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Running CAT-5 cable outside.

Z

zylander

Platinum Member
Im trying to run a ethernet cable down to my basement which is two floors down. My original plan was to follow the same route the coax cable for my TV follows which is out my wall, down the outside of the house and in the wall of the basement. Is it a bad idea to run an ordinary cat-5 cable outside? If i were to do this, for the most part, the cable would be under window sills, so it woudl only be fully exposed in a few places. So is this ok, or should I try and find a way to run it inside of the house? Thanks.
 
hmm - if i really was not interested in the hassle of running it inside I would just do it and see how long it fairs, if it didn't last long I would consider running it down the walls or something...

of course I get cat-5 bulk heh
 
I know some companies will use a lot of rubber around cables going underground outside because of the copper inside. Lightning is attracted to it, but this is when they use a large bundles. I do not know the risk of putting one cable on the side of your house.
 
I'm sure it will be fine. My family had outdoor speakers set up using crappy indoor speaker cable. It was fine for 5+ years, then we took it down.
 
I'd find a way to run it inside the house... CAT5 is unshielded (unlike coaxial cable) so it'll be subjected to all kinds of RFI/EMI outside. The sheathing on most CAT5 cable isn't designed for outdoor use. I'd guess that in a couple of years the sheathing would be dry and cracking if it's in direct sunlight. I suppose you could find CAT5 that's meant for outdoor use, or run conduit, but that's probably a lot more work than running the cable inside. Couple things to keep in mind... running the CAT5 too close to power lines will likely cause problems... try to keep it at least 6-12 inches away, and if you must cross a power line, do it at a right angle.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I'd find a way to run it inside the house... CAT5 is unshielded (unlike coaxial cable) so it'll be subjected to all kinds of RFI/EMI outside. The sheathing on most CAT5 cable isn't designed for outdoor use. I'd guess that in a couple of years the sheathing would be dry and cracking if it's in direct sunlight. I suppose you could find CAT5 that's meant for outdoor use, or run conduit, but that's probably a lot more work than running the cable inside. Couple things to keep in mind... running the CAT5 too close to power lines will likely cause problems... try to keep it at least 6-12 inches away, and if you must cross a power line, do it at a right angle.
Click to expand...

There is probably more EMI/RFI interference inside then outside. I have had Cat5 outside for several years with no issues. The powerline stuff is right on target. Also, make sure you secure the cable correctly, and put drip loops in before you go into the walls.
 
Well, I will explore running it inside again, but its most likely going outside, there just isnt any good way to do it inside. What is a dip loop by the way? Ive probably seen them before, just cant match up the name.
 
drip loop, not dip 😉

Text about halfway down the page. I usually make a full loop and zip the loop up. It just makes sure the entry is not the low point. Water will follow the cable into the house/walls without it.
 
I had a cat-5 wire (unshielded) running outside in the sun for 3+ years with no problems other than the wire changing colours 😛

 
I would run the cable outside like you propose in a heartbeat. A big deal might happen if you are running the cable parallel to any type of power line or submerging it in your fish pond on its way to your basement. The big issue with CAT 5 outside is when you are burying it.

Normal Cat 5 cable is made of PVC material stuffs and will dry, crack discolor if it is exposed to the elements (sun, rain, etc.) If you are worried find some that is rated for outdoors.
 
I've had standard (indoor) CAT5 cable running over my (clay tile and flat) roof in Arizona for about ten years now. I really don't have many choices on where to run the cable. My house has no attic, no crawlspace, and burying the cable would be a major PITA.

It's really NOT a good idea. It's considered a safety hazard. Theoretically, it could introduce minor or major surges in case of a nearby lightning strike. But where I live, lightning storms are pretty rare. Near- or direct-strikes are ALMOST non-existent. Doing this COULD kill me, but so could driving to the grocery store.

I didn't bother running the cable inside PVC. I figured it'd be cheaper (and tons less work) to just replace the cable after the sun ate it up. After seven years, the first cable's outer insulation was gone in a few places, but the exposed internal conductors were still intact and the network worked fine at 100Mbps over a 150 foot run.

I've had a couple of ports on two different switches fail over the years. That could have been caused by induced voltages. But, so far, I've had no other apparent problems.
 
For me it's all about time most homes have fire breaks in the walls I have the experience and the tools but going through fire breaks = time and drywall work probably.

If I could save myself time and money, On my own home, if it doesn?t look to bad or is not seen.

If after a couple of years you have trouble just change it again you will probably want to change the cable for technology reasons anyways.

If you don?t like it ez up ez down.
 
I had someone who didn't want to make holes in drywall to run cable, so I ran the CAT5 through the heating ducts. Just have to be careful not to cut or kink the cable while pulling it through the metal ductwork.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I had someone who didn't want to make holes in drywall to run cable, so I ran the CAT5 through the heating ducts. Just have to be careful not to cut or kink the cable while pulling it through the metal ductwork.
Click to expand...
Discussion about potential risks in running cabling in ventilation ducts.

I'm not sure WHAT insulation is used in current CAT5 cables. Also, obviously the NUMBER of cables run in the ventilation ducts would affect the amount of fumes that could be carried through the ducts. To the best of my knowledge, it's a violation of fire code in the U.S. to run network cabling in a ventilation duct.
 
That?s what plenum cable is for, you may already have it just read the cable and or the box it came in.

Yeah don't use standard cable.
 
Looks like only the non-halogen insulation could possibly give off fumes that could be carried through ducts in the absence of a fire. It seems to me that the article is talking more in terms of a business setting. It also seems to me that metal heating ducts would add that much more protection from fire for the cables.

That's an interesting article though considering Comcast ran coax through heating ducts in my house. I wonder what type of insulation that has.
 
Did a little investigating. Plenum cable should be marked with CMP on the sheath and can pretty much be run anywhere you want. CM, or CMG is General Purpose cable, and is only permitted for running cable on a single floor, not through ceilings or floors. CMR is riser cable and can be used through ceilings or floors, but not in plenum spaces, which includes the space above drop ceilinlgs.

*EDIT* I also found a 4th type, CMX, which is for use outdoors. So OP, get yourself some CMX rated cable and go for it. 😀
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Did a little investigating. Plenum cable should be marked with CMP on the sheath and can pretty much be run anywhere you want. CM, or CMG is General Purpose cable, and is only permitted for running cable on a single floor, not through ceilings or floors. CMR is riser cable and can be used through ceilings or floors, but not in plenum spaces, which includes the space above drop ceilinlgs.

*EDIT* I also found a 4th type, CMX, which is for use outdoors. So OP, get yourself some CMX rated cable and go for it. 😀
Click to expand...

Thumbs up to you for looking around and finding this usefull info for the OP. I'll have to look at what cable my wireless ISP guy uses, and I'll check on CMX grade for his next spool.
 
Thanks for all the information everyone, and Jeff for all those different types of cable, the spool I have is CMG.

Here is a picture to show exactly what I was thinking of doing, please ignore the extremely ghetto run coax cable 🙂; Text

The cable is going to run from the room at the top floor down to the basement which is that small third window down. My original plan was to follow the run of that coax cable, but actually secure it to the house. It was going to go out that wall where the router is, down that trench, then around the corner and underneath that big bay window on the 2nd floor down, then down to that little hole where the coax is.

But, now Im thinking Ill just drill another hole in the basement in the wall next to the trench and just have the cable go straight down. If I did it this way, only about 15' worth of cable will be outside, and it will be in that trench that gets barely any sunlight. Ill still look into getting some of that CMX cable tho.
 
I ran a cat 5 outside a window to a downstairs window for years and never had an issue.
Not the best way to do it, but never had an issue either.

/shrug
 
From what I've seen out here in Iraq running any Cat 5 cable outside will work for awhile, of course its not the best way to do it but it'll work. I've seen countless cables running on the ground from one building to another that go well over 300' and they are surprisingly durable. If they can handle ~125F summers and ~40F winters you shouldn't have any problems and its not like we're using any special cable, we're the military, we use the cheapest bidder 🙂
 
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