TIL how to make old coaxial fittings cooperate

I've been annoyed by how hard it is to screw on coaxial connectors in damp basements. A veteran installer told me to apply a thin layer of dielectric grease. Did that on a job this morning and it worked like a charm. One less thing to slow me down.

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_flores253mo ago

Funny how I used to swear by just cleaning the threads with a rag. That was until a basement job where every fitting felt welded shut. Someone on site finally handed me that grease, and what do you know, it worked. Why do we always learn the hard way? Now I tell every new guy to skip the struggle and grab the tube first.

barnes.brian3mo ago

Yeah, my friend Mike had the SAME issue in his crawl space last month. He was fighting with these rusty fittings for HOURS. I told him about the dielectric grease trick, and he said it made them slide on like butter. Saved his whole afternoon.

-1

karenm492mo ago

Remember that trick when I was helping my brother-in-law with his old sprinkler lines. He had a fitting so bad we almost cut it out. Smearing that grease on felt like cheating, but it spun right off after sitting for a minute. It's the kind of thing you never forget once you see it work.