Direct burial cable recommendation

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105437

BIT Beta Team
Jun 8, 2015
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1,115
It’s been almost 8 years since we built our house. At that time, I ran several Cat5e runs to outdoor cameras using direct burial cable.

Just recently I’ve had issues with one camera that’s ~270 feet from the PoE switch in the garage. Cable tester shows there’s a short somewhere.

Rather than trying to find where the shirt is and patch it, I’m going to replace the run. Looking for some good quality direct burial cable and would appreciate some recommendations. Thanks
 
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any DD cable is fine monoprice or unifi.. We're using commscope. cat6 on the pricey side.
 
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As an alternative , if the short is in the orange or green pair, you could swap the bad pair with brown or blue. Adding for due diligence, the camera has to be unplugged when using the cable tester.
 
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@105437 The problem with direct-burying Ethernet cable is that critters (moles, mice, etc.) will find it and eventually chew into it. This is likely what has caused the short. It's much better to bury it in conduit. And I echo the sentiments of the others—Cat 5e is fine, use solid copper, and with the length of this run using PoE, be sure to use 23awg instead of 24 to minimize voltage drop. That said, gel filled will help keep water out, and the taste might discourage critters from chewing past the main sheath into the wires.
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I've ordered a better tester that will tell me which pairs are shorted. It can estimate where the short is. I'm sure that's probably not very accurate. If I can find the damage, I'll patch it temporarily while I run new conduit the length of the run.
 
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105437 said:
Searching for different options to use as conduit. Is gray PVC pipe conduit the most economical one to use?
Click to expand...

That's what I've used .. worked well enough so far for me
 
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105437 said:
Is 1" okay to run one Cat5e and one 14-2? No sharp turns in the run.
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14-2 for power ? should be in a separate conduit perhaps 1 foot away from the other one
 
105437 said:
It’s been almost 8 years since we built our house. At that time, I ran several Cat5e runs to outdoor cameras using direct burial cable.

Just recently I’ve had issues with one camera that’s ~270 feet from the PoE switch in the garage. Cable tester shows there’s a short somewhere.

Rather than trying to find where the shirt is and patch it, I’m going to replace the run. Looking for some good quality direct burial cable and would appreciate some recommendations. Thanks
Click to expand...
If possible, pull two if your going go thru the hassle of pulling one.
If something else happens you might be able to connect with the 2nd one. Or add another camera.
i had 1000 ft. spool of True Cable direct Burial cat5e. I ended up using it inside the condo, for some longer 3 story camera runs, just because it had been laying around not doing anything.
The copper was good quality. Terminated OK. It wasn't very bendable in cold temps ( October-November)
I was doing more than one could ask of it, by going around 90 degree turns tucked under siding. It developed a short as well after a year.
I think trying not to give it too sharp of a bend cuz the jacket is stiffer.
 
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I've seem some places where low voltage runs had very few options but to run across, over, under, along, 120 VAC conduit up in the ceiling of many a Hospital.
I haven't experienced the performance/safety of running 120VAC with Cat6 in PVC. Something tells me there is an electrical code that would need to be followed.
 
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Techie007L said:
@105437 The problem with direct-burying Ethernet cable is that critters (moles, mice, etc.) will find it and eventually chew into it. This is likely what has caused the short. It's much better to bury it in conduit. And I echo the sentiments of the others—Cat 5e is fine, use solid copper, and with the length of this run using PoE, be sure to use 23awg instead of 24 to minimize voltage drop. That said, gel filled will help keep water out, and the taste might discourage critters from chewing past the main sheath into the wires.
Click to expand...
Critters will do that eventually, agreed. Varmint Cong
 
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