18/2 Shielded Fire Alarm Cable - FPLR Riser Rated, Red, Data, 1000ft

This is the lightest of the shielded riser-rated fire alarm cables: two 18 AWG solid bare copper conductors, insulated black and red, wrapped in an aluminum-Mylar foil shield with a drain wire, under a red PVC jacket listed FPLR under NEC Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits. It's a data-grade cable, with insulation built to the tighter electrical tolerances that addressable panels specify for their signaling line circuits, so it's approved for SLC loops as well as notification and initiating circuits. 18 AWG is the gauge most panel manufacturers specify for signaling line circuits and initiating device circuits, where the current is small and the run count is large, and a shielded 18/2 is the classic SLC cable for the panels that call for a shield. The foil shield and drain wire are for the runs where the plain unshielded cable would pick up noise: a riser shared with power or elevator wiring, a tray full of lighting circuits, a route past a transformer or a motor room.

FPLR covers 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. The red jacket is the fire alarm identification that inspectors and future technicians expect to see. The cable is ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, and made in the USA, and it comes on a 1000 ft wooden spool with sequential footage marks on the jacket.

Features

• FPLR riser rated. Listed under NEC Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits in riser shafts, vertical runs between floors, and general in-wall and in-ceiling use.
• 18 AWG solid bare copper conductors. The standard gauge for signaling line and initiating device circuits, and for short or lightly loaded notification circuits.
• Aluminum-Mylar foil shield with drain wire. 100% coverage against induced noise from power, lighting, and motor circuits sharing the route, with a 24 AWG drain wire for a clean bond at the panel.
• Data grade. Insulation held to the electrical tolerances addressable panels call for on a signaling line circuit.
• PVC insulation, black and red. Color-coded conductors for polarity on notification and initiating circuits, with a 0.010 in wall.
• Red PVC jacket. The standard fire alarm identification, so the cable is recognizable in a tray, a riser, or a junction box years after it's installed.
• 300 V, 75 °C. The ratings a power-limited fire alarm circuit calls for.
• 3.94 mm outer diameter. A 0.015 in jacket wall over the shield, the slimmest cable in the range for tight backboxes and crowded conduit.
• ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, made in the USA. Also carries the Canadian FT4 flame rating.
• 1000 ft wooden spool. Sequential footage marks on the jacket; put it on a spool stand and it pays out cleanly.

Where It Fits

It suits signaling line circuits on addressable panels that call for a shielded pair, initiating device circuits to smoke detectors, heat detectors, pull stations, and waterflow switches, short or lightly loaded notification appliance circuits, riser runs between the fire alarm control panel and floor terminal cabinets that share a shaft with power, lighting, or elevator wiring, device runs through mechanical rooms and past transformers, VFDs, and motor controllers, and any power-limited fire alarm run in a building where the ceiling space isn't a return-air plenum and the route is electrically noisy.

Good to Know

Run the voltage-drop calculation before you put 18 AWG on a notification circuit. An 18 AWG pair is about 13 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a circuit drawing 1 A at the far end of a 300 ft run loses about 3.9 V, which is right at the limit most 24 V panels allow, and 1.5 A on the same run loses nearly 6 V; for anything beyond a handful of strobes on a short run, step up to the 16, 14, or 12 AWG shielded cable. On an SLC or initiating circuit the current is tiny and the gauge is fine for the panel's full rated loop length. Ground the shield's drain wire at the panel 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. The data-grade insulation is built for SLC loops, but the foil shield still adds capacitance, which some addressable panels count against loop length, so check the panel's SLC wiring guide for its shielded-cable limit. FPLR covers risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs FPLP. The cable is listed for fire alarm circuits under Article 760, and the AHJ has the final say on using it for anything else, so if it's going on a security, intercom, or control circuit, check first. Keep fire alarm cable separate from power conductors in raceways and boxes, as the code requires for power-limited circuits. If the route is quiet, an unshielded 18/2 does the same job for less and terminates faster, and if the panel's SLC guide says shielded cable isn't required, the unshielded version is usually the better choice, since the shield's capacitance counts against the loop length. The PVC jacket isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor device should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

Usually ships in 1 - 2 business days.