I promise you this is a legitimate question. I have been trying to find an easy path to route networking from my basement where the network gear is to the second floor of my house. Problem is I cannot find a clear route - except for one of the drains for the second floor toilets. It’s basically a straight stack directly upstairs.

How realistic is it to route the cable up through the plumping and then out of the toilet upstairs? Obviously I would not have the cable exit the bowl that would not make much sense but I think I could catch it the other end, and then route it upstairs. I would just need to drill an entry hole for the cable in the drain downstairs and then just push it up.

I could probably convince my wife we don’t need the spare bathroom upstairs so it’s not like the toilet will be used much or at least restrict it to non solids use to not cause issues.

How realistic is this? I don’t think a toilet flush would cause too much pressure on the entry hole downstairs, I’d seal it too with silicone or something. I’m really convinced this is doable.

reddit

  • Masamune@lemmy.worldEnglish
    43·
    14 days ago

    No, it is not possible. The ethernet cable sends 0’s and 1’s, but the toilet line can only send 1’s and 2’s. All your 0’s and 2’s will just get stuck.

  • thesystemisdown@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    14 days ago

    Since you tagged this as serious… Is the plumbing in a chase? That would probably be a better route.

    I could probably convince my wife we don’t need the spare bathroom upstairs so it’s not like the toilet will be used much or at least restrict it to non solids use to not cause issues.

    Aside from probably not conforming to code, this should be a tough sell. The function of a toilet is straight forward and doesn’t involve restrictions due to communication cabling.

    Have you considered running a second router as an AP or moving your networking gear to the main level? Either are probably less involving.

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zipOPMEnglish
      8·
      14 days ago

      I think the best option is to just put an AP in every toilet. Just have the cable come right out of the bowl.

      • owenfromcanada@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        14 days ago

        That’ll never work–the bowl will end up working like a dish and you’ll only be able to communicate with stuff directly above the bowl.

        Instead, install the APs inside the water tank.

  • Nomecks
    12·
    14 days ago

    Got cable tv? Coax to ethernet converters.

  • AlexWIWA@lemmy.mlEnglish
    7·
    14 days ago

    An outdoor rated cable would probably survive. You’ll need to seal that hole up really tightly though or sewer gasses will leak in

  • Eheran@lemmy.world
    5·
    14 days ago

    If you can run it in and out of the pipe, why not simply outside of the pipe, next to the pipe?

    • remotelove
      2·
      14 days ago

      Because you just shove one end of the cable in the toilet and flush. The CAT5 pulls itself that way, smarty-pants.

  • adarzaEnglish
    5·
    14 days ago

    one floor at a time. you surely can find somewhere get a cable up to the main level through just the basement ceiling and floor above it. from there, maybe you have to go along a wall or around a room to find the easier path to go up from there to upstairs.

    other alternatives: running a suitable cable outdoors along the side of the building, using wifi just to go from one floor to the next if it isn’t reaching the entire height of the building in one shot, or ethernet over powerline hardware.