22/4 AWG Riser Security Alarm Cable - CMR/CL2R Rated, Unshielded, 500ft White

This is the classic solid-conductor alarm wire: four 22 AWG solid bare copper conductors, red, blue, green, and yellow, under a white PVC jacket listed CL2R under NEC Article 725 for Class 2 power-limited circuits and CMR under Article 800 for communications, in a 500 ft pull box sized for a house or a small office rather than a whole building. Four conductors means two circuits in one pull: a keypad on a four-wire panel bus, a motion detector with power and an alarm loop, a glass-break sensor with power and alarm, a door contact and a request-to-exit on the same door. Solid conductors are what a security panel's screw terminals and a 66 or 110 punch-down block are made for: no ferrules, no stray strands, and a clean seat under the screw.

CL2R 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 contacts, sensor loops, and the low-speed buses most panels use, and it keeps the cable slim and the price down. The cable is UL or ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, it comes in a 500 ft pull box with sequential footage marks on the jacket.

Features

• Riser rated two ways. CL2R 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 Class 2 security and control circuits and communications circuits.
• Four 22 AWG solid bare copper conductors. Two circuits in one pull, at the gauge most sensor, keypad, and contact wiring is specified at, on solid conductors that seat cleanly under a screw terminal or in a punch-down block.
• Red, blue, green, and yellow. Four distinct colors, so power and signal pairs are identifiable at both ends without a meter.
• Unshielded. The right construction for contacts, sensor loops, and low-speed panel buses, and the easier one to terminate.
• PVC insulation and jacket. A 0.008 in insulation wall on each conductor under a PVC jacket that strips cleanly.
• White jacket. Disappears against a painted wall or a ceiling, and stays distinct from red fire alarm and blue data cable.
• 3.25 mm outer diameter. Slim enough to tuck behind trim, run along a baseboard, or fish through a wall.
• UL or ETL Listed, RoHS compliant. Also carries the Canadian CMR listing.
• 500 ft pull box. Sequential footage marks on the jacket; a one-job box for a house or a small office that pays out without a spool stand and fits on a shelf in the van.

Where It Fits

It suits security keypads and touchscreens on a four-wire panel bus, motion detectors and glass-break sensors that need power and an alarm loop, door and window contacts daisy-chained through a wall, door contacts and request-to-exit devices on an access control door, doorbell and intercom wiring, thermostat and zone-valve control runs, and any four-conductor Class 2 run through the walls and risers of a home, apartment building, small office, or store where the ceiling space isn't a return-air plenum.

Good to Know

It's a Class 2 cable. CL2R covers the circuits most alarm panels, keypads, sensors, and thermostats run on, which are power-limited to 30 V and 100 VA, but it isn't listed for Class 3 circuits (the higher-voltage power-limited class) or for Class 1, and it isn't a fire alarm cable; a run that needs CL3R or FPLR should use a cable that says so on the jacket. Keep the current light: a 22 AWG pair is about 32 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a 12 V motion detector drawing 50 mA at 300 ft loses about half a volt, which is fine, but a strike or a siren belongs on an 18 AWG pair. Solid conductors want to be bent once and left alone: don't flex them at a device that moves, don't nick them when you strip, and don't re-bend a conductor that's already been under a screw. Most panel keypad buses are low-speed and run fine on untwisted conductors, but check the panel manufacturer's wiring guide for the maximum bus length at 22 AWG. It isn't a camera cable: analog video wants coax and IP cameras want Cat5e or Cat6, though a 22/4 is fine for a camera's 12 V power alongside the video run. The NEC requires power-limited wiring to stay separated from power conductors in raceways and boxes. CL2R and CMR cover risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs a CL2P or CL3P cable. Keep the pull under about 18 lb of tension and the jacket out of the sun and the weather; it isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor contact or sensor should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

Usually ships in 1 - 2 business days.