4 AWG and bigger

[Pinnie]

No, you generally can't phase tape a white to a black at any size (unless it's in a cable). See 200.7(A)

Thank you. Learned something new.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Do you by chance know why they chose to start at 4 AWG?

In the past it was much more difficult to get an insulation other than black for conductors 4 and larger.

 

[jaggedben]

In the past it was much more difficult to get an insulation other than black for conductors 4 and larger.

Still is at many suppliers, especially as you go even larger.

I always thought that it was to avoid burdening contractors and manufacturers with extra cost once it was easier to distinguish the circuit and more likely that a qualified person would be working on it.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

What I mean is you can’t re-identify a conductor smaller than a 6 AWG per 200.6, but you can do the reverse for ungrounded conductors per 210.5.

So if the identification would come off the re-identified ungrounded conductor, you would still know that it is an ungrounded conductor and there is no real hazard. If the identification would come off a black conductor re-identified as a grounded conductor, you no longer know it is a grounded conductor.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Still is at many suppliers, especially as you go even larger.

Around me, most of the supply houses have colors through 500 kcmil

 

[jaggedben]

Around me, most of the supply houses have colors through 500 kcmil

My larger supplier that delivers from 20 miles awag would have all that, but my local smaller go-to-in-a-hurry store would not. The orange store apparently does not sell red larger than #2, although they go up to 3/0 Cu and 4/0 Al in black. So yeah YMMV but black is still going to be more readily available once you get to 4awg and above.

 

[Eddie702]

I don't know when the change was made that green could only be an EGC. In the old days it wasn't uncommon to find green used as a hot conductor.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I don't know when the change was made that green could only be an EGC. In the old days it wasn't uncommon to find green used as a hot conductor.

That was a 2005 code change

 

[ActionDave]

I don't know when the change was made that green could only be an EGC. In the old days it wasn't uncommon to find green used as a hot conductor.

Won a lot of bar bets on that one.

 

[kwired]

Around me, most of the supply houses have colors through 500 kcmil

I have a supplier that has colors in larger sizes, but they often need to bring them in from a more centralized warehouse and takes a day or two. They may have white and green up to maybe 2 AWG in local warehouse but mostly just black otherwise

 

[jmellc]

Adding to the confusion is that a lot of tray cable isn't made in colors you would expect. Some 12/3 is black, red, blue. No additional ground either bare or green. No white or grey for neutral, so at lease 2 wires have to be color marked, sometimes all 3 if trying to stay totally correct in panel. Various other colors too in 4 and 5 wire cables. IMHO, 12/3 should be black, white and green, suitable for 120 volt as is. Some coloring for 208 or 277.

 

[Eddie702]

Any cable can be remarked AFAIK. Your run 10/2 NM-B to a water heater or a 240 volt AC unit.