16/3 AWG Riser Security Alarm Cable - CMR/CL3R Rated, Shielded, 1000ft Gray

This is the heavy three-conductor shielded riser cable for the controls that need a pair and a common and draw some current on the way: three 16 AWG stranded bare copper conductors, black, red, and white, under an overall aluminum foil shield and a gray PVC jacket listed CL3R under NEC Article 725 for Class 3 power-limited circuits (and by the code's substitution rules for Class 2 as well), CMR under Article 800 for communications, and FPLR under Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits. A 24 V damper or valve actuator with hot, common, and control, a 0 to 10 V dimming driver with its power and signal, a gate operator's open, close, and common, a horn-strobe circuit with a sync line, a balanced audio line on a long run, an RS-485 bus with its reference beside a powered device: each is a three-conductor run, the shield keeps it quiet past the lighting and power wiring it shares a riser or a wall with, and 16 AWG, with about 40% less loop resistance than 18 AWG, carries the power leg a long way without the voltage sag. The conductors are 19-strand rather than 7, which makes a 16 AWG cable bend around a wall cavity and land in a terminal block more easily than a stiffer construction would.

CL3R and CMR cover the vertical runs between floors of a multi-story building and every ordinary in-wall and in-ceiling run that isn't a return-air plenum, and FPLR covers the same spaces on a fire alarm system. The cable is ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, and made in the USA, and it comes in a 1000 ft pull box with sequential footage marks on the jacket.

Features

• Riser rated three ways. CL3R under NEC Article 725, CMR under Article 800, and FPLR under Article 760, so it's listed for riser shafts, vertical runs between floors, and general in-wall and in-ceiling use on security, control, communications, and fire alarm circuits alike, and the CL3R listing covers Class 2 circuits under the code's substitution rules.
• Three 16 AWG stranded bare copper conductors. A pair and a common, or power plus a control signal, with about 40% less loop resistance than 18 AWG, on 19-strand conductors that bend around a wall cavity and seat in a terminal block without fighting.
• Overall aluminum foil shield. 100% coverage against induced noise from lighting, motor, and power circuits sharing the riser or the wall, for the control, data, and audio conductors.
• Black, red, and white. Three distinct colors, so the pair and the common are identifiable at both ends without a meter.
• PVC insulation and jacket. Flexible, with a 0.015 in jacket wall over the shield.
• Gray jacket. Reads as general-purpose low-voltage in a wall or a tray, and stays distinct from red fire alarm and blue data cable.
• 300 V, 75 °C. The ratings a Class 2, Class 3, or power-limited fire alarm circuit calls for.
• 5.08 mm outer diameter. Sized to fit standard low-voltage fittings and connectors.
• ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, made in the USA.
• 1000 ft pull box. Sequential footage marks on the jacket; pays out from the box without a spool stand, and the box stacks in a van.

Where It Fits

It suits 24 V damper, valve, and actuator controls with hot, common, and control conductors, 0 to 10 V dimming drivers and lighting controls that carry power and signal together, gate and door operators with open, close, and common, horn-strobe circuits that carry a sync line, balanced line-level audio between a paging amplifier and a distant source, RS-485 and panel bus runs beside a powered device where the manufacturer accepts a shielded untwisted pair, power-limited fire alarm circuits that call for a shielded three-conductor cable, and any three-conductor low-voltage run through the walls and risers of an apartment building, office, store, or light industrial space where the ceiling space isn't a return-air plenum, the route is electrically noisy, and the load is heavier than 18 AWG is comfortable with.

Good to Know

Ground the shield's drain at the panel or controller end only and tape it back at the device end; a shield grounded at both ends becomes a loop that picks up the noise it was meant to reject. On an RS-485 or 0 to 10 V run, carry the reference or common on the third conductor rather than on the shield, and check the manufacturer's wiring guide, since some buses specify a twisted pair and a foil shield adds capacitance that can shorten the rated run at high speed. Run the voltage-drop calculation on the conductors that carry power: a 16 AWG pair is about 8 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a 24 V actuator drawing 1 A at 300 ft loses about 2.4 V, and a 12 V device drawing 0.5 A at 300 ft loses about 1.2 V; for a heavier load or a longer run step up to 14 AWG or move the supply closer. On a fire alarm notification circuit the panel's own voltage-drop worksheet governs, and the AHJ will want to see it. Keep the circuits in their classes: Class 2 and Class 3 circuits can share this cable, but a Class 1 circuit can't, a fire alarm circuit can't share a cable with a security circuit, and the NEC requires power-limited wiring to stay separated from power conductors in raceways and boxes. Nineteen-strand conductors want a ferrule or a proper fold-back before they go under a screw terminal; a stray strand is the short that takes a zone into trouble. CL3R, CMR, and FPLR cover risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs a CL3P or FPLP cable. If the route is quiet, an unshielded cable does the same job for less, and if the load is light, the shielded 18/3 riser is slimmer and cheaper. The jacket isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor gate operator or actuator should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

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