To be clear, there is no "mea culpa" here. The underground pipe was run months before I ever saw the job. I can't speak for the original quality of the job, and it's anyone's guess what happened in the meantime.
In perspective, I'd rather be a bit anal and overly cautious now, rather than fuss & cuss later!
I noticed in today's "Electrical Contractor" magazine that Bridgeport is plugging a whole line of transition fittings. Perhaps these are less likely to cause problems than a field-expedient improvised transition assembly.
Sure would have been nice had NEMA specified the same ID for ALL conduit types! That small lip can be just enough for the wire to catch.
As for compressors ... I have no objection to the method. It's more a question of what you have available. On this current job, we have not had a compressor available- but we have used vacuums in tandem (one pulling, one pushing).
Best results were with a 'real' (foam) mouse and jet line. Yes, we know the plastic bag trick, and it was used several times, but the mouse worked better. The only problem was knowing when the mouse had arrived at the other end; often we had no idea it had entered the vacuum.
Jet line was followed by pull string. Then a mouse was pulled through several times - both to clear debris as well as to spread lube. Then a real rope was pulled in. Wire 'heads' were stripped of insulation, staggered very well, and the wire itself braided back onto itself. A very long, smooth, skinny head that did not depend on tape to hold it together.
