18/6 Solid Copper Fire Alarm Cable - FPLR Riser Rated, Red, 1000ft

This is the six-conductor riser-rated fire alarm cable: six 18 AWG solid bare copper conductors, insulated black, red, brown, blue, orange, and yellow in PVC, under a red PVC jacket listed FPLR under NEC Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits. Six conductors means three circuits in one pull, which is what a busy device location needs: a four-wire smoke detector's power pair and alarm pair plus a pair for its relay or sounder base, a signaling line circuit alongside a monitor and a control pair to a module, or the multiple zones of a conventional panel run out through a single cable to a floor terminal cabinet. 18 AWG is the gauge most panel manufacturers specify for SLC and initiating circuits, where the current is small and the run count is large. It's unshielded, which is the standard construction for those circuits on a quiet route.

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 UL Listed, RoHS compliant, and made in the USA, and it comes on a 1000 ft wooden spool.

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.
• Six 18 AWG solid bare copper conductors. Three circuits in one cable, on the standard gauge for signaling line and initiating circuits, for detector power, alarm, and relay pairs, multi-zone runs, and control modules.
• PVC insulation, six colors. Black, red, brown, blue, orange, and yellow, so each pair keeps its polarity and identity from the panel to the device.
• 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.
• Unshielded. The standard construction for signaling line, initiating, and notification circuits, and the easier one to terminate.
• 300 V, 75 °C. The ratings a power-limited fire alarm circuit calls for.
• 5.38 mm outer diameter. A 0.381 mm jacket wall, sized to fit standard fire alarm fittings and connectors.
• UL Listed, RoHS compliant, made in the USA.
• 1000 ft wooden spool. Put it on a spool stand and it pays out cleanly.

Where It Fits

It suits four-wire smoke and heat detectors with a relay or sounder base that need power, alarm, and auxiliary pairs at one location, multi-zone runs from a conventional panel to a floor terminal cabinet or a remote zone, addressable modules that take a signaling line circuit plus monitor and control pairs, door holder, damper, and elevator recall control wiring alongside the initiating circuit, riser runs between the fire alarm control panel and floor terminal cabinets where three circuits share a route, and any power-limited fire alarm run where three 18 AWG pairs in one pull save two extra cables.

Good to Know

Don't put both legs of a Class A loop in the same cable. NFPA 72 requires the outgoing and return conductors of a Class A circuit to be routed separately so that one fault can't take out both, and a multi-conductor cable running out and back defeats that; use the pairs for different circuits, or for the power, alarm, and auxiliary pairs of one device. Run the voltage-drop calculation before you put 18 AWG on a notification circuit or a detector power pair: 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; for a loaded notification circuit, use a heavier two-conductor cable. On an SLC or initiating circuit the current is tiny and the gauge is fine for the panel's full rated loop length. FPLR covers risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs FPLP. If the route shares a riser or a tray with power, lighting, or elevator wiring, or passes a transformer or a motor room, use a shielded cable for the SLC. 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. Label the pairs at both ends before you pull; six conductors in one jacket are easy to mix up at a terminal cabinet a year later. 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

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