Tried a cheap fusion splicer from Amazon and it melted my first 3 splices

I picked up a $200 fusion splicer off Amazon last month to save some cash on a big fiber job in Phoenix. First attempt, the alignment was way off and it just cooked the fiber ends into a blob. After wasting 3 splices and an hour of daylight, I packed it up, sent it back, and stuck with my old rental unit. Anyone else get burned by cheaping out on a splicer?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_chen14d ago

A buddy of mine @sullivan.john and I once tried to weld a fence together with a harbor freight welder and it just sputtered and made a mess, which is exactly what that cheap splicer did to your fibers. I still have a scar on my finger from where a hot electrode popped off that thing. Ever find a mid-range model that actually works for field work or are you just sticking to rentals now?

sullivan.john15d ago

Did I buy one of those too or did we just do the same dumb thing at the same time? My cheap unit turned my first three splices into burnt little marshmallows before the screen even showed an error. The alignment motors sounded like a dying toy and the electrodes sparked like a bad welder. Learned my lesson real quick - now I just rent a real one and don't even think about buying cheap junk.