Hot take: fiber fusion splicing is getting worse, not better, since the 2010s in my area

I've been doing cable installs since 2008, mostly residential and small business stuff in Ohio. Back then, a fusion splice was practically bulletproof. You'd hit it, test it, and it would hold for years. Now I'm seeing splices from jobs done just 3 or 4 years ago start to go bad. Inconsistent loss readings, some outright failing. My boss swears it's the cheap Chinese splicers everyone's using now instead of the old Fujikuras. I don't know if it's the machines, the cleavers, or just rushed work, but I've had to redo a dozen splices this year alone that were supposed to be 'lifetime'. Anyone else noticing this in their markets, or is it just the gear we're stuck with?

2 comments

2 Comments

hall.quinn7d agoTop Commenter

Ugh, I gotta disagree a little here... I've been using a newer Sumitomo for the last few years and my splices are actually holding up better than the old Fujikuras I used back in 2013. The Chinese gear might be the problem for your crew, not the tech itself.

ryan_kim636d ago

Wait, hold up - you've been using a Sumitomo since 2013? Those things are ancient. I mean, I know they're built like tanks but that's like 12 years old at this point. That's wild to me, my old Fujikura from 2015 started giving me inconsistent cleave angles around year 8 and I had to swap it out.