Burying Ethernet Cable in a trench with electrical wiring

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Katabatic[H]

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 13, 2002
Messages
84
Morning,

I have a landscaper doing some work on my home property of 4 acres in a couple days and he will have a trencher for various sprinkler lines, etc. He has offered to drop in some electrical and networking conduit for the price of the materials. I would like to run two separate conduits - one for electrical and one for networking. I'll pull the wires later if / when I need them.

I was thinking of Schedule 80 2" conduit for the power - but don't know what to request for the networking. I would probably go ahead and still run Cat 6 outdoor wire inside the networking conduit when I need to network my various garages / sheds / access points.

Questions:
1. What size / class of networking conduit do I need for network cable so I can easily pull a 250 foot run of wire through it in the future?
2. How big of a deal is electrical interference really if they are in separate conduits and I have Cat 6 outdoor cable as well?

Thanks
 
If you use fiber you could pull it with the power in the same conduit provided there's enough room in the conduit to get both through safely.
 
Use a transceiver to convert it to fiber, run it together with the electrical wiring, then convert it back.
 
2 inch schedule 80 for both, should make changes or improvements easy, or at least possible.
 
schizrade said:
Another +1 for fiber. Far fewer issues in the long haul.
Click to expand...

The only issue with this is when you need to power something remotely via POE. That wont be a problem with the sheds or garages, could be a problem if you want to stick an access point up in a tree through.
 
wizdum said:
The only issue with this is when you need to power something remotely via POE. That wont be a problem with the sheds or garages, could be a problem if you want to stick an access point up in a tree through.
Click to expand...

He is already running power to the same location.

+1 for fiber.
 
Awesome for the replies guys. I really appreciate it. A couple of the runs will be to buildings with power so, although I'm unfamiliar with fiber I could do that I suppose. But a couple of the runs will be to poles where I'll put an outdoor AP (And POE would be MUCH easier). Also, some of the runs will be 250 feet in length roughly....

If I needed fiber / transceivers what would be some recommendations?

So, Cat 6 would be helpful for those runs. It sounds like Schedule 80, 1-2 inches in diameter, but avoiding 90 deg angles and using preformed sweeps if possible (or 45deg angles if not) would be sufficient, right?

Thanks a bunch. They hope to start trenching tomorrow or the next morning.
 
I am looking at having my utilities put underground due to frequent ice storms and many backyard trees. The electrical utility guy mentioned an 18" vertical separation requirement between the electrical wire and the phone/TV cable wires if they were in the same trench. If you have a code inspection requirement, best check before doing the work just in case.
 
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