Cable TV line in same conduit as electrical?

[klogan121]

I am being told not to run a cable TV line & CAT 5 for a laptop in the same conduit as electrical line, as it would cause interference with TV reception. I am running 220' from house to pole barn, #4 copper, 220 w/ground. Is this true? TV Cable is direct burial, so I can run it separate if needed.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[oleguy]

needs to be seperate.

 

[Norcal]

Use a separate conduit, the cables need to be insulated to the same voltage(Am assuming 240V as there is no such thing as 220V in the USA) as the feeder(, CATV & Cat 5 are not, & there could be interference from the power cables.

 

[Teken]

needs to be seperate.

+1 Must be separated . . . EMI will be induced into the wire causing lines, snow, popping, and other random images such as ghosting . . .

 

[rockwithjason]

no can do. wires run in a conduit together must be of the same insulation level or derated to the lowest insulation level. since catv and cat 5 don't have a specific voltage rating then you must separate them.

 

[Gary S]

It is just as easy to drop two conduits in a trench as to put in one, so just run two. Push one to each side of the trench before filling it with dirt, and your work is done. You can pull the cables into the conduit later.

 

[rodnok1]

second the additional conduit, might as well drop some phone cable in there also.

 

[cowboyjosh]

Everyone is right, low voltage (cat 5, CATV, alarm, etc) must be separate from line voltage per code. Direct burial or not, I would put all wiring from one building to the other thru conduit, I would have no wiring exposed. I would also recommend you install a larger size conduit then you think you'll need for future low voltage wiring runs.

 

[dirttracker18]

might as well drop some phone cable in there also.

Can you not run the phone over the cat5?

 

[cowboyjosh]

Can you not run the phone over the cat5?

you can run pretty much anything, including voice, data, and video, over CAT 5e. I say put in several runs of cat 5e for future needs.

 

[barney rubble]

It may not be code but I have TV cable and phone in with mine and no problems with any of it. Been that way for years.

 

[mrb]

It may not be code but I have TV cable and phone in with mine and no problems with any of it. Been that way for years.

just because something might work doesnt mean its ok or safe to do so.

Cable TV and Phone cables may NOT be installed in the same conduit with line voltage conductors. At all. Ever.

 

[klogan121]

Thanks for all the responses & viewpoints! I will probably run the catv and cat 5 in conduit (a separate one from electrical lines, of course) just to be safe.

 

[Brandon_K]

Thanks for all the responses & viewpoints! I will probably run the catv and cat 5 in conduit (a separate one from electrical lines, of course) just to be safe.

*Probably* shouldn't be entering the equation here. It's against code, period. The NEC code committee doesn't sit around making up code for a fun time, there are reasons behind it. Do you realize that if you do something against code that causes injury or loss of life you can be held liable for it due to negligence?

Seriously here, for a few runs of coax and data, you can use 1/2". 1/2" RNC is DIRT CHEAP, $1.50 for a 10' stick. If it was for an interior application, for a few bucks more use smurf tube (aka ENT), flexible, easy to run, still quite cheap, etc etc.

Just hope an AHJ doesn't see you if you aren't getting this inspected.

 

[klogan121]

*Probably* shouldn't be entering the equation here. It's against code, period. The NEC code committee doesn't sit around making up code for a fun time, there are reasons behind it. Do you realize that if you do something against code that causes injury or loss of life you can be held liable for it due to negligence?

Seriously here, for a few runs of coax and data, you can use 1/2". 1/2" RNC is DIRT CHEAP, $1.50 for a 10' stick. If it was for an interior application, for a few bucks more use smurf tube (aka ENT), flexible, easy to run, still quite cheap, etc etc.

Just hope an AHJ doesn't see you if you aren't getting this inspected.

Wait, it is a required code to run catv in conduit?? Comcast ran my Dad's catv in a shallow trench, directly buried in the ground 25+ years ago!! Still there!! Of course electrical will be run it conduit, no question there!

Ball busting, I love it!!!

 

[mrb]

Wait, it is a required code to run catv in conduit?? Comcast ran my Dad's catv in a shallow trench, directly buried in the ground 25+ years ago!! Still there!! Of course electrical will be run it conduit, no question there!

Ball busting, I love it!!!

no you dont have to run the CATV in conduit. its a good idea, but you dont have to. Should be using underground (flooded) type cable, again good idea but not necessary.

 

[Brandon_K]

Wait, it is a required code to run catv in conduit?? Comcast ran my Dad's catv in a shallow trench, directly buried in the ground 25+ years ago!! Still there!! Of course electrical will be run it conduit, no question there!

Ball busting, I love it!!!

Did I ever say that it was code that you had to run coax in conduit? No, of course not, don't be obtuse.

And even the electrical doesn't HAVE to be run in conduit, you can direct bury UF cable all day long.

Regardless, pulling through conduit helps future proof and can make the day go easier in the right applications. Pulling (4) 500mcm's through conduit? NOT FUN, would have MUCH rather direct burried them summabitches.

 

[BioHazard]

Put some dirt on top of the electrical conduit and run your low voltage wires unprotected there. The VAST MAJORITY of residential cable and phone lines are NOT in conduit and NOT very deep.

If I want to build a new house here, and I want electricity, gas, phone, and cable - all I do is call the power company. They come out, dig a trench 36" deep and lay conduit for the power. Then they backfill to 18" and put in a gas conduit. On top of that they put any low voltage wiring, no protection. This is standard power company operating procedure in this part of the world.

Also, verizon just came out an installed fiber optic lines to my house. No conduit, about 12" deep.

 

[klogan121]

Did I ever say that it was code that you had to run coax in conduit? No, of course not, don't be obtuse.

And even the electrical doesn't HAVE to be run in conduit, you can direct bury UF cable all day long.

Regardless, pulling through conduit helps future proof and can make the day go easier in the right applications. Pulling (4) 500mcm's through conduit? NOT FUN, would have MUCH rather direct burried them summabitches.

What are you saying when you typed "It's against code, period?"
Please clarify.

 

[ddawg16]

The issue of running the CAT 5 and/or coax with the AC power is not an issue of interferance (60hz is a long ways from 300Mhz+)....it's safety.....

If for any reason the protective shield on the wires were to get damaged, you could be putting full AC voltage on the shield of the coax or one or more of the wires of the CAT 5(6).

If it didn't blow your TV or computer, you would sure know about it the moment you touched it.

Low voltage items do not have to be in conduit....but it is a good idea...

But they can NOT be in the same conduit as the ac wiring.

 

[Brandon_K]

What are you saying when you typed "It's against code, period?"
Please clarify.

As stated, it is against code to run low voltage with line voltage.

I didn't catch the "in a seperate conduit of course", I read it as "I'll probably run it in seperate conduit", meaning, I may still run it with the feeder cables.

That was my bad, but it never hurts to reiterate things.

 

[klogan121]

As stated, it is against code to run low voltage with line voltage.

I didn't catch the "in a seperate conduit of course", I read it as "I'll probably run it in seperate conduit", meaning, I may still run it with the feeder cables.

That was my bad, but it never hurts to reiterate things.

Hey, no problem, I appreciate yours and everyone's comments on this topic! Now my questions are answered on how to properly run my wires.