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Pro tip: I think everyone's wrong about using the same wire for every job
Last month, I was finishing a job on a big old house in Springfield, and the client wanted a new sensor on a metal garage door. I used the standard 22/4 I always carry, but after a week, it started giving false alarms every time it got cold. I had to go back and replace the whole 80-foot run with a shielded cable, which fixed it. Has anyone else had a sensor act up because of the wire type?
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veramiller18d agoMost Upvoted
That garage door story hits home. We had a similar mess with a gate contact on a wrought iron fence last winter. Kept showing open when it was just windy and damp. Turned out the cheap wire jacket was letting moisture in and causing a tiny short. Swapped it for a direct burial rated cable even though it wasn't buried, just exposed to weather, and the problem stopped. Makes you second guess the bargain spools.
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campbell.stella18d ago
What about the places where you can't just swap the wire out? I've seen old conduit packed with that white chalky corrosion that ruins any new cable you pull through. Sometimes the wire choice is fine, but the path it takes is the real problem. You end up having to abandon the whole run and find a new route, which turns a quick sensor swap into a full day's headache.
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