We have a Ring security camera that I want to mount above the front of the garage but we need to run the power cable into the garage to get to an outlet. Obviously we'll need to drill a hole big enough to fit the plug through but the part I'm a little struggling on is how to fill that hole since it will be pretty large. My thought was something like a rubber baffle like you would see covering a garbage disposal in a sink but those are 3+ inches and I don't want something that big. The idea is that it closes off the hole but the cable would be easily passed through and we could even remove it if we move or want to replace the camera later. Problem is that I can't seem to find a product like this but much smaller since it only needs to be big enough for a plug to fit through. If anybody knows such a product or an alternative method that would serve the same purpose of closing off the hole but still allowing the cable to be easily removed later, the help would be greatly appreciated.
Go the other way? Presumable the USBC or whatever connector on the camera is much smaller.
This is helpful. Double check your assumptions on how big a hole you need. Super easy to get stuck in one way of thinking.
Also, i agree with the sentiment of looking into POE options, even if most of the people who suggested it did so in the most condescending manner.
You can buy ductseal, it's a grey putty designed for exactly this situation.
This was my first thought too, ductseal is perfect for this
Definitely going to consider this option. Thank you!
You're welcome! Home Depot or any electrical supply place should have it.
And it’s paintable if you are really OCD
Use a wired camera that uses POE (power over Ethernet). Running a power cable to a camera, and then connecting it over a wifi connection is just asinine. With a POE camera, you get a rock solid, fast, and secure network connection, plus power all in one compact cable.
Second this. Wired cameras are more stable and less susceptible to jamming and don’t consume WiFi bandwidth. The POE router (and your Ethernet hardware) can be on a UPS to give you coverage during a power outage.
What if your router is in your basement or bedroom or something on the other side of the house? Getting the cable where it needs to go might be a headache vs. just using Wifi and plugging in the power as close as you can find it.
Tl;dr: while the solution you propose is generally better, calling the OPs current plan "asinine" is a bit rude and reductive
I agree poe would be better in general, but it's not guaranteed to be a simple switch, especially for a laymen in tech. If they don't already have poe on a switch they'll need to get an injector somewhere in line, which is another increase in cost. If there isn't already a run in that area it they have to run the cable really fast that's another complexity, and cost (even moreso if the person doesn't know how or have equipment to terminate their own cat cable). At the end of that cable, the person would still need to drill a hole in the wall and would need a solution to fill that hole (the original question), but with more steps. Admittedly, steps that improve the overall end product some amount; maybe a small amount, maybe a huge difference. Depends on the situation.
The much easier way is to abandon the current camera and get one that is PoE. Run your CAT5/6 to it. Put the PoE injector inside.
PoE or GTFO.
Still needs a cable though (CAT5/6) and therefore a hole, and so doesn't solve OP's original problem. I'm assuming they were going to use Wifi so the power cable was the only problem, which in your solution just exchanges that problem for the network cable problem.
EDIT: I'm only speaking to the relevance of your post as a solution to OP's problem. In general I agree with you, wired is way better than wifi which will be especially flaky through an external wall, and of course having power and network in a single cable is even way better.
OP's original problem was really about the size of the hole.
The points for PoE are:
The power plug is USB-C or barrel jack I'd assume, that's probably smaller actually compared to RJ45 connector. Also the high voltage side is at the adapter in the wall jack, it's already low voltage 5V-12V by the time it's at the cable running through the hole regardless.
Look for window cable pass through. Amazon has 2 choices ones a triangle and ones a circle. The circle is the one I just ordered and both are easy to install. Attach to the screen put a hole and push it through.
I actually quite like this option. We don't have windows in the garage but I'm pretty sure we could make either this or a similar style product work for this purpose. Then we could maybe couple that with the duct seal putty idea from the other poster to further seal the hole while keeping everything clean and tidy looking from outside.
Yes sir. I’m doing this with my amateur radio antenna coax
I'd just cut the cable a few feet from the indoor end, pass it though a cable-diameter hole, and solder it back together. The micro-USB power cord only has two active wires inside -- DC+ and DC-
For the AC-powered models, you'd need a junction box and some wire nuts (or better yet, Wago connectors).
If you're reluctant to cut the cord, you can obtain "split grommet" cable passthroughs like these.
Cutting the cable is the way.
I'd do this, but instead of solder I'd just twist the wires together and wrap in electrical tape. Then whenever the camera stopped working, I'd smack the wall with my fist a few times to make it come back on.
This is how my whole house is set up, shoddy wiring and percussive maintenance.
(I'm just kidding don't do this)
Is the camera end of the cable on these things very large? I assume it will be USB-C or a barrel jack, both barely bigger than the cable itself.
I don't see the need to cut it, why are we pushing the fat plug end of the cable through the wall, just feed it through the other way.
Have you considered this?
Plumbers putty. Personally, I would buy some sort of flex tube so your power cable has a little protection and doesn’t get sticky from the putty. Once your cable is ran, just place the putty around the outside opening and shape it to look nice and smooth.
You can cut the wire, pass it through a much smaller hole and splice it back together.
The best way to tackle this is to actually run some romex and make an outdoor outlet in a weather rated box. Anything else is not the best as far as safety goes. However, I may or may not have had a short length of PVC through my siding with a rubber pipe cap for a similar purpose. It's nicer having the outlet - worth the $ and no ugly hole.
The problem with that is that we'd instead have a big outlet just chilling above the garage door which is gonna look just as odd and we'd need to either cut the wire down to size (it's pretty long) and splice it back together so it doesn't hang down, or we'd have to put the outlet somewhere out of the way and then snake the cable to it and either solution leaves the power plug accessible from the outside for anyone who felt like unplugging it. Granted, the outlet being up high would require them to get a ladder to get to it and they'd be easily seen and recorded doing it but still.
They do have locking boxes. But yea, gonna look funny if you can't hide the box somewhere.
This video demonstrates a similar process https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cVrE0Gg-n5M
My entire camera system around my house operates on solar.
https://ring.com/products/small-solar-panel-usb-c
It still works when the power goes out. I live in the pnw and it's really dark this time of year, so once a week or so I have to bring one of the cameras in to charge because the sun doesn't hit it well enough and it loses 10% of charge a day.
I cut the cable on my Geeni cameras. Much smaller hole to pass through, easy to seal with silicone. Solder and shrink the connection and it's been that way 3 years now.
What we did is used an extension lead. Cut the female end off, threaded it through the wall (smaller drill hole) and wired it to the camera.
Not trying to get in your business about something you already have but have you considered POE cameras connected to an NVR? You get audio, video, power and more in a small Ethernet cable therefore you can make much smaller holes and not have to worry about being anywhere near power for each camera.
This was something we were gifted a long while back to go with the other Ring stuff we have. We just never put it up. However, because of another garage project that came up, now's as good of time as any to deal with it finally.
Use a POE camera
I did this exact thing, the plate that screws into the wall has a rubber backing. Then I just used silicone seal around the plate. Remember to drill from outside in.
If you have a soffit at your desired camera mount, run your cable through it and down into the wall.
You’re on the right track with your rubber baffle idea, but what you’re going to google is a grommet. They come in sizes much closer to those of a wire and a plug. Beep a hole in the soffit next to the camera, pop in a grommet, feed the wire down through it, find a suitable wall nearby. Inside the house you’ve got a few options: you can run the cable down in the wall or from the ceiling with a bit of backer rod around it, or you can have it come out in a jbox.
Although, if I were you, I’d consider ditching Ring and switching to a locally hosted (I like Ubiquiti) camera setup. The cameras are all PoE and ethernet, which is easy to field terminate. You’re not reliant on Amazon not shitting the bed for the cameras to work and record, and you’re keeping your data (literally) in-house instead of on a cloud server. And yes, Ubiquiti does a video bell.
Get a wet rated electrical box with matching cover, pop out the rear knockout, get a waterproof conduit connector (usually 1/2) and a short piece of conduit. Drill your penetration hole, caulk and slide the conduit through, connect to box, and done. As others have said, POE is better, but if you really can't, you can cut the plug off and connect a new one after