PSA: My old foreman swore by using electrical tape on every coax connector, but I think it's a waste of time

So I had this foreman, Dave, back when I started 5 years ago. He'd yell at anyone who didn't wrap their compression fittings with a layer of electrical tape. Said it stops moisture and keeps signal clean. I followed his rule for like 2 years. Then I stopped because it seemed pointless. Last month I had to redo 8 connectors on a job in a damp crawlspace - they were all corroded inside. Now I'm wondering if he was right all along. But my buddy swears he's never used tape and his calls are fine. So what do you all do? Tape or no tape on outdoor or damp spots?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin5911mo ago

@murphy.aaron's got a point about the crawlspace callbacks. Dave was probably right about tape for damp spots, my old boss blamed a bad batch of connectors on a similar redo last year. Tape or no tape, if the connector's cheap it'll fail anyway, so maybe that's the real lesson here.

karen3611mo ago

@murphy.aaron you're spot on about the moisture thing. I tape every single connector thats going in a damp spot now after learning the hard way. Its cheap insurance. Takes 30 seconds but saves you a callback two years later. Ive seen too many green crusty connectors in crawlspaces to skip it anymore. Dave probably just knew from experience not from a manual. Your mileage may vary depending on the climate too, around here tape is worth it. Id rather overdo it than redo it.

murphy.aaron1mo ago

Man, I feel you on this one. It's one of those debates where both sides make sense but you never really know until something goes wrong. Dave sounds like he was just trying to look out for you long-term, even if it felt overkill at the time. That damp crawlspace job you had to redo? That's the exact kind of scenario that makes me lean toward taping now, especially after seeing what moisture does to connectors. Your mileage may vary though, because some guys go years without issues and swear by bare connectors in dry areas.