Thread: Vacuum tubing?

I recently inspected a new construction home and found this blue tubing in the crawl space. It runs up into the wall cavities and does not appear to all go to, or originate from the same place.
There were scrap pieces lying about and it is a flexible plastic tube with a 1/16 id, nothing inside.
The only unusual equipment in the house was a fire sprinkler system.
Setting aside the amateur installation job, I'm curious if anyone has seen this and knows what it is. Because it is not a primary system, i.e.; electrical, plumbing, etc. I did not comment on it in my report. I'm simply curious.
Thanks.

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Looks like a mess - also looks like the tubing installed by pest control companies to spray pesticide inside the walls.

With that mess of a knot ... no telling if the system was even installed properly (I would suspect not, based on that mess in the photo - if their visible work is that bad ... imagine what their work is like which they knew would never be seen again).

Looks like Optical Cable to me.

You don't just cut willy nilly and splice it. The installation looks like crap but that is what it looks like to me. The rats nest is a result of leftover wadded up for later use a desire not to cut it, could have been coiled up to look neater which would have been what I would have expected.

Why not go to the builder and ask. No harm no foul.

That looks like cat6 cable..

Originally Posted by David Lyons

I recently inspected a new construction home and found this blue tubing in the crawl space. It runs up into the wall cavities and does not appear to all go to, or originate from the same place.
There were scrap pieces lying about and it is a flexible plastic tube with a 1/16 id, nothing inside.
The only unusual equipment in the house was a fire sprinkler system.
Setting aside the amateur installation job, I'm curious if anyone has seen this and knows what it is. Because it is not a primary system, i.e.; electrical, plumbing, etc. I did not comment on it in my report. I'm simply curious.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by Jay Urish

That looks like cat6 cable..

That is what I thought at first as well, but it's too small of an ID and there were no wire pairs inside the scrap pieces lying in the crawl space.

Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells

Looks like Optical Cable to me.

You don't just cut willy nilly and splice it. The installation looks like crap but that is what it looks like to me. The rats nest is a result of leftover wadded up for later use a desire not to cut it, could have been coiled up to look neater which would have been what I would have expected.

Why not go to the builder and ask. No harm no foul.

There's nothing inside the tubing, at least in the scraps I examined. The material is similar to the inner cladding on fiber service drops, but no fiber inside and no silicone residue that would be indicative of fiber.

I left a few messages for the builder, but haven't received a response.

Cat 5 or 6 cable? Empty pieces may have been stripped off the wires when connections were made.

Originally Posted by David Lyons

That is what I thought at first as well, but it's too small of an ID and there were no wire pairs inside the scrap pieces lying in the crawl space.

Does it have any markings at all?

Looks like a lousy job of running cat5 wire….

Could be LONG refer ice maker?? is it hollow for sure??

Rolland Pruner

- - - Updated - - -

Could be LONG refer ice maker?? is it hollow for sure??

Rolland Pruner

That type of tubing is used for beverage dispensing. Could be piping drinking water to several locations...or maybe beer dispenser in every room!

Originally Posted by Mark Reinmiller

That type of tubing is used for beverage dispensing. Could be piping drinking water to several locations...or maybe beer dispenser in every room!

A central reverse osmosis filter supplying several locations???

Possibilities are unlimited.

That cable is Ethernet cable for internet connection. Inside are 4 twisted pars of conductors to carry data. The scrape empty pieces are the ends cut off to expose the conductors to make up the ends. FYI copper CAT 5 or 5e or 6 (category) cable is good for ~ 300 feet, beyond that optical fiber is needed and a transceiver is needed to go back to copper for connection to a PC or TV. AT this time consumer units ( PC's, TV's) do not accept fibre connections.

- - - Updated - - -

That cable is Ethernet cable for internet connection. Inside are 4 twisted pairs of conductors to carry data. The scrape empty pieces are the ends cut off to expose the conductors to make up the ends. FYI copper CAT 5 or 5e or 6 (category) cable is good for ~ 300 feet, beyond that optical fiber is needed and a transceiver is needed to go back to copper for connection to a PC or TV. AT this time consumer units ( PC's, TV's) do not accept fibre connections.

The original post described it as tube, tubing, nothing inside it.

Looks like the pest control tubing in new construction. Small diameter plastic tubing run around the perimeter of the home thru the studs. Usually terminate in a 4 inch PVC pipe on exterior wall. The tubes have small holes. Pest Contractor squirts poison in exterior end, poison exits holes along tube inside wall cavities. 100% percent perimeter application. No furniture to move, no poison in the living area for pets or children to consume.

Taexx, HomeTeam, PestBan are three companies in my area who provide this service.

Originally Posted by Jeff Moore

That cable is Ethernet cable for internet connection. Inside are 4 twisted pars of conductors to carry data. The scrape empty pieces are the ends cut off to expose the conductors to make up the ends. FYI copper CAT 5 or 5e or 6 (category) cable is good for ~ 300 feet, beyond that optical fiber is needed and a transceiver is needed to go back to copper for connection to a PC or TV. AT this time consumer units ( PC's, TV's) do not accept fibre connections.

- - - Updated - - -

That cable is Ethernet cable for internet connection. Inside are 4 twisted pairs of conductors to carry data. The scrape empty pieces are the ends cut off to expose the conductors to make up the ends. FYI copper CAT 5 or 5e or 6 (category) cable is good for ~ 300 feet, beyond that optical fiber is needed and a transceiver is needed to go back to copper for connection to a PC or TV. AT this time consumer units ( PC's, TV's) do not accept fibre connections.

I can't say for sure, but from the photos it does not look like it has printing on it. If it was Cat 5 or 6 I assume the OP would have seen the printing.

Originally Posted by Mark Reinmiller

I can't say for sure, but from the photos it does not look like it has printing on it. If it was Cat 5 or 6 I assume the OP would have seen the printing.

Pneumatic tubing?