Outdoor 24v lighting, speaker wires and coax

J

John@Outfront

Forum Moderator
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Messages
1,346
Reaction score
1,801
When I bought my home the original owner ran under ground 3/4 electrical conduit from house to near the jacuzzi. About a 80 foot run. Now I want to add 24v lighting from “alliance lighting”. It would be really nice to use one of the conduits already there. 
 

im not sure if the coax and speaker wires that are in their respective conduits couldn’t have just been in the same conduit? That would free up the other conduit for 24v lighting. Bottom line if I only have two conduits to work with and have a pair of speaker wires, 24v lighting wires, and coax cable, is there a preference of how they should be split up that is better than another?

 
Is there any interference pairing two together or other risks I’m not sure I should be doing, or should they flat out never be in the same conduits?

 
What is the coax wire being used for? Coax is like what goes into your cable box. Don’t you have power running out there? Maybe you meant romex type wire for 120v ac?

 
If you have power there for the Jacuzzi, just tie into it for your lighting.

 
It was intended for a monitor to watch tv at the jacuzzi. It comes from indoor audio video cabinet. I probably won’t use it but if it’s not an issue or gets interference from the other wires I might as well leave it ran

yes I also have 120 out there too but that conduit needs to be dedicated high voltage for sure

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Running speaker wires along with 24v for lighting should not cause any interference. Your biggest issue will be that you will likely have to pull the wires out of the conduit and reinstall it all. If you are pulling multiple wires in a conduit you have to pull them at the same time. Almost impossible to add a wire to a conduit that already has wires in it, especially 3/4”.  You might get lucky if it’s a straight shot and if you can use air pressure to push a pull cord through but doubtful. 

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
If you have power there for the Jacuzzi, just tie into it for your lighting.
Click to expand...
I’m not trying to “ tie in” I want to use the current conduit to run lots of light throughout the backyard off one transformer. yes I may use the 120 at jacuzzi but then could run 24v wires going back towards the house  there is lot of preexisting concrete and would be helpful to get light wires to where I want them

 
Kraut has it right. Just install your converter for your lighting using the 120v already out there. Or do you need lights at both ends of the conduit around the yard? If you have dirt you can get direct burial wire for your lighting and only needs to be a few inches under since it is classified as low voltage

 
John@Outfront said:
I’m not trying to “ tie in” I want to use the current conduit to run lots of light throughout the backyard off one transformer. yes I may use the 120 at jacuzzi but then could run 24v wires going back towards the house  there is lot of preexisting concrete and would be helpful to get light wires to where I want them
Click to expand...
Then see my previous post about pulling multiple wires through a conduit. You will need to start with the conduit empty if you plan to pull multiple wires in a single conduit. 

 
Understood that I would need to pull out existing wires and repull the with the other.  No access to bury in dirt to get it where I want the lights from all the existing hard scape   Just looking for the right combo. To tell you the truth is there any reason all three could be in a single conduit?

 
You typically would not put romex in conduit as it can have a potential to overheat. People do it all the time with no issues but you should check your local codes if you are worried about it all. That being said, you shouldn’t have any interference issues. But getting a coax, romex or individual 120 wires and speaker wire through a 3/4 conduit might be challenging. Depends how straight the run is. You will need to use wire pull lube for sure

 
Dockmaster said:
You typically would not put romex in conduit as it can have a potential to overheat. People do it all the time with no issues but you should check your local codes if you are worried about it all. That being said, you shouldn’t have any interference issues. But getting a coax, romex or individual 120 wires and speaker wire through a 3/4 conduit might be challenging. Depends how straight the run is. You will need to use wire pull lube for sure
Click to expand...
Romex (120v) was never in the original question. So not sure where that came in to the response.  There are some more runs I need to do going forward. And other locations so that conduit isn’t installed yet so it could be any size I want.  The pull isn’t the concern. It’s the combinations of 1,2 or 3 of these low voltage:signal wires and if there are issues with cohabitating in any single conduit of any size

 
Coax and speaker wires in one conduit, 24 volt lighting in the other. Careful on the distance with your 24 volt lighting. Make sure to calculate your voltage drop and size your conductors appropriately. 

 
John@Outfront said:
Romex (120v) was never in the original question. So not sure where that came in to the response.  There are some more runs I need to do going forward. And other locations so that conduit isn’t installed yet so it could be any size I want.  The pull isn’t the concern. It’s the combinations of 1,2 or 3 of these low voltage:signal wires and if there are issues with cohabitating in any single conduit of any size
Click to expand...
Sorry, romex was my bad. I thought you were talking about that when you said coax. Sounds like you have it covered. If you are installing new conduit it is always wise to put in some spare conduits if you have room for potential future expansion. Sounds like a fun project!

 
Dockmaster said:
Sorry, romex was my bad. I thought you were talking about that when you said coax. Sounds like you have it covered. If you are installing new conduit it is always wise to put in some spare conduits if you have room for potential future expansion. Sounds like a fun project!
Click to expand...
Pics coming soon. Yes doing a little 45 long 18” tall wall curving by the jacuzzi at the ends of the wall are pillars that will have adjustable blue tooth lighting and speakers. 

 
Hi John. Met with my IT guy Friday. I'll have a 2" conduit run to the back of the property for all his low voltage wiring. He didn't say anything about splitting them up. Of course he said I can't run his wiring with high voltage wiring. Anywhere I trench, I'm dropping 2" conduit in the ground. Just in Case. Peace

 
John@Outfront said:
Understood that I would need to pull out existing wires and repull the with the other.  No access to bury in dirt to get it where I want the lights from all the existing hard scape   Just looking for the right combo. To tell you the truth is there any reason all three could be in a single conduit?
Click to expand...
When remove the existing wire, use it to pull your fish tape back through.  If the old stuff gets bound up coming out, you can kinda use the tape to give it a push. It will make life a bit easier.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top