Guy at the supply house swore by electrical tape for coax connectors... what a mess

I was running line last Tuesday for a new apartment complex out past Oakwood. This old timer at the supply house told me to wrap a strip of electrical tape around my compression connectors to keep moisture out. First rain came three days later and half the units lost signal completely. The tape just slipped right off or trapped water inside. Has anyone else had a bad experience with random advice from supply house guys?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellam893mo ago

Electrical tape is basically a gimmick for coax, it'll work fine until it doesn't and then you're chasing random signal drops. The old timer probably meant well but he's stuck in the days when we used to wrap everything in tape and hope for the best. Way better off just making sure your compression connectors are crimped properly and using silicone sealant if you're really worried about moisture, that stuff actually stays put.

mia_anderson2mo ago

You hit it right on the head with "it'll work fine until it doesn't" @stellam89, that's exactly my experience with electrical tape on coax. I've seen so many service calls where someone used tape on an outdoor connector and the moisture just wicks right through the layers after a few rainstorms. The thing with silicone sealant is it actually bonds to the connector and the cable jacket, so it doesn't shrink or peel off like tape does after a year in the sun. And yeah, if you're getting those compression connectors crimped right in the first place you barely need any extra protection anyway. Most of the time when people think they need tape it's because the connector wasn't seated properly or the cable was nicked, so the signal was already on its way out. I'd rather spend five extra seconds on a good crimp than mess around with tape that's gonna look like a melted mess by next spring.

luna_sanchez2mo ago

Used to be a tape guy myself. Thought a wrap of electrical tape was just standard practice for outdoor coax. But after seeing a few of my own connections get waterlogged and start dropping signal during every rainstorm, I started looking for something better. Switched to silicone sealant a couple years back and haven't touched tape since. The stuff really does bond to the connector and jacket way better than tape ever could. Kinda embarrassed now about all the tape jobs I thought were fine back then. Good crimp and a dab of sealant beats a roll of tape every time.