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Vent: I used to swear by pass-through crimpers, then a 110 degree day in Phoenix changed my mind
Been running coax for 8 years and always laughed at the guys using the old school crimp tools. Bought a set of pass-throughs back in March cause the shop had em on sale for $45. First 200 jobs they were great, super fast, no fumbling with the little sleeve.
Then last week I was on a new build in Phoenix, outside box on the west wall, sun hitting it direct. It was 110 by 10am. Went to crimp a fitting and the plastic jaw on my tool literally warped. Could not get a clean crimp for the rest of the day, kept getting loose fittings and had to redo 6 drops.
Pulled out my old manual crimper from the truck and it worked fine. Metal body, no plastic to melt. Finished the job with it and honestly it felt better in my hand.
Now I keep both in the bag. Pass-throughs for indoor work, old reliable for anything outside or in an attic. Anyone else have a tool that craps out on you in the heat? What do you keep as backup?
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sethtorres4d ago
I had a plastic body stripper melt in my truck bed one summer and now every tool I buy for outside work has to be all metal. For backup I keep a cheap set of Klein manual crimpers that have survived everything, never let me down and they were like 20 bucks. Heat kills anything with plastic jaws, learned that the hard way in an attic in July.
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