failed inspection cat6 cable not to code

Haven't heard of Monk, but that number looks a lot more realistic (FWIW, I think we pay something a little over that for Commscope's cable, and I don't even want to guess at how much we go through in a single year).
 
ModbusMan said:
Haven't heard of Monk, but that number looks a lot more realistic (FWIW, I think we pay something a little over that for Commscope's cable, and I don't even want to guess at how much we go through in a single year).
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I researched quite a while trying to find a decent brand for the money with a heavier gauge, solid copper conductor. It does what I needed it to. Pulls out of the box good too.
 
WD40 said:
Thanks everyone what a bummer, I completely missed the copper clad aluminum part. Also apparently some of the ceiling space might be a plenum, but I think some of the HVAC was redone some years back so patient care does not use a common plenum.
either way it looks like this cable is going in the dumpster.
The IT people throw around so many fancy terms I have no idea what they are talking about so I figure they know to get the correct cable turns out no they don't have a clue about the cable.

It had some printing on it but not CMR or CMP, the IT guy supplied it, I should have known better than to just install it, thats the problem with customers providing materials and being in a rush these days.
Are there any other special requirements for data cable in a medical clinic?
Thanks everyone lesson learned.
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Critically, what code sections did the inspector give you on the violation report? We really can't be helpful without that information. Everything else is wild speculation.
 
The only issue I see is whether the cat 6 is CMP or CMR rated. Preferably solid core cat6 but CCA is acceptable, imo. Although I've never run into a jobsite with CCA cable or ever installed CCA. I would get the reason "why" from the inspector as to it not being acceptable? To answer your question, There are NO "Special Requirements" for cat6. Hope this helps! For name brand cables, Belden, Commscope or Tyco/TE are great.
 
cabledawg said:
For name brand cables, Belden, Commscope or Tyco/TE are great.
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Commscope is what our physical networking guys use at the office, while my typical source for RS485 wire is WestPenn. I was teasing Hal earlier about how much Belden costs versus the others, but if you need something arcane, they're pretty much guaranteed to have it.
 
cabledawg said:
The only issue I see is whether the cat 6 is CMP or CMR rated. Preferably solid core cat6 but CCA is acceptable, imo. Although I've never run into a jobsite with CCA cable or ever installed CCA. I would get the reason "why" from the inspector as to it not being acceptable? To answer your question, There are NO "Special Requirements" for cat6. Hope this helps! For name brand cables, Belden, Commscope or Tyco/TE are great.
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Its NOT acceptable. The design standard for CATx cable is to be manufactured with copper conductors. Any cable made from other that copper is not a CATx cable.

None of the jacks or plugs are designed for CCA. Using CCA for PoE may not work and could be a fire hazard. As Don pointed out in post 5, its a violation of 725-144 to use CCA for PoE.

I don't believe any of the CCA cables are listed even if the claim to be. Any info such as type of jacket may not be accurate since there is no third party testing.
 
curt swartz said:
Its NOT acceptable. The design standard for CATx cable is to be manufactured with copper conductors. Any cable made from other that copper is not a CATx cable.

None of the jacks or plugs are designed for CCA. Using CCA for PoE may not work and could be a fire hazard. As Don pointed out in post 5, its a violation of 725-144 to use CCA for PoE.

I don't believe any of the CCA cables are listed even if the claim to be. Any info such as type of jacket may not be accurate since there is no third party testing.
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Roger that! Thank you for the update. I did not know that, now I do.
 
Yeah thanks again all we just replaced the cable with plenum rated copper so I would not need to diagram the HVAC and hold up the CO any longer.
The inspector eventually got back to me said to start with it was a violation of sections 800.179 and 725.144.
 
Table 725.144 is one I had not seen before. That seems to put a current limit on cables that are bundled. Network cable bundles can be huge. Hopefully your new cable will be 75C rated and POE needs limited. I can see this being hard to enforce if non-POE switches get replaced with POE switches and more and more POE items get added to the network.
 
suemarkp said:
Table 725.144 is one I had not seen before. That seems to put a current limit on cables that are bundled. Network cable bundles can be huge. Hopefully your new cable will be 75C rated and POE needs limited. I can see this being hard to enforce if non-POE switches get replaced with POE switches and more and more POE items get added to the network.
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The way it was explained to me is the inspector has make the most conservative interpretation unless things are clearly marked and identified otherwise like different colored cables or I don't even know.
All the inspector knows is unless there is 0% chance power can be flowing you have to treat it as if there is.
 
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