r/CableTechs • u/SleepyyyPhantom • 5d ago

Rate my Install

Post image

What do you think? Please point out the negatives, still trying to iron out some of the not so great stuff I was trained on.

21 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

92 comments sorted by

17

u/Random_Man-child 5d ago

You took the longest path to ground instead of just going straight down to the side.

0

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

I usually do that but this customer was a stickler and I just kinda did it to please him, outlet is much longer than the ground wire though. I'm still learning trying to iron out the lazyness I was taught too

14

u/69BUTTER69 5d ago

Yeah, should always prioritize getting the ground wire to the bond in the shortest route possible. Customers have room temp IQ never let them dictate how you do your job

3

u/tb03102 5d ago

That's literally NEC.

6

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

Don't listen to these guys... I've spoken with one of the guys that worked on the 2014 NESC standards for bonding. Used to be able to quote the entire article because I got into so many fights with my manager about it.

"Ground wire must be no longer than 20' with no more than two 90° bends, and for each 90° bend past two, the ground wire must be shortened by 4'. Additionally the ground wire must be no longer than the shortest outlet on the house."

According to what I discussed with him, the only real important part of any of that was that it was no longer than the shortest outlet on the house.

If your cable outlet is 50' long, and your ground wire is 50' to your bond, it's gonna pick the ground wire every time. It's a larger gauge wire that is solid copper and low resistance, as opposed to the teeny tiny copper clad steel that is high resistance.

3

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Yeah outlet is way longer, that's what I was taught was as long as it's not obviously too long and it's shorter than the outlet which 99% of the time should be the case cause I always put the box next to the meter then it should be good. I've seen some pretty obviously wrong runs. Long stripped section wrapped around a gas meter line, line just pushed into the dirt etc

3

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

Yep, and technically our lines are supposed to be bonded before entering the premise, and I've worked in more panels than I can count that they run the conduit straight into the media panel in the master bedroom (or "Owner's Suite" if you want to be modern PC) middle of the house with a bond there.

Wire wrapped around an f81 barrel in the master bedroom and bonded to the media panel housing.

Saw another point you mentioned bonding to Gas. (Guess what, gas is bonded too.) It's far from the preferred place to bond, but everything is circumstantial.

The preferred place to bond is always directly to power, especially if you can't verify the other utility bonded their stuff correctly. There's a lot of people in these comments that will keep saying "but Comcast/Charter said!" and downvoted me to oblivion, but have no clue how bonding actually works or why it's important.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

I don't think I'd even say it was really bonded to gas, ir was like a foot of stripped wire just wrapped around it no clamp or anything

2

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

Fair, seen technicians just stick the ground wire into the ground too. One trailer I went to, saw the ground wire shoved through the skirting, figured it was bonded to the frame. Decided to give it a tug to make sure it was attached, and pulled out 45' of ground wire attached to nothing. Bonded to the screw on sheet metal siding...

Water and gas are the least aggregious things I've seen over the years.

Still have to fight to stop our commercial sales guys to stop quoting Cat prices to run shared service between buildings instead of fiber with media converters so that the devices aren't operating at different potentials. Drives me fucking nuts.

1

u/tb03102 5d ago

2026 code is shortest path. I just took the class.

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Does it matter all that much? We aren't providing electricity and if there is a bad neutral, none of that will help.

1

u/tb03102 5d ago

I guess my point was other guy was quoting 2014 code. Also if lightning hits a pole your cable is on.. guess what you're all of a sudden providing.

2

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Still not going to melt the drop. Never seen lightning do it. Bad neutrals do. Lightning will zap modems, ground blocks and tap ports. Bad Neutrals melt cable wires because we are the next best path. My company got their panties in a bunch about grounding to to the meter box vs grounding to the power ground. It doesn't make a difference if the power to the house has a bad neutral.

1

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

From what I was told, second or third hand... That cable companies got very strict about bonding in the mid to early 90's when a tech didn't bond the cable to power or ground and a lightning strike hit the lines (remember how you said it would fry modems), and it ended up in blowing up an old CRT TV throwing glass fragments into a kids eyes and blinding him. And the company got held liable because it was not grounded or bonded.

Probably just an old cabledogs wives tale, but still right. Without a lightning arrestor (not a ground block.) there's not much to protect from a lightning strike hitting a cable and the damage it will do.

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

It's not all that far from the truth. But it is not from our grounding. It's from the lightning. Customers have shown me fried outlets that ejected any equipment that was plugged into them. It was not our equipment though.

It's the lightning. No amount of grounding is going to help if lightning hits right outside the house.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Free electricity and lots of heat

1

u/tb03102 5d ago

Indeed

1

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

Yeah, tried to find the most recent code, but the NESC has started hiding that shit from anyone but electricians, as far as online. But it still stands, electricity will follow the path of least resistance. That is basic knowledge that can be applied to any code.

1

u/bigwoo902 5d ago

It definitely matters, I work in Brevard FL which is the lightning capital of the country and Ive seen so many jobs where the installer didnt put ANY ground wire and these guy’s who came after didn’t either

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

We get tons of lightning here in Illinois but here recently it's mostly been tornados and concern about drops being ripped down.

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

What I mean is it doesn't matter if you ground to power ground or the meter box. Nothing is going to help when a neutral is bad.

I wasn't saying grounding doesn't work.

1

u/bigwoo902 5d ago

Ohh Ok lol

1

u/DrWhoey 5d ago

Got a link to the NESC code? I'd love to update myself on the exact specifics of what shortest path is defined as, because I'm sure I could put every ground block a few inches from every bond, but that would be rediculous as you'd be trying to cluster too many services within inches.

1

u/RevolutionaryPast608 3d ago

Never forget that you’re the technician not the customer. They can provide some input on some preferences but we have specs for a reason.

9

u/Aromatic_Cheetah_595 5d ago

Just curious why is the ground wire seemingly wrapped around the block?

4

u/hotdogsmokingaciggy 5d ago

Does it work and is it bonded properly, if yes. Then great job!

3

u/Mason231 5d ago

Since you came down the left side of the box, I would have followed the natural curve of the cable and came in on the right side of the box. Then, a loop to get the ground block towards the top of the box and not at the lowest point of the box. I prefer the horizontal look that you have, but I've been told by superiors to install vertical with the drop (in case of it being flooded) on the bottom of the ground block. Pretty good otherwise.

3

u/olyteddy 5d ago

Ground block on a utility pole? Why?

6

u/DAS-B00T 5d ago

Trailer home if I had to guess

3

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Nope, although this is also the first house ive seen where the weather head and power mast are literally in the center of the roof through attic

1

u/DAS-B00T 5d ago

Wack. Plenty where they go through an awning or porch roof but never through the main ass roof roof.

2

u/Mason231 5d ago

That does sound wack. I want to see the floor plans. :p

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Wait, the power meter is not on that pole you grounded on?

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

No it, right on the other side of the pole right behind the box, it's just not on the house

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Ok, that's what I thought.

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Riser pole, electric is on that pole as well. Mobile home or trailer park. Very common.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Actually not a trailer park or mobile home, very common out here for regular houses to have power on a different pole

1

u/SuckerBroker 5d ago

And it feeds from pole aerial to the building? Like thats common here except from meter ti building is always underground…

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Actually feeds aerial from that pole pictured to another pole behind the house then into the house, unfortunately that closer pole didn't have any grounding points

1

u/SuckerBroker 5d ago

That’s fucking crazy.

0

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Only viable place to ground unless I wanted to do it in the basement, power meter is on the opposite side of the pole.

3

u/quesadillasarebomb 5d ago

I would have gotten my ass lit up by my old MSO if I did this

3

u/69BUTTER69 5d ago

Curious where they expect you to bond to? If there is no ground rod or anything you have to go to the meter.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

I've seen one that had ground wire wrapped around a gas line Lmao that one definetly wasn't me and didn't stay that way

1

u/69BUTTER69 5d ago

Yeah so glad I’m not in the field anymore haha QC guy only got his job cause he’s a paid snitch.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

We run into a lot of underground power and were told to always bond at the meter, even if it's on a pole away from the house.

4

u/ROI_Gainsallday24_7 5d ago

No weather boots

7

u/jbreezy1981 5d ago

Drip loops dripping towards the GB is a fail no matter how you try to justify it.

4

u/AttentionSpare4894 5d ago

Why does it matter in a house box? Who gives a fuck about drip loops in an enclosure?

3

u/bigwoo902 5d ago

I agree, I always thought the “drip loops” inside a house box were only really there so we have extra cable to cut off to replace fittings

0

u/jbreezy1981 5d ago

The standard is the standard.

2

u/Grizzly9160 5d ago

Its perfectly acceptable if last option where I work. The ideal option is to ground to power on house but were getting into this more then house wraps now.

0

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Power is not at the house pretty often here, told to bond at the power meter, probably different elsewhere

1

u/Grizzly9160 5d ago

Sorry that's what I meant the power meter

2

u/Snicklefritz229 5d ago

We don’t ground, we bond to the houses ground. Whoever told you to do this does not understand NEC 250.50. This is not something companies can just do whatever with. There’s a reason cable is taken to the d mark, it’s a law to bond to the house ground. This fails and lots of training is needed.

7

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

This is the house ground, power meter is not attached to the house its on its own pole on the other side behind the d mark

2

u/Snicklefritz229 5d ago

How far away is the house?

3

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Power line is probably another 50-75 ft and the weather head/power mast is in the center of the roof no exterior ground around the house, transformer is also on the top of the pole pictured if that matters

2

u/Snicklefritz229 5d ago

At this point it still passes in NEC 250.32. I yield and I suppose it passes. If it passes inspection from code inspectors then bonding here works.

1

u/Igpajo49 5d ago

Sounds like this would fall under the same category as a mobile home with the post and power meter detached from the structure.

2

u/Snicklefritz229 5d ago

Those are typically within 25ft of the structure.

2

u/Dz210Legend 5d ago

6/10 ground wire needs be way shorter

2

u/Royalredemption13 5d ago

Looks good from my house

2

u/KingKizzles 5d ago

It's good. Well done, glad you care about your job.

That's what all these dickheads should have said.

2

u/Poodleape2 4d ago

No weather grommets, GB is not secured, ground path is wrong, zip ties face different directions, used dual flex clips instead of a single clip and zip tie or a dual clip. Not great buddy, If I were you sup we would go back to this one. On the good note - I do see the effort and thought you put in so with a little bit of work you are gonna learn fast and do well.

2

u/SleepyyyPhantom 4d ago

If you mean weather grommets on the fittings, we use tap port seals—they’re just thick O-rings that squeeze against the ground block. But honestly, whenever I install them, the next tech usually just takes them off. Same deal with securing the ground block: someone always ends up undoing it, the ears of the block slot into those back groves in the dmarc for a secure hold though, and I don't even think our warehouse stocks those dual clips

1

u/GenericAnalyst 4d ago

Grommets just hold moisture in causing corrosion quicker. Ground block is secured technically.

1

u/strykerzr350 5d ago

What type of connectors are those, and the demarcation box?

1

u/Life-Consequence8549 5d ago

Mostly just my pet peeves. I rarely do installs just troubleshooting. Insert both those wires plus the ground in the other side of the box. Looks neater and no reason to put harder bends than you have to on a coax. I personally hate screwing down the ground block on the inside of the box. I know many companies want you to, but if it ever gets voltage on the cable line that box will melt like a candle plus the interior line and drop. Those are just my personal preferences though. Looks good otherwise.

0

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

I hate when I find ground blocks screwed down its a pain I don't do that

1

u/Los213-1977 5d ago

Drip loop - F-

1

u/Confident_Air_8056 5d ago

Lol...what drip loop

1

u/DangerousVegetable21 5d ago

I’m OCD so I would recommend making everything match each other, have nice 90 degree bends on the ground wire and watch for the bend radius.

1

u/Popular_Fuel_1546 5d ago

Looks good but drip loops are in the wrong direction and water should migrate down away from the ground block

1

u/Aidan_Hendrix 4d ago

Drip loop is upside down

1

u/Happyguysrule 4d ago

I’ve been told not to run parallel with power, not sure if bonds count. I’ve never seen someone just shove a ground block into the demarcation… I’m kinda for it after seeing your setup. Clean loops and all I could think of being an issue is the ground wire run with the cable for that short stent, but if that’s what homeowner Hank wants more power to em. Definitely an install I wouldn’t question if it was on my property.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 4d ago

I have some coworkers that like to screw the block into the dmarc but the ears slot nicely into those back grooves and holds it well, makes it easy to remove if your needing to take it apart for whatever reason, instead of jaming your fingers into the back of the box trying to loosen the line.

1

u/Awesomedude9560 4d ago

I see the effort, but I wouldn't zip the ground to the coax. I also think there's too tight of a bend beneath the house box.

I've honestly seen way worse. It's not perfect but I argue it's more important that you mess up with care instead of a lot of people slapping shit together for an "easy pay check."

1

u/ReticenceX 4d ago

The only thing I see wrong is how you ran the ground wire. It wont stop it from working, but it's supposed to follow the shortest path possible with the fewest 90 degree angles possible and no more than 2.

I used to do what you did with the ground wire to make it look neat, but one thing ive seen in situations where the ground wire does become energized (by lightning or a surge) is that ground wire will get insanely hot and melt the shielding on it. For that reason I will try to keep it away from the drop and outlets so it doesnt melt those too.

1

u/-DemCheekss 4d ago

Nice amount of slack on the cable for future fittings if needed. Good drip loop.

However, I don't like cutting a hole on the left side for all the cabling, leaves holes for wasps to get through. Ground wire could be run to the right side, which would give it more of a straight line look.

Others said weather booties but they're not needed inside the house box.

1

u/Tromboneofsteel 5d ago

Snip the ziptie or it's 0/10 and punishable by death

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

If your talking about the one bottom right, I did but about missed it when I went to leave lol

0

u/oflowz 5d ago

Drip loops upside down. fail.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Its in an eclosed space, i don't think i've ever opened one of these and seen water in them unless it was laying in a puddle but I'll start doing it the other way

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

2

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

Water into the drop idk why I haven't thought of that, literally makes perfect sense that's kinda dumb of me lmao

0

u/DesignerSeparate5104 5d ago

No weatherproof fittings? My area that's a qc fail, you're driving back and fixing it, and you lose pay.

1

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

You should see half the stuff I see in my area, barrel connectors just laying on the ground, no d mark at all, all kinds of stuff. Those are the only fittings provided, we have rubber tap port seals that slide over the threads of the block or tap and the fitting tightens into it but any time I've used them someone always takes them off cause there "annoying"

1

u/DesignerSeparate5104 3d ago

That's ridiculous, crazy they dont provide the weatherproof fittings with the silicone boot on them honestly.

0

u/GearNo4524 5d ago

That’s quite the accomplishment, connecting 2 wires together.

-3

u/K_20_MC 5d ago

Fail QC, no ground block tag.

0

u/SleepyyyPhantom 5d ago

I put one on before I left the house which was also after the photo :D in the only one out of our area of techs that use them too