POE Camera Set-Up Need Help

Q

quicksilver8907

n3wb
Jul 8, 2018
5
1
Central CA
So I purchased a Reolink poe Camera setup and am working on figuring out cable paths and cable types etc. so my attic is full of blown in insulation so I would much rather run the cables along the eaves of the house. I looked into outdoor rated cat5/6 and they are pretty expensive. I need about 250ft or so. I was considering running a type of conduit to put the cable in and then I can get cheaper cat5/6 cable. I had a thought to use inexpensive water line like this.

1/2-in x 100-ft PEX Pipe https://www.lowes.com/pd/1/2-in-x-100-ft-PEX-Pipe/1000168483

This would give me the flexibility to add more lines in the future. Do you think this would be sufficient to protect the cable under the eaves from water, etc.

Second question I have is there a better solution when running the cables from inside to outside then drilling a hole and just using caulking? Is there a cap or something I could put instead of the caulking? Also the best place to put the dvr is not near my internet connection so I was thinking about using a power line Ethernet adapter to connect it to the internet but I also wanted to run a second hdmi line to a second tv and was thinking about using a power line Ethernet adapter for that as well and I don’t think I could do two powerline adapters... open to any suggestions thanks
 
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The Lowes link you provided is 404. Conduit is always a good idea, but it is said that it’s not IF water will enter conduit, but WHEN. If your going to put cable in conduit then use gell-filled cable and it may live longer than you.

I use Shireen gell-filled cat 5e cable...others swear by Belkin cable.
 
Indoor cable used outdoors will eventually degrade. If you don’t mind having to replace it when it does, do the cheap thing. It will fail and fail at the worst possible time. You can use PEX but it is usually only comes in blue, red and white and you cannot seal the ends like PVC since they do not make fittings for PEX.
 
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quicksilver8907 said:
So I purchased a Reolink poe Camera setup and am working on figuring out cable paths and cable types etc. so my attic is full of blown in insulation so I would much rather run the cables along the eaves of the house. I looked into outdoor rated cat5/6 and they are pretty expensive. I need about 250ft or so. I was considering running a type of conduit to put the cable in and then I can get cheaper cat5/6 cable. I had a thought to use inexpensive water line like this.

1/2-in x 100-ft PEX Pipe https://www.lowes.com/pd/1/2-in-x-100-ft-PEX-Pipe/1000168483

This would give me the flexibility to add more lines in the future. Do you think this would be sufficient to protect the cable under the eaves from water, etc.

Second question I have is there a better solution when running the cables from inside to outside then drilling a hole and just using caulking? Is there a cap or something I could put instead of the caulking? Also the best place to put the dvr is not near my internet connection so I was thinking about using a power line Ethernet adapter to connect it to the internet but I also wanted to run a second hdmi line to a second tv and was thinking about using a power line Ethernet adapter for that as well and I don’t think I could do two powerline adapters... open to any suggestions thanks
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum.
Step 1 return the reolink, they are a scamming lying crap company.
 
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Q™ said:
The Lowes link you provided is 404. Conduit is always a good idea, but it is said that it’s not IF water will enter conduit, but WHEN. If your going to put cable in conduit then use gell-filled cable and it may live longer than you.

I use Shireen gell-filled cat 5e cable...others swear by Belkin cable.
Click to expand...


What do you think about cat6 (to future proof).
DC-2030 - Outdoor CAT6 with Dry Gel Tape UTP - by ft
 
quicksilver8907 said:
So I purchased a Reolink poe Camera setup and am working on figuring out cable paths and cable types etc. so my attic is full of blown in insulation so I would much rather run the cables along the eaves of the house. I looked into outdoor rated cat5/6 and they are pretty expensive. I need about 250ft or so. I was considering running a type of conduit to put the cable in and then I can get cheaper cat5/6 cable. I had a thought to use inexpensive water line like this.

1/2-in x 100-ft PEX Pipe https://www.lowes.com/pd/1/2-in-x-100-ft-PEX-Pipe/1000168483
..
Click to expand...

Welcome @quicksilver8907

Concur with fenderman definitely return the Reolink! While the price seems good - I believe you can find better values.

Seeing that you are in Central CA - probably a good idea to avoid that attic space right now. ( perhaps you can do work in the early AM - starting at 5AM and quit at 10AM? )

For the attic, with blown in insulation I would consider using 3/4"+ grey schedule 40 PVC piping and pushing it to the corners you need. - and then running the cat5e/6 cable through the conduit. Try to keep the number of bends down - too many and you will not be able to pull cable through it.

Other option 1/2" EMT conduit on the outside also works well - harder to work with, but you can buy the elbow and joints and once you a solid performer.

I got 4x cat5e cables through my run - remember to run all cables at the same time with care. Have a friend help you.

w/ regards to gel filled cable - those work well for underground installs - example to a detached garage. So if you are not running that underground you should be OK w/normal cable.
 
My inlaws have the wireless Reolink stuff and they have been happy with the quality and reliability of them thus far. Regardless I may return them. I’m thinking I may not even use the attic at all. It is not very easily accessible and don’t know if it’s really worth it. Probably sticking towards doing everything externally with one entry point to the house. If I end up doing the gel-filled stuff do I really even need conduit? Couldn’t I just run the gel-filled stuff by itself under the eaves?
 
quicksilver8907 said:
My inlaws have the wireless Reolink stuff and they have been happy with the quality and reliability of them thus far. Regardless I may return them. If I end up doing the gel-filled stuff do I really even need conduit? Couldn’t I just run the gel-filled stuff by itself under the eaves?
Click to expand...

Hi @quicksilver8907

There's a lot more to security camera than most consumers / users appreciate. Once you actually have to use them for their intended purposes you start to realize more qualitative issues which typical consumers ignore or are ignorant about.

Q: Can you... just run the gel-filled stuff by itself under the eaves?
A: Yes, of course you can.. up to you what you want to do.

Just check that what ever cable you use outdoors is UV rated for the better performance outdoors.
( if you use conduit, you can use non-UV rated cable and expect it to last a very long time. )

As others noted non-UV rated cable will decay under direct UV exposure - sometimes fairly quickly.

Remember to water proof your connections well, to reduce the chances of shorts.

Please see the cliff notes in the wiki for info.
 
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So would you guys agree that it is acceptable to just run the gel-filled shireen cable or should I do some sort of conduit? It will be up underneath the eaves so it shouldn’t really be that exposed....
 
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+1 to Q's and mat200's advice, no conduit needed since you said "....It will be up underneath the eaves".
 
I'd agree re conduit not required - unless its accessible/within reach when you should add some physical protection from attack, perhaps
 
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