New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

post #1 of 6
5/18/09 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, first post here. I had to remove the a/c ducts from my attic, so now's the time to get some wall work done. I'm already installing media outlets and wall cabling in all the rooms - 2 coaxial and 2 cat-6 - in flexible pvc conduit.

While I'm at it, I want to run 4 dedicated circuits to a living room wall for future home theater. But I'm not sure if I have enough room. I have about 6 ft of wall to work with. So I'm wondering how close the power cables can be in the wall - without generating any kind of EMI or other interference issues with amps, subwoofers, etc. Is that even an issue, as long as my grounding is good? I will also have 2 runs of the media cables (in pvc) in that wall to contend with. That would be 6 total cable runs in that wall. I just don't want to go through all the work, only to have the benefits cancelled out by having too many cables cramped together. I could cut it down to 3 dedicated circuits if I need to.

Ideally, to really save space, I would like for 2 circuits to share a 2-gang outlet box. They wouldn't share any cabling. But the cables would run down the wall just a few inches apart - and enter opposite sides of the 2-gang box. Is that a good solution?

Thanks! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
-Kyle
Reply
post #2 of 6
5/18/09 at 3:08pm

Re: 4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

You can put all of your outlets in a 4 gang box and bundle the romex as long as it is within code. There will be no interference among the power cables. I do suggest that they all be put on the same leg of the breaker box.

As for your signal wires, just make sure they are shielded and you shouldn't have any issues. I have audio and video cables running on top of power cables in my attice. I have no problems at all. Most of my cables are RG-6 or RG-6QS.

-Robert
Reply
post #3 of 6
5/18/09 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 

Re: 4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert_J
You can put all of your outlets in a 4 gang box and bundle the romex as long as it is within code. There will be no interference among the power cables. I do suggest that they all be put on the same leg of the breaker box.

As for your signal wires, just make sure they are shielded and you shouldn't have any issues. I have audio and video cables running on top of power cables in my attice. I have no problems at all. Most of my cables are RG-6 or RG-6QS.

-Robert

Thanks Robert. That's good news about the power cables.

But now I'm worried about my cat-6 cable. After further review, I see it's unshielded (UTP), solid cable: PROVANTAGE: Belkin A7L704-1000-BLU CAT 6 Horizontal Bulk Cable 1000-Ft Blue Solid. I read recently that twisted is better than solid as far as interference. I wonder if I'll be okay with this.

Coax cable is Belden 7915A RG6 tri-shield: https://www.tselectronic.com/belden/7915a.html. I think I'm okay there.
Reply
post #4 of 6
5/19/09 at 5:25am

Re: 4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

Quote:
Originally Posted by melbeach
I read recently that twisted is better than solid as far as interference. I wonder if I'll be okay with this.
Solid is the type of wire used. Your wire is twisted. You can see it in the picture and that's what the T&P are in UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair). The twisting helps reject interference so you should be OK.

-Robert
Reply
post #5 of 6
5/19/09 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 

Re: 4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert_J
Solid is the type of wire used. Your wire is twisted. You can see it in the picture and that's what the T&P are in UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair). The twisting helps reject interference so you should be OK.

Thanks! That would set me back if I had to order new cable. We're finally getting some rain here in Fla and some rare cool weather. Gives me a few extra hours of quality attic time...
Reply
post #6 of 6
5/19/09 at 2:22pm

Re: 4 Dedicated Circuits in One Wall - Spacing Concerns

Quote:
Originally Posted by melbeach
We're finally getting some rain here in Fla and some rare cool weather. Gives me a few extra hours of quality attic time...
I wish I had that attic time. I only have to install four 18's in an infinite baffle sub, run speaker wire to them through the walls, run CAT-5e to my DVRs and 900 ft of RG-59 between my theater room and living room. That is at least 12 hours of attic time for me. I just can't find that much time to devote to these projects.

-Robert
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home