[TriLUG] OT: how do I know if ethernet cable is plenum rated?

[Jeremy Portzer]

Brian Henning wrote:
> Test it like the fire marshalls tested our wooden structures in our
> dorms at NCSU: try to set fire to it.  If it burns [rapidly], it's the
> wrong stuff. :-D
> 

Or, if it burns and you choke and die on the chlorine gas that's 
released, you know it's PVC (the main ingredient in the cheap, non-rated 
cable jacket).

Definitely do this outside, or in a chemistry lab's ventilation hood. 
You even have to be careful outside (on a still day) because the 
chlorine gas will form a heavier-than-air cloud and might not dissipate 
quickly.  Fortunately the amount you can generate with a small piece of 
cable wouldn't be too big.  (Read up on the train crash in Graniteville, 
SC for the dangers of large clouds of chlorine.)


--Jeremy