Big Mistake? (1 Viewer)

[Chris_Ta]

Hey guys, my first post.

I made a little mistake, and I am wondering how vital it is.

I ran a ton of speaker wires in my walls (sheetrock already installed), and it isn't rated for in wall installation. I am very handy, and knowledgeable with electronics. I thought speaker wire is speaker wire, but after a little research here I am finding out it's not. How bad is this if I leave it in there? It took me many housr to get it throughout the house.:frowning: Please help.

 

[BrianWoerndle]

Worst case scenerio:

The wire starts a fire and burns your house down. And, if they find a wire not UL-listed in the walls they may not cover it under insurance. Ouch!

 

[Chris_Ta]

How would a speaker wire cause a fire though? You can pretty much twist them together and nothing would happen but clipping until the amp burned out, no?

 

[Chris Quinn]

The speaker wire would not have to cause the fire for an insurance company to use the code violation to not pay.

 

[BrianWoerndle]

I am not saying it would, but that is the whole point of UL listings. A UL Listing guarantee's the wire is safe.

While I don't think there would ever be a problem, that is not my call. That is why we have the Underwriters Laboratory.

And I did say worst case.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

It isn’t that, it’s what the plastic insulator does when it catches fire (which it would if a house fire managed to get to it). Supposedly the insulation on non-CL-2 rated wire behaves like a fuse, burning quickly - which can facilitate the fire spreading to other areas.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[MikeNg]

You might also run into problems with shielding. Provided you dont have any parallel runs close to electrical wire, you may be OK. Not sure what you can do if you experience interference from electrical wire (60Hz hum).

 

[Chris_Ta]

Thanks for the replys guys. The wire is UL rated, I just don't see any marking on the jacket that says CL-2.

The speaker wire runs parallel to a power wire for maybe 4 or 5 feet, and it has 10 feet or so on both sides (amp, and speakers) that it doesn't. Will this be a problem also?

 

[Dick Knisely]

hmmm... how close are the two wires? Is the power wire standard 3 conductor romex?

 

[Chris_Ta]

They are pretty close, and I live in NY so code is two wire BX (Metal jacket) cable.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Your house will have an easily identifiable electrical code violation. If you try to sell the house and an inspector sees this violation of the electrical code you may not be able to sell the house until it is replaced or removed.

 

[Brian Osborne]

It's still a fairly inexpensive fix. Just replace the wire with cl2 wire. If you can get at both ends of the wire, just use it to pull the new wire through the wall. You should be able to do up to 100' of wire for under $50, depending on what guage you want.
Also some non rated wire is toxic in a fire, not that it would matter if your house is burning down...

 

[Chris_Ta]

Good points guys. What about all the cables I ran for component/s-video/HDMI etc.? They are from Blue Jeans Cable, are they CL2, I cant see if they are. If they arent i'm screwed.

 

[Chip_Slattery]

Before you go crazy over this talk to someone who knows your local code. It could be that there are no specific stipulations to LV residential wiring in your city/town/county. (whoever has jurisdiction)

While going with CL2/CL3 rated cable may indeed be the "proper" way to go, you still may be within code. And if you're within code you needn't worry about insurance issues.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an electrician and my comments here are purely based on information gleaned from professionals in the field, each of whom would (most likely) recommend that you use cable rated for in-wall use so as to avoid the potential for safety issues issues later, setting aside local code and/or insurance concerns.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Well, even lamp cord is UL rated. That is essentially a *minimum* rating or approval. However, just being UL approved or rated, doesn't mean that it's approved for in-wall wiring.

Chip has provided some great advice. Check on your local codes first. What is approved for my area, might not be legitimate for yours. However, there is a national electrical code that probably serves as a baseline to the states' code - and the states might have applied minor adjustments for their use.