When is riser rated cabled required for residential? At my last house I ran a few additional security runs with Honeywell 1103 cable that was CM/CL2 rated. At my new house I'm running all new security and smoke detector wiring and am debating if I need CMR/CL2R or if CM/CL2 is sufficient. I'm having a harder time finding Honeywell 2103 cable online to order. Interesting Jmac.com shows discontinued for the 21031101 part number.
Residential security cable rating
- Thread starter rsw686
- Start date
That is not really 100% true. You can substitute a CM, CMR or CMP for FPL(suffix) cable. You can always install the higher rated cable over a lower category cable but not vice versa.RAL said:
What should be discussed when installing smoke detectors on a system, is the system components such as sounders, transformer and keypads should technically be installed using a fire rated cable also (after all, are they not part of the fire alarm system at that point?)
Riser is NOT required in a residence for 99% of the applications that would be discussed.
Further reading: https://www.honeywellcable.com/CatalogDocuments/CableRatingsandInstallationEnvironment.pdf
Thanks for the info! I figured that was the case but wanted to make sure there wasn't some clause about going through multiple floors. A few runs will go from the basement up two floors to the attic.
I am purchasing 18/4 FPL to use for the transformer, siren, heat detectors, and smoke detectors. This is probably overkill as I've seen a high end residence built in this area with 22/4 for smoke loop and it did not have 120v smoke alarms. I didn't see a requirement for the keypads to be 18/4 so I was going to run them with 22/4 CM/CL2, which is an acceptable substitute for FPL.
I am purchasing 18/4 FPL to use for the transformer, siren, heat detectors, and smoke detectors. This is probably overkill as I've seen a high end residence built in this area with 22/4 for smoke loop and it did not have 120v smoke alarms. I didn't see a requirement for the keypads to be 18/4 so I was going to run them with 22/4 CM/CL2, which is an acceptable substitute for FPL.
There's technically no requirement for the loop to be 18AWG in the NEC. There's requirements for voltage drop in NFPA, which would account for the use of 18/4. The NEC is very ambiguous when it comes to conductor size on PLFA. Technically you can run down to a 26 AWG and be compliant, although the device terminals generally won't handle that small. Is it a good idea? NO. Same goes with conductor construction (solid vs. stranded)
The spirit of the AWG in FA was to address factory harnesses and interconnnects between panels/boards and not really field installation consideration.
The spirit of the AWG in FA was to address factory harnesses and interconnnects between panels/boards and not really field installation consideration.
Good to know! I might use 22/4 for the heat detectors then. I bought the 18/4 so I'll defiantly use it for the smoke detectors. I am reusing 14/3 romex running between the 3 existing smoke alarms to expand the system to the required 8 smoke detectors. The house was built in the 80s and there is only one per floor. The 18 and 14 gauge will be easier to pigtail the neg (-) at the one junction location plus it seems weird to go from 14 to 22 gauge. The System Sensor i3/i4 units state they are compatible with 14-22 gauge wire.
