I was pulling some Cat6 on my home addition project this morning, and the outer jacket kept shattering in the cold weather. It is cold, about 9 degrees, but I don't remember anyone mentioning this before. The simple solution was to bring it inside and keep it warm until I needed it. I haven't had any problems with any of the other cable I'm pulling (RG6, romex, Cat5 security) so I hope I don't have a bad batch or something.
Cold Weather
- Thread starter judge_l
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beelzerob
Senior Member
Yikes! Thanks for the warning. I'm a week or so away from beginning my wire pulls also, and though it won't be as cold as 9, it'll still be maybe below freezing. I guess I won't leave the wire in the house overnight....either that, or rent a space heater to warm it up before pulling.
123
Senior Member
I had bought a 1000' roll of Nordx CAT6 Gigaflex cabling from a surplus store and was surprised by the sheathing's thickness (and colour: Purple!). The cable was stiffer than the garden-variety, blue CAT5 I've used in the past. If you bent it a little too much (~< 3" radius) the sheathing would crease and leave a tell-tale mark. I'm guessing its handling characteristics are "by design" ... if (someday) you want to run at CAT6's upper limit (250MHZ), the cable run better not have any kinks, tight radius bends, nor crushed sections.
I had installed it the spring, in a hot attic, and it was not very "bendy" but manageable. I'd hate to think how it would behave today (-18C = 0F). Can you say "frozen purple garden hose"?
I had installed it the spring, in a hot attic, and it was not very "bendy" but manageable. I'd hate to think how it would behave today (-18C = 0F). Can you say "frozen purple garden hose"?
upstatemike
Senior Member
politics123
Active Member
Why don't have construction heat? It's generally a bad idea to let a construction project get that cold... the wood changes shape, HVAC and appliances will gather frost (which leads to condensation and rust), similarly rust on drywall screws, etc.
nightwalker
Active Member
Generally the rough in for low voltage wiring is done after the electricans are done and just before insulation, so, there isn't any heating installed yet. You do have to be careful with cat(anything) as it will crack if it gets frozen.
politics123
Active Member
Your Central heat isn't installed, but you should have construction heat. (eg: a temporary propane heat source). I can think of numerous reasons for this:
1) "installer comfort." Before someone rants about "this shouldn't make a difference" and "the trade workers are pros and do this all the time" let me ask a simple question: if you were a tradesman (and may of you are), are you really going to work as well in a 10 degree F house as a 50 degree F house?!
2) For good energy efficiency, you should seal all the joints (caulk both sides of every 2x4, around the windows, etc), and the caulk responds differently to very cold temperatures.
3) The cold is going to affect the wood.
It would be nice to have heat, but its not closed in yet. The wind still comes through the open garage door and the soffits in the rest of the place. As soon as I can get the wiring and central vacuum in, I can get it inspected and insulated. I do have plastic up to keep the snow out, so there shouldn't be any moisture problems, as all of the supplies were delivered and have been kept outside. Good point on the caulk though, I'm going to have to see how insulation company handles that. I'm sure they do it somehow all of the time. Once insulated, I can heat it for the sheetrocker (me).
opie
Active Member
Agreed, I have had this happen with several different brands of cat cable and had to wait for the contractor to warm the place up a bit or for nicer weather. I have even had a distributed audio cable (Cat5+16-4) crack all the way to the point of bare copper showing on the 16-4.
Don't quote me on this because my memory is fuzzy on this but I think I remember reading one manufacturer recommending not pulling cable (Cat 5) below 32 degrees F. I have done it more times than I would like to admit but like you mentioned you had done, keep the wire warm when you can and is helps.
Good Luck.
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