Using Cat5e in lieu of 22/4

[PaulD]

Built my new house to use Cat5e wire in many cases where 22/4 would normally be used. Intent is to use one pair of the Cat5e in lieu of a single wire from the 22/4. I have searched and have not found any standard cross over for Cat5E colored pairs to match up with a common 4 color 22/4. I can create my own standard for my installation but if an standard exist somewhere, I would prefer to use it. Anyone know if such a standard exists?

Also, looking for the best way to physically use the Cat5E wire. Have not been happy so far with the options I have been experimenting with. At 24ga, a Cat5e wire is very difficult to strip and join with other wire or tie to a circuit board connector. My efforts so far to strip the insulation tend to nick the 24gs wire which makes it break easy. Crimps (with tiny internal spikes) seem to work OK for 2 wires but when I crimp 2 ea of the 24ga with a single 22ga or larger, I have not had consistent results. Also trying to keep it neat and the crimps don't help. I am now thinking about new approaches...would like comments if you have tried any of these.
1) Use 110 blocks. I have never used 110 blocks and am not sure how to best use them to tie a Cat5e pair together to a single 22 ga wire.
2) Terminate my Cat5e wire in a standard RJ45 connector and then make my final run via Cat6 (with 22ga) wire to my component. The hope here is that the Cat6 with 22 ga wire will be easier to strip and connect to my devices.

 

[nov0798]

Paul,
Have you tried using CAT 5e strippers that are specifically made for CAT 5e, etc?
I just use my finger nail and pull. It works like a charm everytime and doesnt nick the wire.
These might help you for splicing.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2062793
You can usually find these at Home Depot in the datacom section. I believe that Home Depot carries the IDEAL brand of connectors.

 

[tmbrown97]

Like Nov said, fingernails are about the best bet for stripping the wire... or lineman cutters (special scissors in the electrical isle of HD) have a spot on the back for stripping wire... Anything WITHOUT a blade...

For joining, I used the elk gel-filled connectors and was pretty satisfied with the results doing exactly as you described - 1 pair to a 22 gauge. 110 blocks wouldn't work - you might be able to use the special 66 blocks that have 4-posts connected vs. the normal 2 (standard ones have 4 columns - 1 and 2 are connected, and 3 and 4 are connected. You can also get ones where all 4 columns in the row are connected - might not be bad in the wiring room).

All in all though, we did this all over the place and really had no issues... my keypads, thermostat and my motions are all done via Cat5 in similar fashion. Even at the control panel, I twisted a bunch together nicely with plenty of stripped wire - so I could twist them nicely, then trimmed down to the right length. When splicing to the keypad & tstat harnesses I just used the elk connectors and crimped the hell out of them and didn't have a single failure or issue.

 

[PaulD]

Like Nov said, fingernails are about the best bet for stripping the wire... or lineman cutters (special scissors in the electrical isle of HD) have a spot on the back for stripping wire... Anything WITHOUT a blade...

For joining, I used the elk gel-filled connectors and was pretty satisfied with the results doing exactly as you described - 1 pair to a 22 gauge. 110 blocks wouldn't work - you might be able to use the special 66 blocks that have 4-posts connected vs. the normal 2 (standard ones have 4 columns - 1 and 2 are connected, and 3 and 4 are connected. You can also get ones where all 4 columns in the row are connected - might not be bad in the wiring room).

All in all though, we did this all over the place and really had no issues... my keypads, thermostat and my motions are all done via Cat5 in similar fashion. Even at the control panel, I twisted a bunch together nicely with plenty of stripped wire - so I could twist them nicely, then trimmed down to the right length. When splicing to the keypad & tstat harnesses I just used the elk connectors and crimped the hell out of them and didn't have a single failure or issue.

Will check out the lineman strippers. I did not know you could use them to strip small wire without using a blade to nick the copper. Sounds like that is a good way to deal with Cat5e at my component end (thermostats, etc). If I do that, I can then twist a pair together and connect the bare end to my device without using a crimp connector. Keeps everything neater plus eliminates a potential bad connection. I was also experimenting with the gel-filled connectors. They worked great with just 2 wires but when I added a third wire, the results were inconsistent.
In my closet where all my wire terminates, I think the 66 block approach would work better to keep everything well organized. I think the type with 4 post connected per row would work well since I could jumper each Cat5e pair over to a single wire that would extend to my circuit board terminals (HAI Omni II).

 

[Steve]

The ScotchLok connectors (the link to Rat Shack above) are my favorite when joining 2 or 3 small wires. For the Beenies (the B connectors you are talking about), sometimes you get that inconsistency because a spike does not pierce one of the wires. I usually strip a bit of the wires before putting in the Beenies and then I never have a problem with them either.

 

[garyfunk]

Built my new house to use Cat5e wire in many cases where 22/4 would normally be used. Intent is to use one pair of the Cat5e in lieu of a single wire from the 22/4. I have searched and have not found any standard cross over for Cat5E colored pairs to match up with a common 4 color 22/4. I can create my own standard for my installation but if an standard exist somewhere, I would prefer to use it. Anyone know if such a standard exists?

On 22/4 you have red(ring) and green(tip) for pair one, and yellow(ring) and black(tip) for pair two. Cat 5 would be blue(ring) and white/blue(tip) for pair one and orange(ring) and white/orange(ring) for pair two. Pair three is green and pair 4 is brown. The solid colors are negitive and the stripes are positive. On 22/4 green and black are positive.

I hope this is what you are looking for.

 

[Photon]

At 24ga, a Cat5e wire is very difficult to strip and join with other wire or tie to a circuit board connector. My efforts so far to strip the insulation tend to nick the 24gs wire which makes it break easy. Crimps (with tiny internal spikes) seem to work OK for 2 wires but when I crimp 2 ea of the 24ga with a single 22ga or larger, I have not had consistent results. Also trying to keep it neat and the crimps don't help.

I've been using Gardner Bender WireGuard Wire Connectors, part number 25-001 to join wires. They are miniature versions of the twist-on wire nuts used for 12 or 14 AWG house wiring, but rated for 16-22 AWG. They seem to make reliable connections with multiple 24 AWG wires in the few places I used doubled Cat5 pairs. Where I used Cat5 between panels, I terminated the tie lines on 66-blocks at both ends. I then used 22 AWG between the block and the Elk circuit boards on one end, and between the blocks and the sensors at the other end. When I get done with "adjustments" I expect to replace some of the GB twist ons with either solder joints or maybe beanies.

 

[upstatemike]

Built my new house to use Cat5e wire in many cases where 22/4 would normally be used. Intent is to use one pair of the Cat5e in lieu of a single wire from the 22/4. I have searched and have not found any standard cross over for Cat5E colored pairs to match up with a common 4 color 22/4. I can create my own standard for my installation but if an standard exist somewhere, I would prefer to use it. Anyone know if such a standard exists?

On 22/4 you have red(ring) and green(tip) for pair one, and yellow(ring) and black(tip) for pair two. Cat 5 would be blue(ring) and white/blue(tip) for pair one and orange(ring) and white/orange(ring) for pair two. Pair three is green and pair 4 is brown. The solid colors are negitive and the stripes are positive. On 22/4 green and black are positive.

I hope this is what you are looking for.

Be careful when translating positive and negative from phone applications to other wiring standards because phone wiring uses a positive ground. So the positive voltage at the tip is also the ground or return and the negative voltage at ring can be thought of as the source or "hot" wire. I generally make the tip wires (black, green or white in phone station wire and white background with a colored stripe in twisted pairs) to be my common wires. The Ring colors (Red, Yellow, or Blue, and the solid colors in twisted pairs) I designate as V+, Relay trigger, etc.

 

[Lagerhead]

...phone wiring uses a positive ground.

This practice, it is said, is to avoid copper loss through electrolysis in the presence of moisture in the outside plant.