Fire rated mic cable

  • Thread starter Thread starter Wayon
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Wayon

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I am building a studio and I want to install microphone cables in the walls. The electrical inspector is saying that it has to have an FT4 fire rating. Has anybody heard of this? A lot of people I talk to say this is crap.

Please help.

Thanks
 
i think the guy is fukin with ya... mic cables dont carry anything capable of starting a fire...
 
dementedchord said:
i think the guy is fukin with ya... mic cables dont carry anything capable of starting a fire...
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I think its more a matter that the cable insulation will burn when exposed to flame.

If you strike out on the rated cable, see if you can put em in a conduit.
 
ok so what's in the average mic cable that will burn?? nuthing i can think of... i have seen cable though that said plenum rated though so who knows...
 
Its the TOXIC FUMES that the insulation and plastic will give off in a fire.

Not only will it kill you, it's a danger to any firemen who come in to fight a fire.

(Not that cable lying around on the floor won't do the same, but at least they can throw that out the window. Anything trapped in a wall can smoulder for days and even flash into a new fire later.)
 
Though it may be required by code, I'd think you have more serious problems if your audio cable is on fire.
 
Wayon said:
I am building a studio and I want to install microphone cables in the walls. The electrical inspector is saying that it has to have an FT4 fire rating. Has anybody heard of this? A lot of people I talk to say this is crap.

Please help.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Ask him to quote you the chapter and verse of the code he is referring to - depending on the building classification - construction type and the location of the cable - he may well be correct.

BUT - a lot of inspectors get this wrong..........

Low voltage wiring has a whole new set of classifications in the new NEC - and a lot of states are now requiring people to have electrical licenses before they can run LV wiring.

Things are not as easy as they used to be.

However - I never just roll over and play dead when an inspector barks - first i make him prove his case.

Rod
 
Thanks guys. Yes, I have seen where the code says a cable with "any voltage at all" going through it is covered under the Canadian Electrical Code.

Has anyone ever used data cable like CAT6 (or something like it) for mics? I'm just trying to keep the costs down.

Thanks again.
 
Cat 6 could work

Cat 6 could work but you might run into RF interference issues if you are any where near any radio stations or something similar. The other issue you will run into is mechanically cat 6 is not really meant for soldering and it will break very easily once soldered. My suggestion is to get a 20-50 foot strand and test it out maybe the RF noise won't be so bad. I have used cat 5 for DMX lighting applications and it worked well but cat 5 is a lot cheaper than cat 6 and on that note shielded cat-6 is not cheap, almost the same price as FT4 rated mic cable.

Hope that helps,
Nicholas
 
Why not just install the mic cables in steel conduits, it will probably work out cheaper as you can install multiple cables within a singe conduit. When buying steel conduit you can also buy steel junction boxes and all kinds of fittings and parts to make the install easy. The steel conduit will also help shield the cable from outside RF.

Check with the inspector if steel conduit will pass the inspection first, can't see why not.

Cheers

Alan.
 
Yes. Thanks Alan. I am looking at conduit also.

But I am really curious about the cat6. I can't believe nobody has tried this yet. Theory says it should work very well.
 
Just look for plenum-rated mic cable. If you buy it in 1000ft spools it'll be less expensive. You'll need a bunch anyway. If you run it in conduit it shouldn't have to plenum-rated though, at least not as I recall.

Frank
 
Wayon said:
Yes. Thanks Alan. I am looking at conduit also.

But I am really curious about the cat6. I can't believe nobody has tried this yet. Theory says it should work very well.
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The only CAT5 or CAT6 cable that I've seen used for audio, went through a processor first. Basically, there will be a converter on both ends and then you run the cable however you'd like. The only problem with this is that they are designed for high end, permanent live sound installs, and as such, they are expensive. The hotel I work at uses a lot of this for our in house A/V as we have very long runs to work with, and for that purpose it works well.

I personally would look at the code carefully and think about conduit. For what you're doing, it's really your best bet.
 
Wayon said:
Yes. Thanks Alan. I am looking at conduit also.

But I am really curious about the cat6. I can't believe nobody has tried this yet. Theory says it should work very well.
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CAT6 UTP would not be a good product for this type of use... FTP or STP would be better choices. Same properties as UTP except for the addition of the foil outer shield for FTP plus the individual pair shields for STP.

Don't use the stuff rated for direct burial, since it contains a gel that is highly flammable and not rated for indoor use. Use plenum rated cabling.
 
bayley said:
Well, according to the list of form Mogami, this cable is designed to withstand 500V DC for 15 seconds, if you look at the tension special allocation. But why in the world want to do this.
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Seeing he was building the studio 6 months ago, it may have been built by now? I all started because of a building inspector.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
Seeing he was building the studio 6 months ago, it may have been built by now? I all started because of a building inspector.

Alan.
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I'm sorry, but Bayley was a spammer from India. He visits often in one form or another.
 
RiverRat said:
CAT6 UTP would not be a good product for this type of use... FTP or STP would be better choices. Same properties as UTP except for the addition of the foil outer shield for FTP plus the individual pair shields for STP.

Don't use the stuff rated for direct burial, since it contains a gel that is highly flammable and not rated for indoor use. Use plenum rated cabling.
Click to expand...

Sorry I clicked on the wrong reply, should have been river rat.

Alan.
 
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