Pulling & Detection Blog

Numerous manufacturers are developing innovative devices to prevent damage that can occur to lines during civil engineering work. One such means is Trace Safe®, currently the only system for water-blocking locating wires. The heart of this innovation is a high tensile strength locatable wire with water-blocking threads. Because of simple connecting plugs, it is not necessary to remove the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) outer jacket of the locating wire. The advantages of Trace Safe lie in its strength; ease of use; lightning protection; and abrasion, compression, impact, and corrosion resistance.

In the underground utility environment, tracer wire is placed to protect all dielectric utilities from damage. Fiber optic cable, water, natural gas, sewer -- all are within plastic pipes that require the use of TRACE-SAFE® tracer wires to accurately identify their positions for the purpose of preventing damage or catastrophic accidents.

Neptco revolutionized the tracer wire market when it introduced Trace Safe, the world’s first tracer wire that incorporated water blocking technology to protect the solid copper conductor from water ingress.  There are two distinct products that incorporate many of the same features but there are key differences.