Extra goodies in my security wire

R

RagnarD

Member
Quick question gents (and ladies? do we have many lady cocooners?). And yes, I searched but alas, did not find...

I've got 500 ft of 22/2 "security wire" and have just started the actual wiring of contacts for our house. I expected to just have two 22 gauge wires in there, but when I stripped the sheath, I found the two wires, plus a bare silver wire (a ground? for what?), a small bundle of fiber that almost looks like fiberglass, and a metalic/plastic wrapper around the two main wires.

What is all this stuff for? I thought "security wire" was just a way of naming it for it's most common use, like "lamp wire" is your typical clear-coated 18 gauge. Maybe not?

TIA!
 
the fiber/string is used to strip back the insulation.. You can cut the wire a little long and stip back a bit with a knife. Once you can grab the srtring you can use that to split the outside sheathing further.

not sure why there is that 'ground' wire in there but I have that in my wire also. I just cut it back but others may know more.
 
If the wire has a metallic wrapper around the 2 wires then it is probably shielded wire. The shielding is used to protect the 2 wires from RF interference which is sometimes needed depending on the application, environment and lenght of cable run.
 
Yes, the shielding needs to be grounded but you need to read the instructions for the equipment you are connecting. In some cases you only ground 1 end and not both ends.
 
leave the bare wire alone as far as contacs is concerned. your shielded wire is not really needed for your application unless you are using the wire for sound or external temperature sensors or anything that needs isolation from magnetic fields produced by nearby ac 120v or higher voltages
 
RagnarD said:
Quick question gents (and ladies? do we have many lady cocooners?). And yes, I searched but alas, did not find...

I've got 500 ft of 22/2 "security wire" and have just started the actual wiring of contacts for our house. I expected to just have two 22 gauge wires in there, but when I stripped the sheath, I found the two wires, plus a bare silver wire (a ground? for what?), a small bundle of fiber that almost looks like fiberglass, and a metalic/plastic wrapper around the two main wires.

What is all this stuff for? I thought "security wire" was just a way of naming it for it's most common use, like "lamp wire" is your typical clear-coated 18 gauge. Maybe not?

TIA!
Click to expand...
It sounds like you may have some type of security composite cable. This is a bundle of conductor types used in security for cameras or card readers. Could the "fibers" be fiber optic strands? This is definitely not what we would call alarm wire. I would not use it...take it back and get the right stuff.

Here is a link to a source which describes security composite cables. You may have a variation of the type of cable shown.
 
That isn't 'direct burial' cable is it? I know I ordered some at work and it had all kinds of different wrapping around the conductors...
 
I have a roll of what I suspect is that same stuff... I don't think it's fiber - i think it's just plastic in there... and there's a bare stranded wire - I've used it to make some good long audio cables and it works well without any external noise! I just used the bare wire as the ground.
 
Work2Play said:
I have a roll of what I suspect is that same stuff... I don't think it's fiber - i think it's just plastic in there... and there's a bare stranded wire - I've used it to make some good long audio cables and it works well without any external noise! I just used the bare wire as the ground.
Click to expand...
The bare wire is called a drain wire, and what you are describing is instrumentation wire, or twisted pair shielded. The foil is the shield, and the drain wire is used to make the ground connection for the shield. The plastic is just for strengthening the wire for pulling purposes.
 
Aggreed you got someting other than normal wire for some reason they have a ground in it and most likely the foil could be a shield or protector. You need to look how the wire is labled and what it's use is. More than likely it will be fine for basic alarm use but just costs more.
 
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