Ever ran electricity through CAT5 cable?

[C5Engineer 1170]

I was talking to someone about what wire to use for my whelen LED strobes which are pulling barely half an amp. I need 3 wires down each wing. The question was asked about the feasibility to use CAT-5 cable. It's 24AWG and is bundled with 5 wires. It's wrapped in a precise pattern to minimize disturbance. The insulation would make it ideal to not have to worry about chaffing in the wing.  I couldn't find a max amperage spec. I have a 100ft roll off the stuff leftover from a sprinkler project that someone gave me.  I used it to run the power about 200ft from the controller to fire the solenoids on the valves. Power over Ethernet PoE is fairly common. Thoughts? 

Edited 31 Jul 2017 by C5Engineer

[wypaul 448]

24 Awg will be good for 2 amps but I don't know if it will work as well as shielded wire. 

[marksires 484]

The bigger problem is Cat 5 is solid wire, not stranded.  It won't handle vibration very well.  The twist isn't the same as shielding.  The twist is to keep each pair from interfering with any other pair, not to stop it radiating externally.  It won't stop any interference in our applications, unless you're running a 1 gig network in you plane :-)

 

Mark

 

[C5Engineer 1170]

Mark I was thinking the same thing and also about the connections. I don't think that interference from the light is going to be an issue since there is no power supply and the draw is so little. Not much different than lighting a backlighting bulb in the cockpit. ChopNDrag can you post that link you sent me to the fleabay wire?

[chopndrag 226]

25' National Wire NQ526 5 Conductor 26 Gauge Flexible Unshielded Cable

Mark I was thinking the same thing and also about the connections. I don't think that interference from the light is going to be an issue since there is no power supply and the draw is so little. Not much different than lighting a backlighting bulb in the cockpit. ChopNDrag can you post that link you sent me to the fleabay wire?

Joey it seems like it will do the job with my electric trim and your lights. 

Edited 1 Aug 2017 by chopndrag

[C5Engineer 1170]

Did some more research and found almost the same stuff only in a 3 conductor strand specifically for LEDs that is 18 gauge. 100ft roll is $25 on Amazon. I need about 30ft probably to do both wings and to under the panel. Trying to see if I can find 100ft roll. 

Edited 2 Aug 2017 by C5Engineer

[C5Engineer 1170]

Found some more that is 22 gauge and sold at .28 per foot. Works out to less than 10 bucks for 30 feet of it.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/power-wires-and-cables/pvc-jacketed-3-conductor-22-awg-power-wire-pp-frpvc-gray/1850/4475/?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=base&utm_content=WP22-3CMR&utm_campaign=GoogleBaseChild&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn9fvi9e31QIVSI9-Ch3mpASQEAQYASABEgKanPD_BwE

 

Edited 2 Aug 2017 by C5Engineer

[wypaul 448]

I like using only Tefzel wire in my planes because if you have an electrical fire it does not produce toxic smoke and it resists abrasion. It does cost three times as much and is much harder to strip.  ACS has three wire shielded Tefzel wire for $1.17 per foot.

[marksires 484]

The roll Joey posted is plenum rated, so it won't produce toxic smoke either.  I didn't follow his link, so I don't know if the other wire he found is plenum rated or not.   Plenum rated wire is generally teflon insulation of some kind.  Definitely tougher to strip cleanly, but also tough to abrade.

Mark