My old foreman Lou always swore by soaking the pull string in soapy water before a long conduit pull. I thought it was dumb since I figured it just makin a mess. Last Tuesday we had a 400 ft underground run with three 90s and the dry string snapped twice. Soaked the new one with dish soap and water and it slid through like nothin else. Anyone else still using this old school method or am I the only one who waited years to try it?
Took a job rewiring a warehouse near the docks and had to pick between pulling cat6 or running a pre-terminated fiber line. The client said the budget only covered copper, but I knew the electrical noise from the old motors would kill the signal. I fought for the fiber, paid the $200 difference out of pocket on that job, and it saved me from a callback every other month. Anyone else eat the cost just to avoid the headache of a bad install?
I was doing a residential drop in Portland and this locator guy was flagging the yard. He told me he sees installers dig straight into marked zones because we trust the paint too much. He said paint can be off by 18 inches if the ground shifted or the mark faded. So now I do a slow sweep with my own tone and probe before I shove a shovel anywhere, even on marked spots. Took me an extra 10 minutes on that job but beats a fiber cut. Anyone else start double checking utility marks after a close call?
Spent last week in rural Nebraska wiring up a 12-house subdivision and everyone kept asking about fiber. The cost to run it is double what coax would be and these folks just stream Netflix and check email. Why are we pushing gigabit speeds when a solid 100 meg plan works fine for 95% of people out here?
Was going through some old paperwork and found a safety bulletin from Charter about ladder setup, the one that says a 4:1 ratio minimum. I've been doing this for 11 years around Columbus and always just eyeballed it. Now I'm double checking every single ladder I set, even on quick jobs. Anyone else run into this and change how they work?
I used to always trim my coax connectors dry but last week I tried wet trimming with a drop of 91% isopropyl and the signal loss dropped by 3 dB on my test run. Has anyone else noticed a big change from something so small?
I was out on a job last month in a old apartment building downtown and the senior guy watched me strip a line. He shook his head and showed me how I was leaving too much braid exposed. Turns out I've been doing it wrong since day one and probably causing signal issues on half my installs. I had to ask him what gave it away and he just pointed at my crimp. Has anyone else had that moment where a 30 year vet showed you something basic you missed?
Did a job in Fillmore County last week where the lead guy used orange survey tape on every drop in a 300 foot run. I have always used white zip ties myself. But after three hours of trudging through wet brush in the dark trying to trace his lines back to the tap, I saw the orange tape catching the truck headlights from like 50 feet away. My white zip ties? Invisible after sunset. Took me longer but I saw the point. Have you guys ever switched marking colors and noticed a real difference?
Honestly, I was a die-hard fiberglass guy for years, swore by them. Then I snapped my second rod in a week on a rough pull through an attic in Nashville near the Gulch. A buddy named Mike handed me his Glow Rod and I finished the job without breaking a sweat. Has anyone else switched away from fiberglass after a bad day on site?
I used to just toss cables over the ceiling tiles (big mistake) until I worked a job at a school in Akron back in 2018. A fire inspector showed me how those loose cables can sag and block sprinkler heads or get pinched and cause signal loss over time. Now I always use J-hooks and tie wraps every 4 feet - has anyone else had an inspector call them out for messy ceiling runs?
I was doing a job last month over at a old bank building downtown and this guy in his 60s was running cable right next to me. He saw me trying to fish line through a drop ceiling and getting dust and insulation all over the place. He walked over and showed me how to use a piece of cardboard as a dust shield under the tile before pulling anything through. Changed how I work in those ceilings forever. Anybody else got tricks for keeping drop ceilings clean during installs?
Had to choose between a $8 basic steel tape and a $40 glow rod at Home Depot last week. Grabbed the cheap one and it actually got through a 50 foot conduit run with three 90s no problem. Anybody else find the budget stuff works just as good most days?
I was doing a standard cable run in an old house near Alexandria and pulled off a wall plate to find a whole wasp nest stuffed behind it. They weren't happy when I moved the plate. I had to come back the next day with a can of spray and a shop vac. Has anyone else run into nests or critters inside walls?
Got to a house in Fresno with a broken ladder and no compression fitting tool. Customer watched me struggle for 20 minutes then just cancelled. Anyone else get thrown into jobs without the right gear?
I finally got tired of chasing bad cables with a cheap toner and picked up a real tester. Last Tuesday I found a bad keystone in a 48 port patch panel in under 10 minutes at a job site near the old mill building downtown. Has anyone else had a tool like that just make your day easier right out of the box?
I ignored him and kept using them until one popped out and took out a $600 TV in a sports bar last month. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way?
Last month I bought this no-name toner probe set off Amazon for about $45 because I was trying to save a few bucks. Thought I was being smart, you know, same job for less money. Got it in and right away the tone was super weak, barely picked up anything past 50 feet. Spent a whole Saturday trying to trace a line in a commercial building downtown and just kept getting false readings. Ended up having to call a buddy to borrow his Fluke kit to finish the job. Lost that whole day of labor plus the $45, but really it cost me way more in time and frustration. Has anyone else been burned by cheap test gear like this? What do you all use for toning that actually works?
Honestly, I thought I was being smart spending more on gloves that claimed to be reinforced for pulling fiber and coax. The first job they felt great, second job the stitching started going near the thumb, third job the palm had a hole big enough to fit my finger through. My old $20 pair from the hardware store lasted me 6 months. Anyone else tried those premium gloves and got burned?
I bought a $12 ratcheting crimper off Amazon for some Cat6 terminations and it squished 8 connectors crooked before I realized. Wasted half a spool of cable and 6 hours fixing bad ends on a Tuesday job. Anyone else get burned by cheap tools and have a solid brand that won't break the bank?
I was working on a new build townhouse complex over by the old mill district and my main crimper just locked up solid around 3pm. Could not get it to release or even budge, had to cut the connector off with a dremel right there in the unit. Anyone else have a tool fail at the worst possible time and how did you finish the day?
Picked up that Klein toner from the supply house Tuesday thinking it would save me time tracing lines in a new build in Austin. By Friday it was dead as a doornail, wouldn't even light up after swapping batteries twice. Anyone else get burned by a tool that crapped out faster than a cheap extension cord?
I finally hit 10,000 connectors crimped over 5 years at this job in Austin, and what surprised me most was how my throughput only improved by like 15% from year one to now.
Honestly, I used to crank them down as hard as I could until I had a return call last Tuesday where the signal dropped out completely. Turns out that crushes the dielectric and kills the impedance. I only hand tighten plus a quarter turn now.
I had to run 200 feet of RG6 through a commercial building last Tuesday. Took me 6 hours because someone packed the ceiling with old phone lines and fiber. Snagged my cable 3 times and had to re-pull. Anyone else deal with ridiculous ceiling rats nests like that?