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Stop using compression fittings on aerial drops in cold weather
I was in upstate New York last December fixing a line that kept losing signal after every freeze. Swapped out the compression connector for a heat-shrink weatherproof type and the problem vanished completely. The compression ones just can't handle the ice expansion inside the connector body. Anyone else had better luck with shrink-fit on exposed lines?
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skyler_adams2mo ago
Yeah, the ice expansion thing is real. I've seen it crack the plastic body right at the base on a few jobs in Vermont. I switched to the shrink-fit style with the adhesive lining a couple years ago for any exposed drops and haven't had a single callback. Those rubber inserts in the compression connectors just don't seal right once they've been frozen and thawed a few times.
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abby3082mo ago
Ask @skyler_adams if the adhesive lining actually holds up after a few freeze cycles?
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lucas_perez26d ago
Stick with those shrink-fit connectors @skyler_adams. The adhesive lining catches something most people miss. The problem isn't just the ice expanding on the outside. Water seeps into the jacket of the cable itself through the cut end, then freezes and expands from the inside out. The adhesive actually seals that exposed wire end and stops capillary action from pulling water up into the jacket. Seen it happen on Siamese cables and standard RG6 where the jacket separates from the dielectric a quarter inch back. Compression connectors leave that gap open.
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