Speaker Run & Shielding?

[greg_dba]

Hi,

I would like to run some speaker wire out to a BBQ island and have a couple of questions:

1) The run will be 75-100 ft, what type/gage of wire is suggested?

2) There is a nice trench running exactly where I need the speaker wires to go, the down side is that this trench is for an electrical run. I've no idea of the codes here, so it may be plain old Romex laid in the trench, or placed inside PVC tubing or metal conduit(<-least likely). I know enough that I should be aware of interference, but that's about it.

So, can I run the speaker wire in the same trench? If yes, what do I need to do for shielding? Also, any issue with running the speaker wire side by side with some Cat5?

Any help is most appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[jaxvon]

If there IS electrical wire running in the trench, you should most definitely NOT run your speaker wire in there. Speaker wires should be kept as far away from electrical lines as possible, and if they need to cross, they should cross at a 90* angle. For that length of a run, I would use 12ga or 10ga speaker wire. Home depot sells direct burial low-voltage 2-conductor cable. Just pick up some 12ga stuff like that and you should be fine. HOWEVER, it's gonna need its own trench, at least like, 16 inches from the electrical wire. Of course, if the burried romex isn't live, then it isn't a problem. Otherwise...looks like you have some work to do...