cable kept in dry cool place:how long is it "valid"?

R

rodscha

Specialist Contributor
My Satellite Setup
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My Location
carcassonne south france,700ks south of Paris ,300k N of Barcelona
have some ,spent 7 years in cool basement...can i use it for new? or should i buy new cable straight away?
My distance 5 metres...
 
I should think that, if the outer covering remains flexible, with no sign of hardening or cracking, it'll be absolutely fine.

(Maybe leave it in a warm place for a few dys to dry out any - Probably very minor - dampness)
 
How rotten was it before being put into storage ?
 
If it's too stiff to uncoil without cracking the PVC jacket then it's gone. I have stuff that is fifteen years old on the spool, and have no problems, kept out of direct sun and inside should be fine. Just clip the first few inches off the exposed ends, there may be some corrosion of the conductors.
 
Lazarus said:
I should think that, if the outer covering remains flexible, with no sign of hardening or cracking, it'll be absolutely fine.

(Maybe leave it in a warm place for a few dys to dry out any - Probably very minor - dampness)
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And to soften up the core & outer sheath to make it more flexible.

OTOH, if it's 15 yrs old it may not be as "good" as modern stuff - what you should really use is something like Webro WF100 which has a solid copper core, solid insulation between the core and the copper shield, and then all-copper copper braiding (that type of cable has slightly lower losses and is more resistant to dampness ingress).

OTOH2, using that wouldn't make much difference on short cable runs.
 
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Thank yoiu Lazarus ,CH,& Jeallen01! i have 3m50 to cover ,so i ll use that cable ,& just cut off a few cms!!!
it looks fine and uncoilable!
 
i meant erroneously that it s easy to uncoil it!!
Like a good Toulouse sausage
 
it shares the sausage culture ,and its coiling & de-coiling .
Kendal cassoulet must be "interesting" (in Masterchef language)
 
rodscha said:
it shares the sausage culture ,and its coiling & de-coiling .
Kendal cassoulet must be "interesting" (in Masterchef language)
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Known locally as Heinz Sausage and Beans in a tin.
 
ouch!!! they have become few & far between here ,except on UK TV of course!
 
do you de-coil or un-coil a sausage/acable?
 
Works for me. Maybe it's geolocked?
 
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