Burying RG6

[Kraven]

Questions about putting the wires underground.

How deep would you dig? am thinking 6-8inches be good.
Bury the wires straight up or put them into a piper (PVC?)

Probably run 6 different lines to the shed (2 being used, 4 as redundancy)

Opinions, suggestions?

IE- this is my weekend project

 

[jorgek]

I would not go less than 8". If the cable is rated for burial then you don't need a pipe. Do you have rodents digging in the yard? How long is the run?
Have you considered RG11?

 

[Kraven]

No RG11 in these parts.... from the house to the shed.. max 25 feet

 

[sgs]

I put my wire in a PVC pipe, about 6" depth. Just watch out for / consider what happens if water sits in the PVC pipe, especially if it freezes in the winter. I was running downhill so I left the end of the PVC pipe open and left some space at the end (a 6" long piece of big-O piping buried at the end works well for leaving space for this).

If you don't fill the PVC pipe with wire, consider running a string/rope through it, to attach and pull more wire later.

sgs

 

[KE4EST]

If 25ft is all, and you are burying 4 for redundancy, I would just bury it like you said and forget it. If it were longer I would for sure put in a large pipe with a good water resistant type string.

 

[Kraven]

Good point mike... along the fence in the back there's 10 or so rg59 lines buried straight up..never heard of anyone else have problems.
IE- this town, all wiring is buried (electric, phone, cable, gas etc)

 

[updatelee]

Here in Alberta it's 16" with conduit or 24" without conduit and you must add protection like pressure treated lumber overtop. So pretty much no one does it without conduit. The added cost of bury rated wire along with pressure treated lumber is more expensive then conduit. And with conduit you can very easily add more wire later.

UDL

 

[ancient]

I always use PVC plumbing pipe such at the type used for underground sprinklers - it's relatively cheap and in the U.S.A. at least, you're not required to use anything specific for low voltage wiring. Then after running the wires I use silicone caulk to seal the ends of any exposed pipe. I have never regretted doing this and it has saved me from having to re-dig a trench. It's also saved my wires on a couple of occasions when I was digging for something else and got a little too close. I do live in the north where we get winter, and if any water has managed to get into the pipe and freeze, it doesn't seem to have hurt the wires any. And, I've used RG-6 exclusively.

Don't try to cram too many wires into a small pipe, though - for six RG-6 cables get at least an inch and a half diameter. Otherwise it will start pulling really hard as you pull more wire into the pipe.

 

[migold]

I have put my cables in PVC of 3/4" to 2" diameter with runs of 12 to 70 feet. My choice was to do this to prevent damaging cables with future digging, since they run close together at least at one end, and to install spare cables. I put the PVC at depths of 4"-6" and use the 'service entrance cap' fitting where the PVC comes out of the ground. With that said, last year I removed the old C-Band "ribbon cable" that had been direct-buried for almost 20 years. It was still in excellent condition. I ran it in the 2" PVC with another of the same type, for a spare, & it is still in use.

 

[jorgek]

The cable guys in this area bury the drops 6" into a slit they cut into the ground. Easily lasts 30 years.

 

[Titanium]

The cable guys are dropping UG rated cable, not regular coax.

Not a good idea to seal the ends of the conduit. Condensation will collect and the cables will sit in the pooled water. Best to leave the ends open with breathable cap to keep the critters out and a sweep to keep the opening away from rain.

 

[scarecrovv]

uestions about putting the wires underground.

How deep would you dig? am thinking 6-8inches be good.
Bury the wires straight up or put them into a piper (PVC?)
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Probably run 6 different lines to the shed (2 being used, 4 as redundancy)

Opinions, suggestions?

IE- this is my weekend project

Did same thing last weekend. Except 3 being used and 2 redundant along with an extra 6 wire redundant cable for dish motor. I just direct buried them 6" down but they were outdoor coax.

 

[ancient]

Not a good idea to seal the ends of the conduit. Condensation will collect and the cables will sit in the pooled water. Best to leave the ends open with breathable cap to keep the critters out and a sweep to keep the opening away from rain.

In my previous post, I should have specified that I generally only seal one end of the pipe - the other end comes up in an enclosed area and is left open.

However there have been a couple of instances where I have had to seal the pipe on both ends and although I found out later that some moisture had collected inside the pipe, it never seemed to hurt the signal strength. In fact the dish that has always been the most reliable for me had a short length of its run through a pipe like that, because it looped to another dish and then shared a pipe with the wires from that dish back to the house. Still, in situations where it is possible to leave one end of the pipe open without it collecting rain water, I would definitely do so.

YMMV.

 

[perazzimx15l]

Go 1.5 FT just to be safe and thats what i did with mne.

 

[TheHamNerd]

Check your area for the frost line depth if your concerned about water getting in the conduit and freezing. I would put mine in conduit for the simple fact that in a few years I might forget where it is buried, and risk digging it up or something like that. I plan to put my coax in PVC conduit for sure just to protect it. I am sure you will probably be fine with it directly in the ground, and by the time it starts to deteriorate you will be long gone from that location. The conduit will just protect it. Or get direct bury rated cable.

Cheers

 

[Cham]

I buried a 1 1/2" ug rated PVC water line to use as a conduit, really thick walled stuff. Standard PVC conduit fittings fit perfectly for entery etc. Dug it in 2-3 ft with a "Ditch Witch" digger I rented for the day (had some electrical cable to bury too). One end at house is sealed with electricians putty, the other end is open into a weatherproof enclosure. I can always run different cable or add more someday if i want. Run is about 75'. Been there for 5-6 years.

 

[Bob2011]

I have had about a 100 feet of RG6 (from Lowe's 500 ft box) buried just under the grass for three years now without issue. If you have skunks or other animals that dig there is some risk but RG6 is cheap if you buy in bulk and do your own ends.

 

[Stargazer]

A while back I had regular RG-6 in large conduit that got water in it and it quit working. I reran RG-6 that was burial and never had issues again even though its been there for several years. The burial coax has grease in it. Go with the burial RG-6 wire and make sure its rated to at least 3 GHZ (3000 MHZ). Solid copper conductor is always better than copper coated.