What is the name of the blue plastic flexible strip that electricians use to insert a cable into a wall cavity
Question:They normally tape the cable onto the end of the plastic strip and then insert it into the cavity. Because the strip is flexible it can weave in and out of the wall cavity. It is about 18mm wide and 4mm thick roughly. I can't find the name of it.
Answers:
it's called a draw wire/cable, you can hire them or buy one from any electrical wholesaler.
I've heard that called a "fish" tape.
It is called a fiberglass fish tape the most common are the metal type. they also carry fiberglass fish rod which come in 4' sections and screw togather if you need more length this type is used when going in a straight path. Hope this helps. You can purchase this in your electrical department at Home Depot.Good luck
fish tape
Its called a fish tape. you might be better hiring one from local hire shop unless you have a lot of use for it. If distance to wire is not long you might consider making one up yourself. Coat hanger or any stiff flexible material will suffice.
A fish tape is a tool used by electricians to route new wiring through walls. Made of a narrow band of spring steel, by careful manipulation, the tape can be "fished" (guided) through the confined spaces within wall cavities. Once guided through, the new wiring can be pulled into the wall by attaching it to the end of the fish tape and pulling the tape back from whence it came.
Fish tapes are usually stored coiled on a plastic reel. Because of this, they have a natural curvature and it is this curvature that allows them to be guided. By manipulating the reel, the end of the tape can be directed slightly. The tape is rigid enough that it can then be pushed in the direction in which it is pointing. In this way it can be easily guided through an empty wall cavity.
If the wall cavity is filled with thermal insulation, guidance of the tape becomes more difficult but usually not impossible . (For foamed-in-place insulation, it may actually be impossible.) The tape can often be guided between the wall panel and the vapor barrier or, sometimes, simply shoved through the bulk of the insulation.
Occasionally, two fish tapes are used from opposite ends of the wall. Because they each have a hooked end, one fish tape is capable of catching the other, and the one tape can then be pulled back, carrying the second tape out with it. Electricians have been known to go so far as hooking up a battery and a doorbell or buzzer to their two fish tapes so that when the ends of the two tapes make contact within the wall, the bell rings; this can greatly aid the "catching" of the second fish tape.
Also known as a draw wire or draw tape
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