Communication cables and Hydro question

[Duane]

Can someone tell me a safe distance to keep phone, cat5e cable, and coax cable away from hydro wires inside a studded wall.

I realize the ideal is to keep these as far away as possible, but what can I get away with?

I needed to route many electrical(120 Volt) wires over the header of my garage door to get hydro onto the other walls of my garage.

I also need to run communication wires to that same wall and would like to use the same path ,but I am afraid of interference from the hydro wires.

None of the wires are inside conduit, they are just going through studs, but over the header area of the door I may only be able to keep this bundle of communication wires about 2 1/2 inches away from the hydro wires

Would this distance be a problem if none of the wires is inside conduit?

Please advise oh wise ones.

Thanks

Duane

 

[fefarms]

Can someone tell me a safe distance to keep phone, cat5e cable, and coax cable away from hydro wires inside a studded wall.

I realize the ideal is to keep these as far away as possible, but what can I get away with?

Would this distance be a problem if none of the wires is inside conduit?

Please advise oh wise ones.

Thanks

Duane

You are talking about 16 feet of parallelism at 2.5 inches separation. This is too close and too perfectly aligned for too much distance.

That said, the telephone and analog TV will be impacted the most. Digital TV, DBS, and ethernet you might get away with despite an almost textbook worst-case arrangement. Steady resistive loads like incandescent lights and electric heaters will be less of a problem with the phone than motors, welders, computers, fluorescent tubes, and other loads with harmonics.

If it were me I'd find another way to route the communication lines. Through the attic? On the surface of the ceiling? Outside the garage on the soffit? There has to be something better than what you plan. It's all low voltage and doesn't have to be protected like Romex.

 

[nehog]

? what is a hydro wire?

 

[fefarms]

? what is a hydro wire?

Hydro is Canadian for "electric"

 

[ishiboo]

Can someone tell me a safe distance to keep phone, cat5e cable, and coax cable away from hydro wires inside a studded wall.

I realize the ideal is to keep these as far away as possible, but what can I get away with?

I needed to route many electrical(120 Volt) wires over the header of my garage door to get hydro onto the other walls of my garage.

I also need to run communication wires to that same wall and would like to use the same path ,but I am afraid of interference from the hydro wires.

None of the wires are inside conduit, they are just going through studs, but over the header area of the door I may only be able to keep this bundle of communication wires about 2 1/2 inches away from the hydro wires

Would this distance be a problem if none of the wires is inside conduit?

Please advise oh wise ones.

Thanks

Duane

Ethernet won't care, digital TV won't care, analog telephone probably won't care. Run RG6 quad shield for TV (not much more than RG6 and common for satellite systems). If you're worried, you could also run shielded Cat 5E for both phone and data to save money buying two different types of wire. All my phone lines are Cat 5E and this is how commercial installs in over a decade work

 

[nehog]

Duh, and I grew up in Canada!

My advice is 6 inches wherever possible, but 2 to 3 inches in some places will not be a major problem. Use the Cat-6 for your telephones too, as regular phone wire is not nearly as good.

 

[tfi racing]

You are talking about 16 feet of parallelism at 2.5 inches separation. This is too close and too perfectly aligned for too much distance.

This is the important part,its not so much how close they get,its when they are close and parallel for a distance.Do your best to keep them away from each other and avoid long parallel runs next to your AC runs,its all that you can do.

 

[Gary S]

This is the important part,its not so much how close they get,its when they are close and parallel for a distance.Do your best to keep them away from each other and avoid long parallel runs next to your AC runs,its all that you can do.

Best answer.
Worry less about spacing and more about parallel runs. Cross the wires and run in different directions whenever possible.