What is the problem with resoldering at the top of the pole? Genuine question.

Mains to hit soldering iron, the extra layers of H&S around having a skin burning tool operating at height, risk of heat setting light to tar or dry wood of the pole

Beyond the I've never seen mention of solder joints in the Openreach network

Are there no such things as portable soldering irons? How do oil rig divers cope?

There's a few block terminals out there where the feeding cable is terminated by solder and the distribution is by screw.

These would have been wired up on the ground simply because in those days the soldering iron had to be heated up on a stove and also some of them were packed with beeswax after you had wired them up.

There are similar cabinet assemblies where the tail is fitted on soldered tags at the back and screw terminations at the front. This was done at the factory. paper insulated cables were then packed with beeswax, Polythene cables not so.

Most of the eside network is paper insulated with twisted and sleeved connections. These were supposed to be tip soldered but rarely were in practice.

No idea, but remember cutting torches that work underwater and its not a cheap job

Apart from the various H&S aspects mentioned, I have occasionally had to solder joints outside - but NOT up a pole.

A major problem is that the slightest draught/air movement cools the soldering iron rapidly, either resulting in a "dry joint" or no joint effectively.

Doors opened to allow air to circulate in the factory during hot weather were another source of draughts, along with temporary (domestic-size) fans.

When I first tried soldering outside, I was amazed at how little air movement rapidly cooled both the soldering iron and also the wires etc involved, as the latter have to be at or slightly above the eutectic melting point of the solder and of the flux, to get the proper "wetting" of the joint.

To succeed, you need good draught protection and generally a soldering iron at least "one size" bigger than you would use inside normally, eg 65 Watt rather than 25 Watt Solons if anyone remembers them.

This also applies if you are trying to solder in a very cold environment, eg the laboratory where there was ice in the plumbing most of the day and we had to wear outdoor clothing to keep warm. Terrific problems with the water loads!

Hence the major use of Crimp Joints and now IDC Joints in phone wiring, so that heat is not involved at all.

And generally a lot safer, quicker and more effective.

Edited by deleted (Mon 11-Aug-14 13:51:13)

Also the temperatures and materials involved.

I doubt very much whether conventional soldering is even attempted or would succeed, due to the cooling effects of the water.

The cutting torches operate at a very much higher temperature, the metals involved both in material having a much higher melting point; and dimensionally much more robust.

Think about it logically, how the hell is an engineer going to be soldering at the top of a pole ???

I am simply going on what I watched the BT chap do when he fixed my line.

(The helpline had tried very hard to dissuade me for calling an engineer. Once there he identified the problem immediately and it took about half an hour (including climbing and faffing time) to fix.

Whether it involved soldering I really could give two hoots. Or even a single hoot. The joint was cracked and letting in water. He fixed it.

Ta. Makes sense.

Are there no such things as portable soldering irons?

Yes there are. But as Eckie points out, no soldered joints on overhead blocks.