Can we talk about fiber splice failures in cold weather?

I had three splices go bad last week during a job outside of Toledo when temps dropped to 15 degrees. The fusion splicer was acting up and the cleaver wasn't giving clean breaks, but the boss said to just push through it. Do you guys stop working when it gets that cold or do you have a trick to keep everything working right?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ben1mo ago

I've worked down to 10 degrees with a warm tent and a propane heater aimed right at the splicer. That makes a huge difference. Do you have a way to keep the gear warm or are you just running it cold?

abby_henderson1mo ago

And honestly, I've always thought the warm tent and heater thing is kind of overkill for this. I've been doing fiber work in Michigan winters for years and if your splicer can't handle 15 degrees without a space heater pointed at it, that's a gear problem not a weather problem. A good fusion splicer with a cold weather kit or a heated cleaver blade makes a way bigger difference than trying to heat up a whole tent. I've done plenty of jobs down to single digits with no issues as long as the equipment is rated for it and you let it acclimate a bit before using it. Pushing through with bad gear is just asking for splices that fail when they're buried in the ground in February anyway.

piper_dixon451mo ago

Yeah a heated cleaver blade honestly saves more headache than whole tent setups.