Source for white outdoor Ethernet cable?

Mr_D

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Everything I can find is black and most of it is gel-filled for direct burial. I won't be burying it, but I'll need UV resistance and a white jacket. Black would look ugly as hell and I don't want to paint it.
 

TonyR

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Everything I can find is black and most of it is gel-filled for direct burial. I won't be burying it, but I'll need UV resistance and a white jacket. Black would look ugly as hell and I don't want to paint it.
I have not used this and cannot comment on its performance but here's one that meets your specs. It' s boxed, I think a reel would be less likely to get twisted than a boxed version ('UN-reel"):
Solid copper, Cat-5e, CMX jacket, outdoor, UV-rated
 
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mark_whocares

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Everything I can find is black and most of it is gel-filled for direct burial. I won't be burying it, but I'll need UV resistance and a white jacket. Black would look ugly as hell and I don't want to paint it.

Why do you not want to run it in conduit ?
 

Mr_D

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Why do you not want to run it in conduit ?
Because it's more work and a 3/4" conduit sticks out more on the side of a house than an Ethernet cable. Most of the cameras shouldn't have any exposed wire but some may need a cable run under the eaves. A small number may need cable run along a wall to reach a point where it can enter the attic. The stucco is off-white so white would be a better match than black
 

Travieso

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flynreelow

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I already have the white version of that cable. Good stuff, but not outdoor rated.
do you really need this to be outdoor rated? how much of this cable is actually going to be seen. IMO, none of this cable should be seen around the house. Should be in a box, or conduit as it leaves the attic area, underground, etc.
 

TonyR

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do you really need this to be outdoor rated? .......Should be in a box, or conduit as it leaves the attic area, underground, etc.
Cable in underground conduit MUST be outdoor-rated, as considerable moisture WILL find it's way into the conduit eventually. It does not, however, need to be gel-filled. A HDPE (high density polyethylene) jacket is sufficient.
 
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flynreelow

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Cable in underground conduit MUST be outdoor-rated and suitable for direct burial, as considerable moisture WILL find it's way into the conduit eventually. It does not, however, need to be gel-filled. A HDPE (high density polyethylene) jacket is sufficient.
My apologies @TonyR....

When I said underground i was in reference to the "California Basement" under the house. Usually a small crawl space, where this wire can be tacked up without conduit under the studs. Defiantly not under the earth, as in buried without conduit or the proper "burial" cable rating.
 

TonyR

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My apologies @TonyR....

When I said underground i was in reference to the "California Basement" under the house. Usually a small crawl space, where this wire can be tacked up without conduit under the studs. Defiantly not under the earth, as in buried without conduit or the proper "burial" cable rating.
No apology needed, the clarification sufficed.

Although back in 'Bama since '04, I owned and lived in a house in Santa Clara, CA for 29 years and spent some hours on my belly stringing RG59 coax and CAT-5 cables in that crawl space (and in the attic), so I know first hand about what you were referring to. :cool:
 

tigerwillow1

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Cable in underground conduit MUST be outdoor-rated and suitable for direct burial, as considerable moisture WILL find it's way into the conduit eventually. It does not, however, need to be gel-filled. A HDPE (high density polyethylene) jacket is sufficient.
I agree that there will be water in the conduit, but how does that make its way into an undamaged cable jacket? Most CMR cable has a PVC jacket. I'm certainly no chemist, but I believe that PVC is totally waterproof.
 

TonyR

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I agree that there will be water in the conduit, but how does that make its way into an undamaged cable jacket? Most CMR cable has a PVC jacket. I'm certainly no chemist, but I believe that PVC is totally waterproof.
I'm no chemist either but I rely on 31 years of having to replace on numerous occasions damaged indoor cable with thin PVC jackets in underground conduits. Perhaps there were hairline slits or pinches to the thin jacket when installed, perhaps it was corrosive chemicals in the groundwater, I don't know. But I will say that if Belden stated here that a particular CAT-5e with CMP jacket is for indoor use only I'd go with that.

I retired 14 years ago and I'll make a winning bet that my successors have replaced a few since I left that the moisture mitigation into the PVC jackets started causing problems.

I'm no English major but I'll stick my head out and say that "indoor" means just that and not "outdoor OK if in conduit". :cool:
 
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tigerwillow1

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I'm no chemist either but I rely on 31 years of having to replace on numerous occasions damaged indoor cable with thin PVC jackets in underground conduits.
I take actual experience more seriously than what spec sheets or instruction books say. I combed through the Belden spec sheets and they don't directly address water and moisture resistance. They do address oil and uv resistance. The CMR jackets for instance are oil resistant and the CMP jackets aren't. The Belden outdoor cable isn't rated for direct burial unless it's gel filled. I compared the jackets of come cat6 CMR and outdoor cable I have and they're exactly the same thickness. The only visible difference is that the outdoor cable has a very thin clear plastic layer under the jacket. "Outdoor" cable is generally moisture and uv resistant, and approved for aerial runs. In buried conduit, 2 of these 3 factors don't exist. I just wish the manufacturers would address buried conduit directly.
 

TonyR

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I take actual experience more seriously than what spec sheets or instruction books say.
I guess you missed the first line in my post #15, I also rely on experience, the specs was for your benefit.

I never mentioned direct burial, you did.

I just wish the manufacturers would address buried conduit directly.
Now THAT'S where I trust my experience!

Let's agree to disagree, you can pull Radio Shack bell wire from here to there, indoors or out, in conduit or not, I really don't care. You sure won't be working for me and I won't be working for you.
 
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tigerwillow1

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Let's agree to disagree
I'm at a loss where the disagreement is. The only things I've asserted in this thread are:
- Most CMR cable has a PVC jacket
- PVC is waterproof
- I take actual experience seriously
- I posted some physical characteristics of cable I have on hand
- I repeated some info from Belden spec sheets
- I noted the spec sheets address various environmental characteristics but not moisture resistance
- I wish the cable manufacturers would specifically address cable in buried conduit

I mentioned the spec sheet you pointed me to is for CMP cable only because I had specifically mentioned CMR.
I mentioned direct burial because it was mentioned in the first post of the thread and you mentioned in in post #9.

And I was dumb enough to ask how moisture got into cable with a waterproof jacket. Lesson learned.
 

TonyR

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I'm at a loss where the disagreement is. And I was dumb enough to ask how moisture got into cable with a waterproof jacket. Lesson learned.
Again I refer to my post #15 wherein I stated "....having to replace on numerous occasions damaged indoor cable with thin PVC jackets in underground conduits. Perhaps there were hairline slits or pinches to the thin jacket when installed, perhaps it was corrosive chemicals in the groundwater, I don't know."

I don't know any other way to state that I (as in me, myself and I) will always recommend (not demand or insist) when asked, that outdoor-rated cable (not indoor-rated as in riser or plenum) be installed in underground conduits.

I did not dream it, I did not make it up and I did not imagine it....I replaced many cables, perhaps 20 to 30 in possibly 10 locations, that actually failed due to moisture penetrating a thin, PVC indoor-rated jacket on a cable that was pulled into an underground conduit.

I apologize for coming off as rude before but I stick by what I said and won't argue with you any more. I also rely on experience and mine tells me to stick by what I have observed and experienced personally, not by what I read or what someone told me, including successes and failures.

I expect you'll do the same and that's up to you and I wish you only the best of luck!
 
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