Rant: That conversation with the senior guy at the supply house about compression fittings.

I was picking up some RG6 last Tuesday at the Graybar in Nashville, and this old timer who's been installing since the 80s just stops me. He goes "you know why those compression fittings fail on you after a year? It's cause you ain't cleaning the dielectric off the copper right." I stood there and he showed me his method with a pocketknife. That simple thing never crossed my mind but it makes total sense. Any of you ran into a small tweak like that that saved you callbacks?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan65318d ago

That line "you ain't cleaning the dielectric off the copper right" hit home for me big time. I had the same exact issue with compression fittings a few years back, tons of callbacks for signal loss and water getting in. An old electrician buddy of mine showed me the same trick with a pocketknife, just a quick scrape around the copper before you crimp. It's such a tiny thing, like maybe 10 extra seconds per connector, but it cuts my failure rate down to basically zero. I always thought the fitting itself was the weak point, but it's really that thin layer of plastic coating the copper that messes everything up over time. Makes you appreciate the little tricks the old guys pass down, you know?

derekp7018d ago

Haha yeah @ryan653, that "10 extra seconds per connector" part got me. I used to think the same thing, like the fitting was the culprit but nope, it's just that stupid plastic layer doing its thing. It's wild how such a tiny oversight can turn into a whole weekend of callbacks and headache. Old heads really do know their stuff, even if it's just scraping some stuff off with a pocketknife.