using UTP cable outside?

IAmATeaf

IAmATeaf

IAmATeaf

Soldato
Joined
3 Apr 2007
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South of the Watford Gap!
Can I just use some standard cat6 cable and bury it outside?

I need to put a cable between my office and the living room for the PS3, easiest way to do this is drill out from the office, then run a pair of cables out and then down, across the drive then back up and into the lounge. As I'm having my driveway redone soon I could get the cable buried with only the up points visible.

Problem is there is external grade cable but it's sold in big 305m reels and I only need around 15m in total so am wondering if I could just use some standard cable or can anybody suggest a place that sells external grade by the meter?
 
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Plenty of people use standard cable outdoors, since yours will be underground i'd suggest running it through normal garden hose or plastic piping first, make sure it's well sealed and you'll be fine.
 
I used a Cat5E going from 1 window to another, and it has been out there for about 3-4 years! Hasn't failed (yet!)
 
I would do as dave-lew99 says. If you are running it alongside power cable, get shielded cable. Also means its got an extra layer of protection.
 
What about cat5e versus cat6? seems that cat5e can do 1gb, just thought I'd get cat6 to make it more future proof - whatever that means :)
 
well cat6 is just a higher cable grade - better for longer runs etc, but technically cat5e meets the spec for gigabit, if the price difference isn't huge then get cat6.

You could even run a cable for telephone out there...
 
Right I think I've come up with the perfect compromise, I'm going to get any colour normal cat6 solid conductor cable and get some pvc sleeving wide enough to take 2 of these cables, I'll sleeve both cables together before burying them, should be protection enough I think, now to find somewhere where I don't need to buy 300+ metres of the stuff.
 
Run at least one more length than you think you'll need - you'll need it. Can also be used for testing. You can use the Cat5 for phone as well.

you should bury them in either a hose or a pipe, if you use a pipe with a inch or 2 diameter, you will be able to pull cables through in the future (coax etc?) if you leave a pull string in the pipe as well.

Bury the pipe at least 12 inch in the ground I think is the regs with a tape to indicate what type of cable it is ... buried an inch or two above.
 
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