Greenlee 06186 Cablecaster Wire Pulling Tool With Three Darts

This was purchased used, so there was a learning curve because it didn't come with an instruction manual. I watched a couple of youtube videos, and those really helped. Attach the line to the small hole at the bottom of the dart, not in the large loop as one video posted.The fish line was all tangled up in the reel, and after fighting with that, it seemed easier to spool new line. I bought 10 lb test for a few dollars. There are several good videos for spooling a reel, check the ones for Zebco because that is what it on the CableCaster. Once that was done, it worked as advertised. There is a safety on this, so if you can't pull the trigger, try releasing the safety. Also, be sure to press the large black button on the back cover of the reel before firing.A small flash light fits in the holder and does help in an attic. Cable was run in a residential attic using the CableCaster, and the CableCaster was helpful. It is important to look at possible obstacles before shooting the dart because there are many things that can impede the dart when you go to retrieve it such as the duct work. The dart shoots level which is a huge help because an arc would limit its usefulness in close spaces.The body of the gun does seem cheap, like a dime store water pistol, but the firing mechanism and fishing reel are solid.

A few weeks ago I found myself needing to run cables through my attic to carry 24-vdc to my security cameras. My attic has a rather low roof and very little flooring to step on which could lead to a foot through a ceiling if care is not taken; but worse yet my furnace/ac unit is right in the middle of the attic and it is impossible for any normal sized human being to crawl over, under or around it. I tried using fiberglass 'fish' sticks to feed the cable across the attic, but they were too flexible and when I screwed four of them together it produced a very rainbow-like stick that just wouldn't cooperate. So, having used a CableCaster back in 2001 on a job I was involved with I began searching to see if they were still in production. The price is not a great deal higher than it was back then and so I ordered it as soon as I saw it on Amazon. I have read some of the other reviews and can understand how some folks have had problems with this device, but my own personal experience was that it worked great for shooting cables through a ceiling in a government building on an Army post where I installed a DDC control system. The dart shot pretty straight and I was able to shoot it through a dropped ceiling tile across a sheet-rock ceiling and to another dropped ceiling tile on the other side, a distance of fifteen to twenty feet, with zero problems. My good experiences continued to my attic where I was able to shoot the dart from the furnace over to and through an outside wall vent twenty feet away and then a repeat performance to the opposite end of my attic. Cables pulled and terminations made in short order thanks to the CableCaster. If you take the time to familiarize yourself with it and practice shooting the dart a few times before you actually start, you will learn how to aim it to get the dart where you need it to be. The fishing line is rather thin, but is sturdy enough to do the job if you shoot the dart and then tie a pull string to it instead of the cable itself. I didn't follow that advice and still had no problem; but I will use a pull string the next time since it is way lighter than cable is. You could probably pull hundreds of feet of pull string without fazing that skinny fishing line in the least as long as the dart doesn't get hung up on something. Well, I can't really think of anything bad to say about the CableCaster. It does the job for short to intermediate distances and is fairly sturdy. I suppose they could sell it for less, but there probably aren't a blue million of them being bought, and Greenlee is entitled to make a profit on them. I give it a thumbs up.

Concept id good but the line is cheap and breaks prettyy easy causing you to lose the darts in insulation

Decided to get this to make cabling a small office network easier. It did the trick! Certainly pricey, when you consider the quality of the device. Looks like a cheap, plastic, child's dart gun from the 1980's that you'd have bought at a drugstore toy rack. Even when you put the darts in, it sounds like the same spring sound that my childhood toys made. This item certainly has a more powerful spring to toss the dart quite a distance though and it worked as advertise. Given the plastic construction of the device, I'm just not sure how well it's going to hold up, but as I'm not a professional, its not something I'll use much. The fishing reel attached to the front is a low-end product, but then again, it does the trick. For the price, I would have expected a little better construction and material. I'd certainly be cautious about buying this if I was in the business of installing networks as I doubt it would hold up with daily use very long. It needs TLC that I doubt a professional would fail to give it on a big job.

The darts are well designed and don't tangle when you pull them back across ceiling grid. The spring is powerful and sends the darts a good distance across a plenum. However, the fishing line is way to light and breaks if you look at it sideways, and it tangles instantly inside the crappy spincast reel that is included with the gun.I'm going to replace the reel with something higher-end that should prevent some tangles, and use some stronger line, and then it should be back to where it should be.

The glow in the dark projectiles are much easier to find than I thought. It shoots VERY far for a plastic dart gun, well over 30 feet (and makes it's really fun to shoot at co-workers). The con is the reel. IT is VERY cheap and the line snaps under very little tension. I had to replace all the existing fishing line with some 100 lb test but the reel still comes apart under stress. If the reel was a better quality with heavier line, it would be a 5/5. Still VERY, VERY useful even with the limitations. Much cheaper than a mag pull but saves a ton of time. Even when you're done, it's still a fun dart gun.