22/2 Riser Rated Alarm Cable - CMR/CL3R, Shielded, Stranded Copper, 1000ft

This is the two-conductor shielded riser cable for the signal runs of a security or low-voltage system: two 22 AWG stranded bare copper conductors, black and red, 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) and CMR under Article 800 for communications. The shield is the point: a reader data pair, a keypad bus, an audio line, or a sensor loop that has to share a riser or a wall with lighting and power wiring picks up less noise under foil than it would bare, and 22 AWG is the gauge most sensor and data wiring is specified at. 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. 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.
• Two 22 AWG stranded bare copper conductors. The standard gauge for sensor, reader, and data pairs, on 7-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 data, audio, and sensor pairs.
• Black and red. The standard pair coding for polarity on a DC signal or alarm circuit.
• PVC insulation and jacket. Flexible and easy to strip, 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 or Class 3 circuit calls for.
• 3.30 mm outer diameter. The slimmest of the riser cables, easy to bundle by the dozen and fish through a wall or a tight ceiling.
• 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 card reader and keypad data pairs on access control doors, RS-485 and panel bus runs where the manufacturer accepts a shielded untwisted pair, intercom and entry-phone audio lines, line-level audio between a paging amplifier and a source, door and window contacts and sensor loops routed past fluorescent lighting or motor circuits, thermostat and damper control pairs in a noisy mechanical room, and any two-conductor 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 and the route is electrically noisy.

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. Check the reader or panel manufacturer's wiring guide before you pull, since RS-485 and some keypad buses specify a twisted pair, and a foil shield adds capacitance that can shorten the rated run on a high-speed bus. Keep the current light: a 22 AWG pair is about 32 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a 12 V reader drawing 200 mA at 300 ft loses about 1.9 V, which is already close to what some readers tolerate; for anything that draws real current, use an 18 AWG pair and keep this cable for the signal. Keep the circuits in their classes: Class 2 and Class 3 circuits can use 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 the shielded 22/2 plenum. If the route is quiet, the unshielded riser cables do the same job for less and terminate faster. The jacket isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor reader or contact should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

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