Ethernet and Power cable to be run underground

[mothrat1980]

Hi,
I'm going to be wiring up my garden office with power and ethernet underground and I need advice on the best way to run the cables as I have read that you should not run power and ethernet in the same conduit, so the questions I have are:
What sort of shielded conduit would you recommend for this if I were to run them side by side?
Would it be better to run each one down a different side of the garden?
How deep should I dig down for the cables to be safe?

thanks,
M

 

[pc1966]

Realistically the two cables in one duct will be fine as the power has an earthed armour to keep any noise and danger down to small levels. But the Ethernet has to be outdoor rated, and ideally armoured. Unlike analogue phone lines, Ethernet is very tolerant of electrical noise and any surge voltages (maybe less so with PoE).

If you have any doubts then doing with fibre is an option, you can get pre-made cables to the length you want and in outdoor/duct rated types, and the SFP and switch or media adaptors needed at the ends are relatively cheap now. True you might not need 10G yet, but if installed as fibre it is just an end point change away!

 

[LeeH]

Hi Not really something ive used but the EV charging boys use doncaster cables Ev swa With cat 5embedded .
EV-Ultra SWA Cable 3 Core 4.0mm² + CAT5E Data - Cut to Length | DC (EV-ULTRA3C4.0CAT5SWA) - https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SWEVU4slash3CAT5.html?source=adwords&ad_position=&ad_id=&placement=&kw=&network=x&matchtype=&ad_type=pla&product_id=SWEVU4%2f3CAT5&product_partition_id=&campaign=shopping_cable_accessories&version=finalurl_v3&gclid=CjwKCAjwlJimBhAsEiwA1hrp5p4uTXR1DoC2_yMwhIhuSSE0dvVhAad4xD3372fRVI3SbqQBlR-lUBoCX1UQAvD_BwE

Never see that!

 

[Mark42]

As pc1966 said I'd use fibre. I put underground CAT 5 all round my own site a few years back and it's been nothing but trouble for anything other than very short runs.
I'm adding fibre now. CST-armoured OM3 is cheap, and you can lay it right next to any power cables, but you need to learn how to terminate it. Otherwise buy pre-terminated lengths, run it in a duct alongside your direct-buried power SWA, put a fibre-to-RJ45 adaptor at each end. It will just work, and at amazing speed.
Copper is on the way out. If you do use copper, at least put it in a duct. Duct is the only truly future proof medium!
Enjoy your digging

 

[James]

Absolutely, I have decided to move my fibre terminating box thing and router from the house to the workshop.
50m of preterminated armoured fibre was about £60