# running Electrical wire/ethernet alongside natural gas line



## lazzz (Mar 21, 2013)

Hello!

I ran electrical and ethernet wire from the basement (4th level) to the 3rd level. On the 3rd level theres an I-beam that runs north to south, on the inside of the beam they ran the gas line to the fireplace, I decided to run the wires alongside considering the ease of running them in the 'dead space' of the i-beam. The natural gas line is insulated. Is this something I should be worried about?

Thanks in advance,

Max


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## jbfan (Jul 1, 2004)

You will have more issues with the ethernet cable run close to the electrical cable than with the gas line.


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## lazzz (Mar 21, 2013)

Thanks jb,

I did read about interference happening when high and low voltage are nearby, is this a fire hazard as well?


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## brric (Mar 5, 2010)

What gas line? Looks like an insulated water line to me.


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## stickboy1375 (Apr 28, 2012)

jbfan said:


> You will have more issues with the ethernet cable run close to the electrical cable than with the gas line.


No he won't... its twisted, he wont have any issues... I always share the same holes line voltage/low voltage.


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## lazzz (Mar 21, 2013)

brric said:


> What gas line? Looks like an insulated water line to me.


That line runs to the main gas shutoff.


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## k_buz (Mar 22, 2012)

You are tracing it out wrong. Nobody insulates a gas line.


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## jbfan (Jul 1, 2004)

stickboy1375 said:


> No he won't... its twisted, he wont have any issues... I always share the same holes line voltage/low voltage.


Then, no issues at all!:thumbsup:


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

k_buz said:


> You are tracing it out wrong. Nobody insulates a gas line.


I have before, boss shows up with no flashlight and tells me to insulate all the pipes under the house in a crawl space.
I'm trying to do all this by feel in the dark.
Later when he comes back with a light I could see what I had done.


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## chris_b (Feb 27, 2013)

k_buz said:


> You are tracing it out wrong. Nobody insulates a gas line.


And if it were a gas line... copper? Sounds dangerous.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

OMG.....the house is going to burn down..............................NOT

As noted....the bigger issue is proximity to the AC...but even then, the only real issue is if the jackets on both the AC and Cat 5(6) were nicked and you got ac on the Ethernet.

Ethernet is such a high freq that the 60hz AC line freq is not an issue. The twist in the Ethernet lines reduces any induced voltage and all Ethernet ports are transformer coupled.

Are you really sure that copper line is gas? That looks like a 1/2" copper water pipe....no reason to insulate gas. I don't 'think' there are safety issues using copper with gas...but, you might want to make sure.


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## bobelectric (Mar 3, 2007)

We still go by the old school cat cable rules. Stay away from fixtures, wires and other cables.


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## lazzz (Mar 21, 2013)

The line is natural gas, and it is copper... maybe builders do things differently in Canada? lol. (first copper pipe on the left)

Either way, I'm getting the feeling not to worry too much about it. 

I appreciate all of the advice!

M


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## theatretch85 (May 17, 2008)

I'm no plumber but looks like whoever did the gas piping in that last pic doesn't know what they are doing. All those 90's and a gas line coming out the bottom down at the end, where does that go? All the sediment and crap in the gas lines is going to pour down into whatever is at the end. That's why T fittings are typically installed with a cap on the bottom where the sediment can collect.

Also, if it were me I would not run the network cabling in the same hole as the electrical. If its only for a short distance you'd probably be OK, but for any long distances you'll be sure to experience issues. Packet loss and intermittent connectivity and other "weird or unexplained" network issues are just some of the side effects. Where ever possible, you should always keep at least a 1' distance between the low voltage data cable and any electrical lines when run in parallel, and always cross at a perpendicular.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Usually my rule of thumb is, run electrical through holes in the joists made in the middle, and if going along a joist, keep the wire in the middle. Data is run under the joists. That way even if I need to run along an electrical wire they'll be about 6 inches apart give or take. Though I try to avoid it as much as I can but sometimes you can't.

I'm not sure about any codes related to gas lines but I would want to try to keep the line free, as free access may be needed when doing a leak check.


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

This is purely from personal curiosity. Why would you think there would be a problem from a middle of the run gas line and middle of the run electric line?
Curious as to why you would ever think this could ever be a "fire hazard".


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