Should I use STP cat 5 or UTP cat 5 1

[MoondogCCR]

Hello!

I'm wiring a house that formerly had no cabling system whatsoever.

I have to (there is positively no other way) to expose to the exterior of the house about 4-5 feet of an 80 feet long cable. Those 4-5 feet will be exposed to direct sunlight and rain!.

My question is. Is it safe to install a UTP cat 5 cable? Will it hold out been in the outdoors like that, or should I instead install a STP cat 5 cable? (or some other type?)

 

[TouchToneTommy]

STP won't make any difference in regard to exposure to the elements. The S in STP is "Shielded", intended to be grounded and eliminate RF interference.

Install weatherproof conduit on the outside of the house and run your cat-5 through that.

There is also available black jacketed, gel-filed cat-5 designed to be run through underground conduit that may be subject to water intrusion. You could run this exposed on the outside of the house without the conduit.

 

[MoondogCCR]

Will take in consideration

Great Advise, thanks!

 

[kcottrcdd]

One other situation that you may want to take into consideration if running Cat 5 cable outdoors is that it will be exposed to potential lightning strikes. Even if you use Outdoor rated Cat 5, A lightning strike to the cable could cause damage to equipment on either end of the cable. If your cable is exposed in this way - You should look at installing protection on both ends of the cable.

 

[MWM]

There is inexpensive plastic molding available from wiring wholesalers and you can get similar material from Home Depot.

Even flexible plastic electical conduit would function as a physical protection from the elements.

Probably you are needing to protect against direct physical and environmental impacts, not temperature and water, though the plastic stuff would help there, too.

Yours, Mike

 

[Guest_imported]

If the cable is going to be outside be sure it is rated outdoor. This indicates that the jacket is able to withstand UV exposure. The same is true for any conduit.

I have seen PVC Cat5 that lost ALL it's insulation due to exposure.

 

[frinkk]

here's a suggestion,
terminate both ends before the outside run into a dvo or jack connector and then run a patch cord on the exterior.
This way you will only have to replace the 4' to 5' patch cord when it fails instead of the whole run.
It's not a reccommended proceedure but under the cercumstance, probably worth it, because sooner or later the cable will fail.
As mentioned earlier in this thread "Make sure you have lightning protection"