18/6 Riser Security Alarm Cable - CMR/CL3R Rated, 7 Strand Copper, 1000ft Gray

This is the six-conductor riser cable for the busier devices on a security or access control system: six 18 AWG stranded bare copper conductors, each a different color, under 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) and CMR under Article 800 for communications. Six conductors means three circuits in one pull: a card reader with power, a data pair, and an LED or tamper line; a keypad with power, a bus pair, and a tamper; a motion detector with power, alarm, and tamper; an intercom station with power, audio, and a door-release pair. 18 AWG is heavy enough to carry the power leg a long way without the voltage drop that 22 AWG would give, and the 7-strand conductors bend around a wall cavity and land in a terminal block more easily than solid wire.

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. It's unshielded, which is the right construction for power, contacts, and the low-speed keypad buses most panels use, and it keeps the cable slim and the price down. 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 two ways. CL3R under NEC Article 725 and CMR under Article 800, so it's listed for riser shafts, vertical runs between floors, and general in-wall and in-ceiling use on security, control, and communications circuits, and the CL3R listing covers Class 2 circuits under the code's substitution rules.
• Six 18 AWG stranded bare copper conductors. Three circuits in one pull, with about half the loop resistance of 22 AWG, on 7-strand conductors that bend around a wall cavity and seat in a terminal block without fighting.
• Six distinct colors. Black, red, white, green, brown, and blue, so every circuit is identifiable at both ends without a meter.
• Unshielded. The right construction for power, contacts, and low-speed panel buses, and the easier one to terminate with six conductors to land.
• PVC insulation and jacket. Flexible, with a 0.015 in jacket wall that strips cleanly.
• 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 or Class 3 circuit calls for.
• 5.74 mm outer diameter. Sized to fit standard low-voltage fittings and connectors.
• ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, made in the USA. Also carries the Canadian FT4 riser flame rating.
• 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 card readers and keypads on access control doors that need power, a data pair, and an LED or tamper line, security keypads and touchscreens on a panel bus with a tamper loop, motion detectors and glass-break sensors with power, alarm, and tamper, intercom and entry-phone stations with power, audio, and door release, sirens and strobes with drive and tamper conductors and a spare pair, riser runs between a security panel and a floor's zone expander or reader controller, and any multi-circuit low-voltage run through the walls and risers of a home, apartment building, office, or store where the ceiling space isn't a return-air plenum.

Good to Know

Run the voltage-drop calculation on the pair that carries power. An 18 AWG pair is about 13 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a 12 V reader drawing 200 mA at 300 ft loses about 0.8 V, and a 12 V strike drawing 0.5 A at 200 ft loses about 1.3 V; keep a strike or maglock off the same cable as a reader if you can, and if you can't, put the data pair farthest from the power pair and keep the run short. Most panel keypad buses are low-speed and run fine on untwisted conductors, but check the reader or panel manufacturer's wiring guide for the maximum bus length at 18 AWG and for any Wiegand or RS-485 run that specifies a twisted or shielded pair; if the route is electrically noisy, the shielded 18/6 riser adds an overall foil shield for the data conductors. Keep the circuits in their classes: Class 2 and Class 3 circuits can share this cable, but a Class 1 circuit can't, and the NEC requires power-limited wiring to stay separated from power conductors in raceways and boxes. Stranded 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 and CMR cover risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs a CL3P cable. The jacket isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor reader or keypad should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

Usually ships in 1 - 2 business days.