Anaconda W Dutrax TYPE NM cable . Replace it or leave it ?

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Davebones

Senior Member
Location
North Of Tampa Fl
Old house has this ( Anaconda W Dutrax Type NM 14-2 600v ) cable in it . To me the cable looks good has the white plastic jacket . Do you guys that do a lot of remodels replace this if you run into it with the NM-B or leave it if it looks good ?
 
Properly installed electrical work is extremely reliable, meaning the term of service is very long. Long service lowers the cost over time (paying more for longer lasting work is a good bet).

The NM could have served reliably over the last 50 years and look pretty much like the day it was installed. If you can look at it and judge it could easily serve another 50 years, I would always take that bet. If it looks like it won't last another 50, you can bring your concerns to the owner.

Generally all of the old professionally installed electrical is still working reliably today, but the loads have changed with things that did not exist in 1950 when 600 watts was a big load on a residential circuit. That's when I like to leave the old wiring for the numerous 100 watt loads and run direct lines for everything with a load for that. So the new NM would go to the kitchen counter, A/C window outlet, washer, fridge.
 
__dan said:
That's when I like to leave the old wiring for the numerous 100 watt loads and run direct lines for everything with a load for that. So the new NM would go to the kitchen counter, A/C window outlet, washer, fridge.
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What does a typical new fridge, washer, or window A/C use these days? A few hundred watts?
 
petersonra said:
What does a typical new fridge, washer, or window A/C use these days? A few hundred watts?
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Yes exactly, a new fridge might be 400 watts or less.

But if I advised the old people that plugging their fridge into a convenience outlet circuit shared with 10 other outlets, I would be giving bad advice. Those are OK for the typewriter and the radio, table lamp. On a service change I would usually always add a circuit to the kitchen counter, even if there was nothing there on the counter, maybe even close to some other outlet on the old wiring.

The redundancy increases the reliability, the job should sell itself.
 
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