wallleyes Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Does anyone know if they make cat5 cables with insulation for cold weather?I bought 10 fifty foot cables last year and everyone of them i had to move around outside the insulation broke in several places.It would be worth paying more if i knew that they would not break.The cables i bought had blue insulation around them.Anyone else have this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Batzdorf Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Try this guy http://www.cat5ecableguy.com or just google outdoor cat5e cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2250Lights Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 OK, so if I want to put my controllers in my yard next to the trees (or other lighted objects), is there a very specific CAT 5 cable I need to run between the controllers (in the weather)? I know each controller needs to be linked in a series to the one that is connected to my computer (because I do not have the MP3 ShowTime). Would it be better to run all the extra length of extension cords into my garage and save time and worry with the weather getting to my CAT 5 cables?Sorry if this is confusing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I don't remember seeing much about issues with cold weather on the cat 5 cables. I don't know if we have a case of exceptionally poor cables that caused this one issue, or extreme weather. I don't think you are in an extreme climate location, so I would think you should be fine with just about any cat 5 cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I bought a 500-ft box of UV-resistant black CAT5 cable from the local electronics store. It cost twice as much as the blue indoor cable, but it has never failed in several seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallleyes Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 These blue 50 foot cat5 cables i bought on ebay from a china seller.Maybe at $3.70 each i got what i paid for.I will get some outdoor cables for this year.thanks for the responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmomkr Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 There are several types of outdoor cat-5 on the market.Basic outdoor cable only has a UV coating on it. You can buy it at homedepot. Prolonged exposure to sunlight makes the jacket on regular cat5 brittle, (and in your case cold) I dont think this type of cable will help much.The next best thing is called "Flooded Core" this cable is injected with silicone. The outer jacket on this cable is usually heavier. The silicone filling keeps water out so its good to use in places with a lot of water/rain.Finally a good heavy duty outdoor cable has a thick outer jacket, then usually foil, plastic, inner jacket, cotton and finally the wire pairs.http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/345417965/outdoor_stp_cat5e_cable.htmlI used some of this type on my floods from christmasonmannor.Lastly I d also say - cat5 on a spool is pretty cheap.I have used the same stuff for 3 years, but the day it does crack/break, Ill throw it out and pull a new piece off the spool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXmas Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 It gets real cold in Northern Alberta -30 and colder.I have used the same cable for 2 years now.But when it is below freezing I don't touch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I'll add that contamination and corrosion of the cable ends are actually higher on my list of concerns than the Cat 5 jacket. I have a couple of runs that have been outside, in UV exposure for 2 years now, with occasional freezing weather, with no issues. I have no complaints about the eventual need to replace them, as I am sure they will fail from UV exposure before too many more years.One more thought, ROHS cable may actually be more likely to become brittle in weather, but I am not currently clear how much of the temperature stability is a function of the stabilizer, and how much is a function of the plasticizers. But the lead free, or reduced lead vinyl stabilizers may not be as good as the lead bearing product. And there are some concerns that at least one of the substitute, organic tin compounds, may actually have worse health effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Young Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I echo what Kevin said - the ends can be a significant issue, should they become corroded..I use the standard CAT5 black cable. It is buried under the snow and ice usually until well into spring. This year was the exception, as I was able to get all my cords up before Jan 1st!In the 5 years I have been using a 100 ft run of CAT5 out to my 4 megatree controllers, it has held up well. No breaks, or cracks in insulation are visible. There is no noise on the line.Taken care of these cables can last fairly well, especially if their jackets are uv resistant.Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Burge Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Well I guess you guys up north don't have to worry about the uv rays too much as it seems the cables end up buried in snow for most of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Jason Burge wrote: Well I guess you guys up north don't have to worry about the uv rays too much as it seems the cables end up buried in snow for most of the season.You got that right no UV rays north of the border in Alberta in Dec. the only question I would have is why are you guys moving your cat 5 cable after everything is hooked up, once I hook everything up it stays there untill I am done with the show for the season, then I carefully coil it up and store in it my heated room untill I need it again.I can certainly see the guys in the southern part of the states using a cat 5 with the UV protection though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Batzdorf Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I haven't had any insulation issues for the past 5 years. Any connector issues that i have had I have been able to correct with a brass brush and then coat with silicone dielectric. No issues with that connector. I have one network jack outside that is my feeder for one section of the controllers. I treated that way and no further problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Saul Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Here is the cable that I use for all outdoor work in MN. I've got thousands of feet of this burried and stapled to building, never had a problem. http://verticalcable.com/product_display.php?prodid=059-485/CMXF&parentid=of course if you dont want to crimp the ends on, it will cost you more but you can buy pre-made patch cords http://www.buy.com/sr/searchresults.aspx?loc=101&sid=1&qu=Outdoor+Waterproof+Cat5E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Young Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Jason Burge wrote: Well I guess you guys up north don't have to worry about the uv rays too much as it seems the cables end up buried in snow for most of the season.True, but we get more dramatic temperature changes - ranging from wet rains to freezing sleet, to ice and snow, which certainly has the potential to cause significant damage to the outer insulation (cracks, etc), which you guys down South don't have to deal with.Different stressors, but stressors nonetheless!Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Fischer Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Can anyone vouch for how well the standard monoprice cables hold up in cold weather? Some of you know me as "the guy who still uses a lot of flat phone wire in his display". That's going to be put to an end now, and I plan on purchasing all new Cat-5 cables from monoprice, unless someone warns me away from them...I have a few homemade cat-5 cables I've been using as power cables for LED banks, and I've seen some insulation damage on those. I've simply repaired them with electrical tape (it was only the outer jacket affected) and although they're a bit uglier, they work just fine. But I'd prefer to avoid this issue going forward... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawes Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 For anyone about to build new cables:monoprice is having a sale on their crimper.http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monoprice.com%2Fproducts%2Fproduct.asp%3Fc_id%3D105%26cp_id%3D10509%26cs_id%3D1050901%26p_id%3D3352%26seq%3D1%26format%3D2%26utm_source%3DFacebook%26utm_medium%3DDailyDeal%26utm_campaign%3DFacebook_DailyDeal_3352&h=c5fe3They also have Direct Burial cat5e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Fischer Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 khawes wrote: They also have Direct Burial cat5eI was given some long Cat-5 direct burial cable at the Chicago Mini. It's really good, durable stuff.-Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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