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Best way to run hdmi cable through wall?

A

Argo

Lifer
Looks like our wall already has some kinda tube running through it. I tried pushing the cable through, but looks like the tube takes a few turns so the cable gets stuck.

Here are pictures of the tube. It should be about 20 ft long.

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We call that Smurf tube. Like others said, I would go get a Fish Tape and hopefully that gets to the other end of the pipe.
 
any kind of light rope (fishing line works well) + something big and light on the other end (it's a bit weird, but tampons work well for this application), then stick a vacuum cleaner on the destination end of the pipe.

it's a low tech but it's amazingly effective
 
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Argo said:
...

Here are pictures of the tube. It should be about 20 ft long.
Click to expand...
Can you see the other end?
Also, You might be able to use the RG6 to pull the hdmi cable (or a fish line) through if the RG6 isn't stapled to a stud.
 
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Ayah said:
any kind of light rope (fishing line works well) + something big and light on the other end (it's a bit weird, but tampons work well for this application), then stick a vacuum cleaner on the destination end of the pipe.

it's a low tech but it's amazingly effective
Click to expand...

tampons have to be inserted into you know where. It has to be made as slippery as possible :whiste:
 
Question is where do you want the cable to go and does the Smurf tube (Thanks to Kneedragger I know what that is called now) end up there.
 
Ayah said:
any kind of light rope (fishing line works well) + something big and light on the other end (it's a bit weird, but tampons work well for this application), then stick a vacuum cleaner on the destination end of the pipe.

it's a low tech but it's amazingly effective
Click to expand...

Kleenex works too, in case you're a single male.
 
Matt1970 said:
Question is where do you want the cable to go and does the Smurf tube (Thanks to Kneedragger I know what that is called now) end up there.
Click to expand...

Yes, the tube ends up where I need. However, it takes a few turns to get there and as the result its hard to push the cable through.

I tried pushing hdmi cable, but it has to much flex and after 2/3 of the way starts accordioning (is that a term?). I also tried coax, but it doesnt have any flex and gets stuck on the turn.
 
Ayah said:
any kind of light rope (fishing line works well) + something big and light on the other end (it's a bit weird, but tampons work well for this application), then stick a vacuum cleaner on the destination end of the pipe.

it's a low tech but it's amazingly effective
Click to expand...

Genius! I'm going to give this a try!
 
Yeah if you can't push a fish tape then you can get some light/thin plastic like a small sandwich bag and tie it to some light string like others said. You can either suck it out with a vacuum or blow it with a high pressure air. I like using pressurized air on stuff like this..

Good luck!
 
sdifox said:
lulz. I have never seen soft tubes for central vac. Always PVC because of the pressure involved.
Click to expand...

Soft tube is used in hard to navigate areas. It's a steel ring reinforced tube so it won't completely crush. It does expand/contract a bit. But that's not the tube in question in the picture. That looks like a 3/4" smurf tube. Getting an HDMI cable run through that is going to be tough. The jackets on HDMI cables are fairly plump and the cords themselves not the most pliable things.
 
edit: if you can't get the normal fat hdmi cable through

wouldn't a redmere cable work for that? since the cable needs to be reasonably long anyway?
the biggest problem would be the cable is unidirectional, so you should make sure you run it the right way before hand.

fyi if you don't already know about them; redmere cables are thin and flexible actively powered cables, maybe pick up a 30ft or something
http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=redmere
 
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A subway sandwich bag works awesome for this too, just tie pull string through the handles leaving to open end open. Then vacuum from the other side, sometimes I spray the bag with a Teflon lubricant i have also to help it seal/slide though better.
 
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