USING CAT 5 OUTSIDE

[mmais68569]

I am working on a set of landscape lights using the Rainbow Brain as the controller & 10 Rainbow Spots as the lighting. My question, using cat 5 cable & placing it in 1/2" plastic conduit can I get away with using the normal cable or do I need to go to the Cat 5 for outdoor use? This will be a permanent install, will be used 365 days.

             Mike

[Randy_A]

If it is in conduit I don't see it being a problem.

,Randy

[taybrynn]

If its cheap enough, you could run a spare, just in case something happens to the main one.  I know a lot of sprinker guys already run redundant wires, just in case.

[tbone321]

The issue here is many think that when in conduit the wire stays dry.  The truth is that it doesn't.  Water leaks in and condensation will cause water to collect in the conduit and stay there for extended periods of time and in contact with the wire.  The insulation on outdoor wire has two properties that indoor wire doesn't.  One is UV resistance and the other is extended water resistance.  The conduit will protect the wire from UV damage but will not always protect it from water contact.  Now this is low voltage so there is no real risk of shock.  The only possible long term issue that I see is corrosion due to water in the conduit that could cause the lights to dim or wire to completely fail.  I would assume that it could take years for that to happen if at all so I would not be all that worried about using it, just that it might not hold up forever.

[vairmoose]

Mike,   are you planning to bury the conduit or will it be in the air?   

  If the later, then just provide a way for condensation to drain out...  this would extend the life of your wire considerably.    If you are planning to bury the conduit,   you would need to bury a junction box that can drain at a low point.   Not an easy solution but the only thing that comes to mind.   

Larry   

[chrisatpsu]

or add a "T" every so often, pointing down with an amt of length to the pipe

[mnarel]

Buy the outdoor rated Cat5.  Conduit is used to protect the wire from damage if someone digs into the location you buryed the wire, it isn't for waterproofing.   The outdoor cat will do a better job , be easier to install, and probably end up costing less than wire + conduit.    Just make sure you bury it at least 12" and/or mark it so if someone ever has to dig there it won't get cut.

[JDM1oc]

The gel-filled direct burial rated cat5 is not cheap, but it is very durable and the best product for your application, as long as it is terminated with weatherproof connectors.

I’m not saying that you should use indoor cat5 cable outside, but I’ve had a regular blue PVC cat5 cable on a 25 foot aerial run between two buildings for 13 years without a problem in southern California. Coincidently, that cable was “temporarily” strung because of the failure of a cat5 cable in an old transite conduit that had collapsed.

Josh