Shoutout to the old timer who told me to stop yanking coax

Ngl I used to just pull cable as fast as I could through attics in Phoenix. This one guy in his 60s watched me for like 2 minutes on a job near Camelback and goes 'youre gonna snap the copper core doing that.' He showed me to always leave a 6 inch service loop and use a little tension gauge. Has anyone else had an older installer teach them one little trick that saved them a ton of callbacks?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.thomas9d ago

Buddy of mine from Mesa, Dave, told me about a crew he was on back in like 2009. This one older installer, must have been pushing 70, saw them splashing waterproofing goop on outdoor box connections and just shook his head. He told them to put a little silicone grease on the rubber gasket instead, said the goop traps moisture and eats the copper over a few summers in the heat. Dave said that one tip probably saved him from half his monsoon season callbacks right there.

karen_carter9d ago

Honestly that thing about the waterproofing goop is real. I've had to re-terminate connections where that stuff turned into a crumbly green mess and the copper was all pitted underneath. A little dab of silicone grease on the gasket and a snug weather boot has saved me way more trouble than gooping the whole thing ever did. Just make sure the boot is seated right before you tighten the box screws, otherwise it pinches and still lets water in.

the_claire9d ago

Eats the copper over a few summers" - man, @young.thomas that's a bit dramatic, don't you think? I mean sure, moisture is bad for connections, but I've seen plenty of outdoor boxes that had that waterproofing goop on them for years and they still worked fine. Maybe it's not the best stuff for the job, but calling it a monsoon season callback saver feels like a stretch. A little silicone grease won't hurt, but it's not like the goop is actively trying to destroy your cable or anything.