Can outdoor-rated Ethernet cable be in-wall rated as well? - *** Installed CAT5e - 895 Mbps!

[Eug]

As I wrote in this thread, after getting some electrical work done to my house, my max sustained data streaming speeds over powerline networking have dropped significantly. I used to be able to reliably stream 720p and usually stream 1080p24, but after having the electrical work done (new circuits and heating/cooling units), even 720p streaming stutters incessantly. (BTW, the breaker panel was full, so a lot of the circuit breakers had to be changed to 2-pole slim breakers to fit the new circuits in.)

So, one consideration is just to drill a hole in my home office wall (where my DSL router is), run Ethernet (CAT5e or CAT6) outside the house along the wall, and then drill another hole to get to my home theatre.

However, to meet code, I need in-wall rated cable, and to last outside in the sun and snow, I need outdoor cable. Does outdoor network cable mean in-wall rated as well? Or are the rating systems completely independent? If the latter, then do cables exist that meet both specs?

I've been looking around, but the cables I've seen for sale have one or the other rating but not both. Maybe I've just been looking in the wrong spot I dunno.

P.S. Even if I got CAT6, I'd probably just crimp the thing myself, with CAT5e termination stuff if necessary... even though I've never actually done it before. I'd just buy a $25 crimp tool and some plugs... and leave lots of extra cable at each end just in case.

 

[imported_hopeless]

I remember reading a while back something along the lines that in wall cables can't use certain materials so in case of a fire they wouldn't generate toxic fumes.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: hopeless
I remember reading a while back something along the lines that in wall cables can't use certain materials so in case of a fire they wouldn't generate toxic fumes.

That's when you are running cables through air ducts. In case of a fire you don't want all the fumes spreading throughout the whole building by the air handlers.

 

[Eug]

OK, I've been doing some research.

Outdoor cable - UV-resistant and thick outer covering, and may even be gel-filled to resist moisture. The gel-filled cables can be buried underground.

Indoor cable:
CMX - Regular residential cable
CMR - Riser rated, which means they can be used vertically, as the covering burns slowly so it won't be a quick way to spread fire upstairs.
CMP - Plenum rated, which means they don't produce as much toxins when burning, so they can be used in air ducts.

Apparently all the CM_ rated cable can be used in-wall.

I found some Outdoor CMR (riser) rated CAT5e cable at the local Home Depot which is perfect features-wise for my needs. Unfortunately, it's white, and I don't feel like stringing up white cable on the side of my house.

I'm thinking of buying some gel-filled cable instead. The cable won't be buried, but it would get covered in snow for months on end, so I'm thinking the gel could help. Then again, I wonder if having gel could make the crimping a lot more messy. Anyone here ever work with gel-filled cable? Otherwise, I could just get the plain UV-resistant outdoor cable. It comes in black which is OK.

 

[Modelworks]

The gel filled cable is perfect for burying but it can be messy. Still you just cut it off, squeeze the cable a bit and wipe off the gel, then crimp like usual. Code is fine with running on the outside of the home as long as the cable is at least UV rated. Ethernet cable on the outside of the home is treated the same as phone or coax cable, it's under the low voltage wiring spec. I would go with the gel filled if its going to be in a wet area like snow. You can order black gel filled cable online here:
http://www.cat6cableguy.com/inc/sdetail/14224

 

[Eug]

Thanks. I had already emailed them as they sell it in 100 ft increments. However, they don't ship to Canada at this time.

I found a local guy that has some black gel-filled CAT-5e, but he only sells in 1000 ft spools. I don't want to spend that kind of cash, esp. since I only need 50-60 feet. So, I'm emailing others to see if they'll ship here for cheap.

The only one concern I have though is most of the outdoor cable I've seen is not CMR. The cable will go through my wall from my home office to the outside. However, that home office is on the second floor, and then the cable will run down the surface of the outside wall to about ground level before before rerouting to the garage along the outside wall. So, technically, I'd should really be thinking about getting riser rated cable, no? The codes here in Canada aren't the same as in the US, but nonetheless it does make me wonder.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: Eug
Thanks. I had already emailed them as they sell it in 100 ft increments. However, they don't ship to Canada at this time.

I found a local guy that has some black gel-filled CAT-5e, but he only sells in 1000 ft spools. I don't want to spend that kind of cash, esp. since I only need 50-60 feet. So, I'm emailing others to see if they'll ship here for cheap.

The only one concern I have though is most of the outdoor cable I've seen is not CMR. The cable will go through my wall from my home office to the outside. However, that home office is on the second floor, and then the cable will run down the surface of the outside wall to about ground level before before rerouting to the garage along the outside wall. So, technically, I'd should really be thinking about getting riser rated cable, no? The codes here in Canada aren't the same as in the US, but nonetheless it does make me wonder.

I bet that's only for commercial installations, for residential use you should be okay but I would definitely check it out if you are concerned.

 

[Eug]

Thanks Crusty. You are right. I called the city and the guy said this really applies to commercial installations. For my residential application it's perfectly OK, as long as the cable meets basic residential spec.

As Modelworks said, it's treated similar to coax, and they don't really worry much about it.

 

[Eug]

Wow, it's remarkably hard to find gel-filled outdoor CAT6 locally, and I live in a city of several million people. However, I did find some gel-filled outdoor CAT5e so I'll just get that. I guess very few people use it though, because the vast majority of the electrical supply depots locally do not carry even the CAT5e gel-filled stuff.

I believe this is the specific one:

General Cable 5136100

 

[Eug]

I installed the new gel-filled CAT5e today. That cable is annoying to work with as it is VERY stiff.

As for the crimping, I just wiped off the goop and then crimped down as usual as instructed here. I also got two refurb D-Link DGS-2205 Gigabit switches, and I hit 401 Mbps for file transfers. :Q However, that's a transfer from my iMac to my MacBook. Given that the transfer rate is 48 MB/s, I think that 401 Mbps might be because I've topped out the hard drive. I wonder if I can go even higher with something like iPerf. I tried installing it, but the Darwin Ports app for Mac OS X crashes on install.

BTW, at one point I had tried some cheapo patch cable, but it limited me to 90 Mbps. That surprised me, especially since I also tried some other CAT5 cable (not CAT5e), and I was able to get 401 Mbps out of that too. That CAT5 cable was labelled as rated to 100 MHz though. Anyways, I threw out that cheapo patch cable.

EDIT:

Yup, the hard drive was limiting the speed.

iperf tells me I'm getting 895 Mbps.