Greenlee 6810 Ultra Cable Feeder: Complete Guide to Dual-Motor Cable Feeding

Running large-diameter cable on a commercial or industrial job is a two-part problem. A cable puller is able to handle the pulling end. What often gets overlooked is the feeding end (pulling cable off the reel and directing it into conduit or cable tray at a controlled rate). 

If you're having to feed cable by hand, things can quickly go wrong. Big wire is heavy, friction is high, and trying to keep pace manually with a tugger running at variable pull speeds puts everyone at risk of cable damage, mis-feeds, and injury.

Built to handle the feed side of a large cable pull, the Greenlee 6810 Ultra Cable Feeder runs at variable speeds from 4 to 36 feet per minute, uses dual motors to drive both wheels simultaneously, and accommodates up to 3.5" cable diameter, or multiple simultaneous runs of 250 MCM, 500 MCM, or 750 MCM. 

It's designed for one-person operation, ships with a pendant and hand switch for control at the feed point, and supports both top-loading and end-loading for different job configurations.

Kit Contents

• (1) Greenlee 6810 Ultra Cable Feeder, 115 VAC / 15A
• Pendant controller
• Toggle hand switch

Designed for the same class of commercial and industrial wire pull jobs where you'd also be running a cable puller, the Greenlee 6810 Ultra Cable Feeder is an electrically powered machine that pulls cable off reels and directs it into conduit or cable tray at a controlled, variable speed. It doesn't replace a cable puller; it works alongside one. While the puller draws wire through the conduit at the far end, the 6810 controls how fast cable is delivered from the reel to the conduit opening and keeps everything synchronized.

Running on 115 VAC / 15A power, feed speed ranges from 4 to 36 feet per minute. Two independent motors drive the machine's traction wheels, one for each side of the cable, so force is applied equally from both sides rather than relying on a single drive point. Cable up to 3.5" in diameter can pass through the machine, and it supports simultaneous feeding of multiple cables: up to eight runs of 250 MCM, six runs of 500 MCM, or five runs of 750 MCM in a single pass.

Weighing in at 285 lbs. and measuring 41" x 27.5" x 37.5", it's a stationary unit positioned at the reel end of a pull to manage cable delivery into the system. Two loading methods are built in, top-loading and end-loading, to fit different job configurations and reel positions. Updated tires provide improved traction on low-friction cable jackets, which matters when you're feeding XLPE, THHN, or other slicker cable types under load.

Single-drive cable feeders push cable from one side only. That works on lighter wire, but on larger MCM sizes and multi-cable pulls, a single drive point creates uneven force across the cable and increases the risk of slippage, especially on smoother jacket materials. When the feeder slips while the puller's still running, you're either getting no feed or you're feeding inconsistently, which can cause the cable to pile up at the conduit entrance or bind at the first bend.

On the 6810, two independent motors each drive one traction wheel, simultaneously applying equal force to both sides of the cable. That bilateral drive arrangement improves grip and maintains consistent feed speed across the full diameter of whatever you're running through the machine. It's particularly relevant when feeding multiple cables at once, where maintaining even pressure across the cable bundle keeps everything moving through the conduit entry cleanly without one side getting ahead of the other.

Greenlee specifically designed the updated tire material to improve traction on low-friction cable jackets: the kind of smooth XLPE and nylon-jacketed wire common in larger feeder and distribution runs, where older tire compounds would slip or require excessive clamping force that could damage the cable jacket. It's a detail that makes a real difference when you're feeding multiple large conductors under load.

Feed speed is adjustable from 4 to 36 feet per minute, and matching that rate to the cable puller at the far end is how you keep consistent tension on the cable throughout the pull. Run too slow and the puller builds up cable tension that can damage the jacket at bends. Run too fast and the cable piles up at the conduit entry and creates a jam. Getting that sync right is what separates a clean pull from a problem pull.

For control at the feed point, the machine ships with both a pendant controller and a toggle hand switch. An operator can start, stop, and adjust speed from the pendant without walking back to the main unit, which is essential for one-person operation. When you're managing the cable at the conduit entry solo, you need to control the feed rate in real time without leaving the pipe.

When neither the pendant nor the hand switch is practical, say when both hands are occupied guiding multiple conductors into a sweep, the optional foot switch (model 445) is available and covered in its own section below.

How you load the 6810 depends on how the reel is positioned relative to the feeder and conduit entry on your specific job. Two methods are built in, with no special attachments required for either.

Top-loading feeds cable downward into the machine from above. It's typically the right call when the reel is positioned directly behind or adjacent to the feeder and cable can be directed down into the drive wheels from the top of the unit. This is the more common configuration for standard floor-level pulls where the reel and feeder are at the same elevation.

End-loading feeds cable horizontally through the end of the machine. You'd use this when the cable path is running laterally from the reel into the feeder, for example when the reel is at a different elevation or when pull routing requires a more horizontal approach angle before the cable enters the conduit.

Having both options means you don't have to reposition major equipment just because the reel location or conduit entry angle changes from one setup to the next. It's a practical feature that adds flexibility on jobs where the layout isn't always cooperative.

At a 3.5" maximum cable diameter, the 6810 covers all of the MCM sizes above and most standard feeder and distribution cable you'd encounter in commercial and industrial work. A reel weight capacity of roughly 25,000 lbs. means it can support fully loaded large-conductor reels without modification or supplemental reel stands beyond what the application already requires.

When you're feeding multiple conductors, all cables run in parallel through the drive wheels. Dual-motor operation maintains consistent tension across the entire bundle, which reduces the risk of one conductor getting ahead of the others and creating a binding condition at the conduit entry or the first sweep in the run.

Out of the box, the 6810 ships with a pendant and toggle hand switch for feed control. In most one-person setups, that's all you need: the operator manages the cable at the conduit entry and uses the pendant to control feed speed. But there are situations where both hands are genuinely needed at the conduit opening, whether you're managing multiple conductors into a sweep, guiding stiff large-diameter cable around a fitting, or directing cable into a cable tray while handling slack on the feed side.

That's where the optional foot switch (model 445) earns its place. With it, you can start and stop the feeder with a foot press without releasing the cable. It's a simple accessory that solves a real problem on larger pulls where cable management at the entry point demands both hands. If you're regularly running 500 MCM or 750 MCM pulls, or multi-conductor pulls into cable tray, it's worth budgeting the foot switch alongside the 6810 from the start.

• Pulling large-diameter feeder or distribution cable (250 MCM through 750 MCM) on commercial or industrial jobs
• Running multi-conductor pulls where keeping all cables moving at the same rate into the conduit entry matters
• Feeding cable into cable tray at production volume where manual feeding isn't practical
• Operating with a cable puller at the pull end and needing to synchronize feed speed to pull speed
• Looking to run the feed end of a pull with a single operator rather than a two- or three-person crew
• Working on 115 VAC / 15A power (standard job site circuit)

• Trying to pull cable or rope through conduit; the 6810 feeds cable off reels and isn't a cable puller
• Running smaller wire sizes where a manual feed is fast and practical
• On a job with no cable puller at the far end; the feeder works in coordination with a puller, not as a standalone pulling device
• Looking for a 220V / 50 Hz unit; the standard 6810 is 115 VAC / 60 Hz, though the 6810-22 model is available for 220V international applications

Few pieces of equipment on a large cable pull get less attention than the feed end, and that's exactly what the Greenlee 6810 Ultra Cable Feeder is built to fix. It's not a cable puller and it's not a general-purpose wire handling tool. What it is, specifically, is a well-engineered machine for getting 250, 500, or 750 MCM cable off the reel and into the conduit at the right speed, without slipping, without jamming, and without putting a helper on manual feed duty while a tugger runs at the other end of the run.

Dual-motor drive, updated tire design, variable speed synchronization, and two loading methods are all aimed at one outcome: a clean, controlled, repeatable feed that matches pull speed and protects the cable. At 285 lbs. with a 3.5" diameter capacity and support for multi-conductor configurations up to eight simultaneous runs, it covers the full range of cable sizes you'd encounter on a commercial or industrial distribution job.

Backed by Greenlee's warranty and service network, compatible with the optional 445 foot switch for hands-free operation, and supported by documentation and demos at youtube.com/GreenleeDEMO, the 6810 is worth a close look any time you're planning a major cable pull and want a professional setup on both ends of the run.