Windows 7 - Can a Cat 5e Gray Line be buried

johnm32073 · 09-06-2010

Does anyone know if it is ok to bury a Cat 5e (gray) line.
Putting in in a casing pipe and burying it will be a bit harder work than I want to do in this Florida heat.
But If I can bury it directly I can use an axe to slice me a gap wide enough
Got go about 50 to 60 feet to my garage

Thanks guys

chev65 · 09-06-2010

It's not really made for direct buriel but i'm sure it would last quite awhile if you did it that way. Better to pull the cable through a conduit obviously enough.

I'm up against the same situation for the garage PC I just built, same distance away from my house 50-60 feet. I'm using wireless at only 21 percent signal strength which is pretty decent for everything but HD streaming isn't so good. I might have to add an access point outside my house and extend the USB antenna to make HD streaming work better.

Wired is always better but not always convenient to run the cable.

Dwarf · 09-06-2010

I would recommend putting it in conduit, as it will give the cable increased protection from the harsh environment of the ground. In addition, it will make maintenance much easier as you can withdraw the cable from the conduit and replace it if necessary. A suitable length of garden hose will serve the job nicely. Just make sure that you don't leave the ends buried - these need to be above the surface and protected to avoid rain from ingressing the hose.

Can a Cat 5e Gray Line be buried-pvc-garden-hose-1-4-1-.jpg

ken9122 · 09-06-2010

Dwarf, the garden hose is a great idea. It goes in my bag of tricks for access control installs.

Ken

SledgeDG · 09-06-2010

BTW: There is a reason for using fiber optics between buildings which clearly is a budget issue. If lightning ever strucks the ground close enough...
Others than that, from the technical POV the garden hose does just fine...better than plain burial anytime since it makes it much easier if the cable ever has to be replaced. If you're in an area with a nice mole/groundhog population I would rather go with the cheap PVC pipes from you local home improvement store...but that's just me

-DG

Ztruker · 09-06-2010

An alternative would be to go Wireless to Wireless via a bridged network. If your 2nd router doesn't support Bridging (WDS I think it's called) then see here to get a firmware upgrade for it that does. I did this with an older Linksys router so my Grandson could use his Xbox Live in the living room while the cable modem and other wireless router were in the bedroom, too far away to run a CAT5 cable.

johnm32073 · 09-06-2010

The reason I don't go wireless is, I'll have to get an access point plus an adapter card for the desktop That close to hundred bucks vs 20 bucks for 100 feet of Cat 5e wire.
I forgot about Lighting that will fry my line so I better use a garden hose
Thanks for your reply's

DocBrown · 09-06-2010

I have had a 100ft cat5 cable strung under the roof eaves for about 5 years now in the Arizona heat. Since wireless does not do well through the walls of my house. Strung it just like TV cable/coax.

BadLuck · 09-06-2010

CAT5 cable is pretty resiliant stuff. When I lived in Indiana I had about a 150 ft run through the air to the garage and it withstood being coated with ice and being weighted down without breaking. As far as I know, the cable is still there, I used it like that for about 3 years.

Burying it would be fine, just put it in something like the garden hose

Windows 7 - Can a Cat 5e Gray Line be buried

Can a Cat 5e Gray Line be buried problems?