Junction Boxes, Required or not?

Mar 13, 2023
10
8
South Africa
Hi,

Hope everyone is doing well.

Concerning installation of IP Cameras, specifically a model like this:

Are Junction boxes required for an installation?
The installation will be PoE only, so only a Network Cable passes through.
Is it required, or recommended only?
The cost increases considerably when purchasing Junction Boxes.

As a secondary question.
Would a Dome camera like this require Junction Boxes as well, or isn't it mandatory?

The images per Google and Youtube seems to show that Junction Boxes aren't mandatory.

Thank you,
Have a good day and weekend.
 
Hi,

Hope everyone is doing well.

Concerning installation of IP Cameras, specifically a model like this:

Are Junction boxes required for an installation?
The installation will be PoE only, so only a Network Cable passes through.
Is it required, or recommended only?
The cost increases considerably when purchasing Junction Boxes.

As a secondary question.
Would a Dome camera like this require Junction Boxes as well, or isn't it mandatory?

The images per Google and Youtube seems to show that Junction Boxes aren't mandatory.

Thank you,
Have a good day and weekend.

Hi @SpaceIgniter

The cable connections have to be placed someplace, and leaving it exposed to the elements or vandals, is not what I prefer .. depending on the construction of the building sometimes you can place the cabling connections back into the walls or soffits.
 
Hi @SpaceIgniter

The cable connections have to be placed someplace, and leaving it exposed to the elements or vandals, is not what I prefer .. depending on the construction of the building sometimes you can place the cabling connections back into the walls or soffits.
Hi @mat200,

Thanks for the response. We will be using Outdoor Cat6, so that should help a bit against the elements etc.
Vandal protection will be a problem all round, but the buildings have physical security presence, which helps.

So just to clarify, Junction boxes are a nice to have, but not a requirement?

Thank you,
 
Unless your cable will be coming from directly behind where you mount the cam and there is room for the pigtails for the first cam you've linked I would personally mount it on a junction box.

Just out of interest why have you selected/settled for those cams? There are plenty better available?
 
Hi @mat200,

Thanks for the response. We will be using Outdoor Cat6, so that should help a bit against the elements etc.
Vandal protection will be a problem all round, but the buildings have physical security presence, which helps.

So just to clarify, Junction boxes are a nice to have, but not a requirement?

Thank you,

In general, I really like junction boxes if I can not push the cable connections back into the wall cavity or soffit of the house ..

For brick / concrete and surface mounted, I like conduit and junction boxes.

If you are going to run exposed cables and exposed connections, do lookup drip loops and di-electric gel
 
Unless your cable will be coming from directly behind where you mount the cam and there is room for the pigtails for the first cam you've linked I would personally mount it on a junction box.

Just out of interest why have you selected/settled for those cams? There are plenty better available?
It's mainly due to stock availability and cost.
We don't have a wide range to choose from, at decent pricing.
So taking the entire installation into account, per the cost, it is well worth it,
Those 2 cameras were just examples however We have others included as well.

Regarding the rain etc We'll do a simple protection for outdoor installs and see how it goes,

Thank you again for the responses,
Have a great weekend
 
As others have said, if the actual connections will be exposed and you can't shove them back into the wall or soffit, then a junction box should be used.

Do not think the little "water proof" thing provided is actually water proof.

Use dielectric grease on the connection and self-fusing tape.
 
As others have said, if the actual connections will be exposed and you can't shove them back into the wall or soffit, then a junction box should be used.

Do not think the little "water proof" thing provided is actually water proof.

Use dielectric grease on the connection and self-fusing tape.
Thank you, I sincerely appreciate all the advice and tips.
I'm not an installer by any stretch, but we're doing this in-house.

I've got enough experience with the actual network/NVR/Cam configs, which is my main duty in this.

Thanks again,
Enjoy your weekend.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JDreaming
I’ve had the “waterproof “ connections that come with the cams fail many times. PoF seems to be the grommets don’t make a good seal on thinner Ethernet.
As far as junction boxes, something not mentioned above; if using dome type cameras under a soffit, especially on a single story house consider the facia board overhang size. Might want to use a box as a spacer so you’re not illuminating the back of the facia and blinding yourself at night.
 
I’ve had the “waterproof “ connections that come with the cams fail many times. PoF seems to be the grommets don’t make a good seal on thinner Ethernet.
As far as junction boxes, something not mentioned above; if using dome type cameras under a soffit, especially on a single story house consider the facia board overhang size. Might want to use a box as a spacer so you’re not illuminating the back of the facia and blinding yourself at night.

This is a very good point and another reason why I use junction boxes even where I don’t strictly need one. That extra 1” or so is enough to lift the camera away from the wall and can alter the overall view you can obtain.