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Need outdoor/indoor speaker wire; recommend a product.

post #1 of 7
6/13/12 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
Hey,

I'm going to be building a deck soon and I want to hang the outdoor speakers I bought last year on the house under the covered area. I will need about 75' per wire, rough estimate, so not quite sure what would be the best gauge.

The run will be as follows:

Indoor: from wall-plate, into basement, through basement ran against joists, then out a hole drilled into house.

Outdoor: Probably I'll tack it to the joists on the deck, then I'll run it up the 6x6 support for the roof (which will get a PVC cover so you won't see it), into the soffit, then tacked to the roof beems and out the soffit into the speaker.

So, I'm not sure what rating wire I'd need for this to both meet code, and have it not degrade being exposed to the elements under the deck. It won't be buried, but it will be exposed....

Any ideas? I'm sure this is easy to find once I know what exactly I'm looking for. Will standard in-wall rated wire be OK, or is there something else I want? Is direct burial overkill? If not, is all/any direct burial wire able to be installed in-wall and meet code?

Thanks guys!
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post #2 of 7
6/13/12 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamWarrior View Post

Hey,
I'm going to be building a deck soon and I want to hang the outdoor speakers I bought last year on the house under the covered area. I will need about 75' per wire, rough estimate, so not quite sure what would be the best gauge.
The run will be as follows:
Indoor: from wall-plate, into basement, through basement ran against joists, then out a hole drilled into house.
Outdoor: Probably I'll tack it to the joists on the deck, then I'll run it up the 6x6 support for the roof (which will get a PVC cover so you won't see it), into the soffit, then tacked to the roof beems and out the soffit into the speaker.
So, I'm not sure what rating wire I'd need for this to both meet code, and have it not degrade being exposed to the elements under the deck. It won't be buried, but it will be exposed....
Any ideas? I'm sure this is easy to find once I know what exactly I'm looking for. Will standard in-wall rated wire be OK, or is there something else I want? Is direct burial overkill? If not, is all/any direct burial wire able to be installed in-wall and meet code?
Thanks guys!

Ordinary 4 conductor 12 gauge or larger power wiring that is suitable for use outdoors use would be fine. Terminate it in a standard outdoor outlet box, but instead of an AC receptacle, install 2 Neutrik NL-4 wall mount style speaker connectors.
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post #3 of 7
6/13/12 at 9:28am
Belden Cable BL-1311A 12AWG Indoor/Outdoor Direct Burial Speaker Cable or equivalent would work fine.
A wire designed with a UV resistant insulation as well as hydrophobic properties (water resistant insulation qualities in order to resist moisture ingress under the insulation) is the best option. You might also consider using commercial environmental flooded shrink tubing at the fitting termination to likewise resist moisture ingress under the insulation (this is a simple packet containing a suitably sized section of hydrophobically lubricated shrink tubing that when removed from the package and exposed to air and slipped over the cable end and fitting junction, shrinks and dries and forms a flexible moisture resistant seal - as well as provides additional strain relief - and is typically used in cable TV installations and available in almost any commercial electronics supply).

(The shrink tubing is often referred to as 'cold shrink' power termination tubing, etc...'cold shrink' referring to the fat that you do not need to apply heat for the tubing to shrink - the removal from the sealed packaging and the exposure to air does it.)
You might even be able to wrangle 2-4 packs from the local cable company techs if you approach them right...
Edited by dragonfyr - 6/13/12 at 9:37am
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post #4 of 7
6/13/12 at 11:28am
Depending upon where you live, you may want to use conduit even for UV-rated cables for any sections exposed to direct sunlight. I also tend to use conduit anytime the wire crossed an area someone (think kids) can reach, like from the floor to the ceiling beams.
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post #5 of 7
6/13/12 at 12:00pm
What do you do where the wires attach to the speaker? I just purchased deftech aw5500 and will run wire to the under eave installation but the outdoor speakers have a typical connection. It's ok for the connection to be exposed?

I have 14awg from monoprice indoor/outdoor and not using any such connections as are mentioned here. just punching a hole through the wall and hiding the wire under the siding.
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post #6 of 7
6/13/12 at 12:07pm
You might want to apply a small amount of silicone grease for environmental protection.
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post #7 of 7
6/13/12 at 12:09pm
i used low voltage lighting wiring for mine, and ran it down the side of the house, across a little border garden (above ground) and from there buried it directly in the ground... it was the cheapest option i could find...
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