lost fluid returns.
Can fiber cable be pulled directly into a bore without conduit?: Direct-buried cable can be installed by pullback where the design specifies it, and we do that work. Conduit is generally the better long-term choice because it protects the cable, allows future replacement or additional builds without new bores, and makes locating and repair far simpler. The right answer depends on your network plan and budget structure.
How do you know the conduit was not damaged in the pull?: The duct is proofed with a mandrel or proofing device sized to the conduit while the pits are still open. That catches ovality, collapse, and intrusion at the point where correction is still possible. Proofing results are recorded with the bore log so the crew placing fiber later is working from evidence, not assurance.
Do you install tracer wire during pullback?: Yes, where the design or the facility owner requires it, and we recommend it on every duct run. Tracer wire has to go in with the pull because there is no way to add it afterward. It is checked for continuity before backfill and terminated at handholes or access points so the route can be located accurately later.
How fast is a pullback?: A pullback moves at a steady, controlled rate, not as fast as the rig allows. The right speed depends on hole condition, product type, fluid flow, and how load responds as the pull goes on. A smooth, continuous pull keeps peak loads lower than a fast pull with stops. Short residential crossings may pull back quickly, while long shots with large products take longer and are watched closely.
What is a breakaway swivel?: A breakaway swivel connects the reamer or drill rod to the product and does two jobs. It lets the rod rotate without twisting the product, and it contains a link designed to separate at a set load below the product's limit. If tension spikes, the link breaks before the conduit or cable is damaged, so the product can be recovered instead of stretched or crushed in the hole.
Can a failed pullback be recovered?: Often it can, if the problem is caught early. When load rises, the pull stops and the cause is investigated. The product may be pulled back out the exit side, the hole reconditioned, and the pull tried again. If the product is stuck and damaged, it may have to be abandoned and a new bore drilled nearby. Early stop criteria keep most problems in the recoverable category.
Why do you leave slack at the pits?: Slack gives the next crew working room. At handholes, vaults, and splice points, extra conduit or cable lets splicers bring ends to a closure, lets ducts be routed cleanly into structures, and absorbs small shifts as soil settles. The amount follows the design and the owner's standard. Cutting product too short at a pit can force a new excavation or even a new pull.

Related Services

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