Nippon Labs Cat5e UTP Direct Burial Bulk Cable, Gel Filled 1000ft 24AWG, CMX

This is a 1000 ft pull box of Cat5e UTP cable with a gel filled core, rated for direct burial and underground conduit. The gel is what distinguishes it from the other burial cable in the range: it blocks water from moving inside the cable, which is what you want in a wet trench or a conduit that holds standing water. Solid bare copper conductors terminate normally at each end.

Specifications

• Category: Cat5e
• Packaging: 1000 ft pull box
• Conductor: 24 AWG solid bare copper
• Construction: 4-pair UTP unshielded
• Jacket rating: CMX outdoor
• Core: gel filled
• Burial: rated for direct burial and underground conduit

Good for

• Trenched runs in wet ground, high water table or poorly draining soil
• Underground conduit that is known to fill with water between pull boxes
• Runs out to a dock, irrigation pump, well house or field camera in a flood prone spot

Which jacket rating do I need?

• CM: general indoor use, run in open air or surface raceway on a single floor
• CMR riser: vertical runs between floors, through risers and shafts. Required by code where cable passes floor to floor
• CMP plenum: runs inside air handling spaces such as above a drop ceiling or under a raised floor. The strictest fire rating and usually what a commercial inspector asks for
• CMX outdoor: exposed outdoor runs, with a UV resistant jacket

This box is CMX outdoor rated with a direct burial rating, so it covers the buried and outdoor sections of a run. Transition to CM, CMR riser or CMP plenum cable at the point the run enters the building, and pick the plain direct burial cable in the range instead if the trench stays dry and you do not need the gel.

FAQ

Solid or stranded? Solid conductor cable is for permanent in wall runs terminated into keystone jacks or patch panels. Stranded cable flexes and is for patch cords that get moved. Using the wrong one is a common cause of intermittent links.

How is it packaged? A 1000 ft pull box that feeds the cable out as you run it, so it does not tangle or kink during a pull.

What does the gel filling do? The gel fills the space around the conductors so water cannot travel along the inside of the cable. Without it, water that gets in at a nick or an unsealed end can wick down the length of the run. That is what makes a gel filled cable the choice for wet trenches, standing water and flood prone conduit.

Is it messy to terminate? Expect to wipe the gel off the conductors before you land them. Clean the jacket back and the pairs terminate like any other Cat5e.

Often bought with

• Cat5e UTP Direct Burial Bulk Cable, Black 1000ft 24AWG, CMX UV: non gel direct burial version with UV rated jacket
• Cat5e Shielded Direct Burial Bulk Cable, 1000ft 24AWG Solid Copper: shielded direct burial version
• Cat5e UTP Outdoor Bulk Cable, 1000ft 24AWG Solid Copper, CMX UV: outdoor UV rated version for runs that are not buried