Cat5e jacket tearing off

[magrann]

The outer jacket of some of the cat5e I just pulled is torn open a bit. I must of pulled to much wire thru a hole from the basement to the attic. I realize that is might not be best to try to use this defective cable so it is it a total waste. Is there anything I can do? I will try to see if I can use it for any of my shorter runs if there is enough good cable left. Other than that, perhaps electrical tape or something. I don't know if that is a bad idea. Or do I bite the bullet and replace it. Any suggestions? If it matters the wire will probably be used for intercom, fax machine.

Mike

 

[gatchel]

You probably won't run into any issues if the jacket is the only issue. Check the conductors for damage, exposed copper, etc. Fax and other analog signals have worked for years on a lesser rated cables.

I would pull another cable using the bad one as a "pull string" so to speak just to make sure. CAT5 isn't that expensive considering the potential issues you may experiance in the future if you aren't 100% sure of the damaed cable.

 

[magrann]

If I were to pull another wire up using the old one as the lead, how should I do it? Obviouslsy, I wanna keep the line as thin as possible (knots would make it very tought to get thru). I guess I might want to use a string to connect the two wires together.

Also, while on the topic of wiring. Do you use insulated staples or wire holders or bare metal? I am not sure but that might be a part of the problem along with the tight hole I pulled thru.

Regards,
mike

 

[RobWalker]

Try to splice the wires together so that the splice is no thicker than the cable. Strip off a couple of inches of outer jacket from both cables and cut off 2 pairs from each end. Overlap the remaining pairs, twist them together and use electrical tape to construct a new 'jacket'. It should hold OK if you only pull with moderate force. If you have to really tug on it then it will likely break apart.

If you get really stuck then you can get cable pulling lubricant which can help -- though is meant more for conduit. There are also special grips for pulling cables, but I don't know if they would go down to CAT5 size.

I use insulated staples for CAT5, but mainly because that's what I had in the stapler. If your concerned about rubbing then you can use a normal metal staple *beside* the cable and use a zip tie to hold it loosely in place.

 

[magrann]

Thanks great idea for pulling them together.

 

[huggy59]

If things are tight enough to rip the jacket, it's also possible to break or stress one of the conductors with the force of the pull, which can lead to intermittent connections down the road. See if you can find and remove the obstacle causing the issue or enlarge the hole, and if not, get a thinner cable or one with a more slippery jacket, or use a lubricant as suggested above. Of course, you'll probably want to test the cable before using it to make sure the conductors are all working properly.