Ran some speaker wire outside.

[RedCharles]

I ran some speaker wire through the closet floor, into and across the crawl, outside and up the side of the house, and finally into the living room for some rear height speakers. My house so old there's no insulation to contend with in some of the exterior walls. So it made sense to do what most people don't.

How long before the elements take their toll on 50 feet of cheap 16 gauge amazon speaker wire?

I'm going to paint it to match the house when it warms up to 50F.

And what else have I done to myself here?

 

[Grandzoltar]

First 16 awg is on the thin side for 50 feet. I’m not sure what kind of speakers you have but regardless of ohms when dealing in lengths of 50+ 12 awg or 10 awg would be best for that kind of run.

Second if your route has to run outside and there is no other way I would at least put up conduit outside fastened with quarter straps this will keep the sun from cracking the wire and keep the elements off the wire.

Still standard amazon speaker wire is not for outdoor use. I would maybe search for outdoor speaker wire maybe something will come up with a more robust sheath. Even if you do find some still run the conduit outside.

 

[Speedskater]

For outside speaker cables, I use the black low voltage wire designed for garden lighting and sprinkler controls.

 

[highfigh]

I ran some speaker wire through the closet floor, into and across the crawl, outside and up the side of the house, and finally into the living room for some rear height speakers. My house so old there's no insulation to contend with in some of the exterior walls. So it made sense to do what most people don't.

How long before the elements take their toll on 50 feet of cheap 16 gauge amazon speaker wire?

I'm going to paint it to match the house when it warms up to 50F.

And what else have I done to myself here?

Is it twin lead wire, like lamp cord or is it made for in-wall applications? It will last a while, but it's not made for outdoor use, so make sure your amplifier can handle some kind of load problems when the insulation fails and water gets in.

The good part- you already have a path if you need to replace it.

 

[BMXTRIX]

How long will it last? Typically years at the very least. Decades perhaps.

If it is not CL2/3 in-wall rated cable, you do have some potential fire code issues, but who cares on DiY.

The reality is, that outdoor rated speaker cable isn't that expensive and it's a shame you bought and are asking now, instead of asking, then buying, then doing all that labor work.

14/2 outdoor rated speaker cable, for 50', is around 20 bucks.

14-Gauge, 2-Conductor In-Wall Speaker Cable

Just a few bucks more than 16 gauge. Perhaps twice what base line speaker cable on Amazon costs, but it's still only about 10 bucks we are talking about.

 

[RedCharles]

"The reality is, that outdoor rated speaker cable isn't that expensive and it's a shame you bought and are asking , now instead of asking, then buying, then doing all that labor work."

It's what I had laying around, bought it for some other project that didn't happen. And it has been my experience that doing and making mistakes actually results in a more efficient learning curve.

But it doesn't sound like I've really hurt anything. CL2/3 is pretty much just sheathed cable, right? And I take that since the speaker wires are low voltage it isn't a big deal.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... outside and up the side of the house, ...

I would ask how much exposure to direct sun and rain?
Just being outside and protected from the elements will greatly extend its life.

 

[RedCharles]

It's on the shady side of the house.