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Hot take: I stopped using a torque wrench on BNC connectors and my connector failure rate dropped
Had a GPS antenna connector fail on an install in Wichita last week, so I pulled the 18 in-lb spec and started using a crowfoot with a torque wrench, and it actually made things worse. The spec is written for a dry connector, but everyone slaps a little silicone grease on the threads to keep moisture out, and that grease changes the torque value so much that you're either crushing the center pin or leaving it loose enough to wiggle. I went back to snug plus a quarter turn by hand and haven't had a callback in 3 weeks, anyone else notice this or am I just lucky?
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the_jessica2d ago
Man, that grease thing tracks with something I ran into with pipe threads on a well pump years back, sealant threw off my torque numbers bad. My old boss called it "the wet spec problem" and told me to just trust my hands after a while, which felt like a cop-out until it kept working.
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