[SOLVED] Laying conduit for Cat6 run

[Barty1884]

Hi all,

Looking for some tips/thoughts on laying conduit for Ethernet runs to a detached garage.

Builder wanted to charge a fortune to do it, but agreed to do conduit through the house to the rear exterior, with a pull string. They've given me a wink-wink, the trenching (for electrical) will be done in the next couple of days, if I want to come by and do it before the concrete patio pad & garage pad are poured, now would be the time.

My plan was just to cheap out, and run some direct burial gel-filled Cat6 from the conduit and just pull back the sod a bit to get it out of the way. Now the opportunity presents itself, I'm debating whether to do something properly...

Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.

Going from here:

To approx:

 

[bill001g]

You won't need shield cable at that distance. Pretty much it would only need it if you ran in inside the same conduit as the power. The distance is much too great and the dirt will absorb any possible magnetic induced interference

Besides shield cable must be properly grounded on both ends or it can act as a antenna. You also are suppose to have a completely separate ground from the one used by the power.

Pretty much you spend money trying to solve a problem that does not exist and you likely install it incorrectly.

Shielded cable in most cases is used to prevent the ethernet signals from leaking out not due to interference. It is used in things like airplanes or medical installations mostly. You might find it in some industrial application but it is not a common thing to find.

 

[SamirD]

Beyond expanding the radius of bends & simplicity of a pull, I don't see any need for 2-3" pipe? Sure, more could go through the pipe at a later date, but would be strictly low voltage (obv), and I don't see any way that I'd come anywhere close to filling a 2-3" pipe....

You just switched to fibre on me.... While I'm not opposed, this would require converters at either end, which seems overkill. Exterior>Lightning Suppressor>PVC>Suppressor #2>Into garage, converters just add an extra layer that seems unnecessary to me. Am I missing something?

Does fibre function with POE/POE+? I'm sure I could Google that...

It's not about filling the pipe--it's about pulling the cable. Until you've pulled cable through both sizes or had to re-pull it, it's night and day difference. And if you're dealing with fibre you can't stress it as much as copper or you'll have breaks.

Yes you are--there can be a grounding differential that can induce unwanted current in the cable. This can cause all sorts of havoc. Fibre just removes this issue completely. And switches with sfps are pretty cheap used. I paid like $20 for my Dell with sfps in it.

I don't think there's poe with fibre.

 

[SamirD]

Well, just saw the pic so too late for larger tubing, but your bends look nice so cable should pull through there without any issue. pre-terminated fibre might be an issue though, so I guess that's out now.

 

[Barty1884]

You won't need shield cable at that distance. Pretty much it would only need it if you ran in inside the same conduit as the power. The distance is much too great and the dirt will absorb any possible magnetic induced interference

Thanks! Good to know. Was figuring better safe than sorry, but if there's no issue there, I won't bother.

It's not about filling the pipe--it's about pulling the cable. Until you've pulled cable through both sizes or had to re-pull it, it's night and day difference. And if you're dealing with fibre you can't stress it as much as copper or you'll have breaks.

Oh I'm sure it is night & day - and if I were doing it regularly, I can completely see the convenience of a 2" pipe over 3/4". There's already a pull-string through the conduit in the house, which is going to be far more complex of a pull vs the ~25Ft, relatively straight once it reaches outside. I may well regret the 3/4" decision when it comes time to pull, but it is what it is. I needed to get it in last night, so if they have any issues I can run back out tonight.