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Pro tip: an old customer taught me to stop fighting the cable loops
I used to pull those service loops tight until a retired Bell guy told me to leave at least 3 feet of slack at the demarc. Has anyone else found that extra loops actually save you from a second trip when the box gets moved?
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mason_reed474mo ago
Did that old Bell guy explain why they started leaving the slack in the first place? I've heard it's partly because of the old screw terminals (where you needed room to work) but also because the NID location sometimes gets shifted by a few inches when the siding guys come through. I'm curious if he mentioned anything about avoiding stress fractures on the inside wires from being pulled too tight over time. I've started leaving loops myself after seeing a buddy's install crack at the connector after a cold snap, and I swear it's saved me from exactly that.
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mason_reed474mo ago
Wait @miles_robinson20, did the Bell guy also tell you why they switched from screw terminals? Or was that just me being too slow to figure out the obvious?
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miles_robinson204mo ago
Yeah I mean @mason_reed47 is right about the stress fractures thing too. But that old Bell guy actually told me the main reason was just so you could move the box without having to re-punch down everything. Though I think you're off a little on the screw terminals part - those were mostly gone by the time they started leaving slack.
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