conductor color of same circuit

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Sparky up north

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can someone tell me do the undgrounded circuit conductors of the same circuit need to be the same color such as same color travelers as switch legs on 3 way circuits? a fellow worker told me this is a code and i searched and could not find anything in artcile 210 and 310. thanks for your help.
 
Don't have a code reference for you and I'm not going to say that I'm well versed on code yet but it is my understanding that code has very little to do with the colors of conductors. White or grey for the neutral and bare, green, or green with yellow stripe for ground. Maybe one of the more experienced guys can chime in.

Edit: And orange for the high leg
 
Roger mentioned 210.5, which applies to branch circuits.

There is also 215.12 that is very similar to 210.5 but applies to feeders.

Interestingly I do not find such requirements in art 230 for service conductors, but it does mention in 230.56 identification of high leg conductor for systems that have this - but also doesn't exactly require orange like many think it does, it says "orange in color, or by other effective means".

I also do not find this high leg identification requirement in 210 or 215, (maybe I missed it?) which is a little surprising.

Otherwise only specific colors that must be used for specific purposes in the NEC are green, green with yellow stripes, white and gray - all for grounded/grounding conductors.

Ungrounded conductors is open to about anything - and really only requirements are to stick to a method of identification of system and phase when there is more then one voltage system present at a premises. That identification can be by color, but is not limited to color, it can be by tags, markings, or about any means imaginable as long as they don't cross the lines with identification of grounded/grounding conductors.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
It is in 110.15 so it really applies through out the code.
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Good find, kind of makes 230.56 unnecessary to have.

You find anything on identification of ungrounded service conductors that is similar to 210.5(C) or 215.12(C)? If there is nothing then identification of ungrounded service conductors must not be required.
 
kwired said:
Good find, kind of makes 230.56 unnecessary to have.

You find anything on identification of ungrounded service conductors that is similar to 210.5(C) or 215.12(C)? If there is nothing then identification of ungrounded service conductors must not be required.
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Other than the high leg, I don't see a need to identify the ungrounded service conductors as to phase and voltage. They are not mixed with service conductors of other systems.
 
Sparky up north said:
can someone tell me do the undgrounded circuit conductors of the same circuit need to be the same color such as same color travelers as switch legs on 3 way circuits? a fellow worker told me this is a code and i searched and could not find anything in artcile 210 and 310. thanks for your help.
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I don't know where that idea came from. I use different colours often to distinguish switch legs, travellers, line and load or sometimes just to use up what's left of a spool.
 
jaylectricity said:
On what planet do the conductors in a 3-way switch need to be the same color?
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ActionDave said:
Not in my world. I like to use off colours like pink or purple for switch legs and travellers.
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ActionDave said:
I don't know where that idea came from. I use different colours often to distinguish switch legs, travellers, line and load or sometimes just to use up what's left of a spool.
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You could be cited for a 210.5 violation.
 
iwire said:
You could be cited for a 210.5 violation.
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So could any install yeah? Its a "given" that the colors for 480 are Brown Orange Yellow. 240/208 Black Red Blue. But where does it say this in the code book? I am not very good at interpreting the code but do they mean that we must post Black Red Blue as hots for all 120/240 distribution centers? OR Purple Yellow Pink as hots if someone got a great deal from a parts house? I haven't seen anything stating a color other than on neutrals, grounds, and high legs. Just how I read it though and think that the "trade standard" of coloring is considered readily available IMO.
 
When you have a building with more than one voltage system this applies.

2014 NEC

210.5 Identification for Branch Circuits.
.
(C) Identification of Ungrounded Conductors. Ungrounded
conductors shall be identified in accordance with
210.5(C)(1) or (2), as applicable.

(1) Branch Circuits· Supplied from More Than One
Nominal Voltage System. Where the premises wiring system
has branch circuits supplied from more than one nominal
voltage system, each ungrounded conductor of a branch
circuit shall be identified by phase or line and system at all
termination, connection, and splice points in compliance
with 210.5(C)(1)(a) and (b).

(a) Means of Identification. The means of identification
shall be permitted to be by separate color coding, marking
tape, tagging, or other approved means.

(b) Posting of Identification Means. The method utilized
for conductors originating within each branch-circuit
panelboard or similar branch-circuit distribution equipment
shall be documented in a manner that is readily available or
shall be permanently posted at each branch-circuit pane]board
or similar branch-circuit distribution equipment.
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The travelers are part of the branch circuit and are required to be identified by phase and system.

So if you chose to use and posted at the panel black, red, blue for A, B, C, and the travelers are supplied by phase C they have to be blue. You can make them blue with a strip or blue with a number but however you identify them they need to include the phase and system identification.

Just using say pink or purple for every traveler in the building is a violation.
 
You can choose to use any unrestricted color for travelers as long as you have only a single voltage system.
And if you have two voltage no systems IMHO you can still use "odd" colors for travelers as long as you use different travelers for each voltage and phase.
You can note in the placard for the identification scheme that brown and hot pink both indicate 480 A line. :)
 
GoldDigger said:
You can choose to use any unrestricted color for travelers as long as you have only a single voltage system.
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As was noted, we don't have to identify ungrounded conductors at all if we have one voltage system.


And if you have two voltage no systems IMHO you can still use "odd" colors for travelers as long as you use different travelers for each voltage and phase.
You can note in the placard for the identification scheme that brown and hot pink both indicate 480 A line. :)
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Good luck with that, in a two voltage system building you would need 12 colors other than green, white and gray :p

You could simply use the phase color for the traveler and add another identifier such as a band of tape or number at the ends.
 
iwire said:
You could simply use the phase color for the traveler and add another identifier such as a band of tape or number at the ends.
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Standard procedure for me was to simply tape the travelers together when starting each pull.


Roger
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
Other than the high leg, I don't see a need to identify the ungrounded service conductors as to phase and voltage. They are not mixed with service conductors of other systems.
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Sort of makes sense, most people still identify them and there can be some good reasons to do so, but most probably think they are required to be identified.
 
Though color coding is not required for a structure served with a single voltage I'd probably flinch a bit with a single phase system using Purple , Pink -- looking at supply web sites Ive found these colors -- Bk, R, Bl, W, Br, Or, Y. Gy, Gr, Pu. Pk, & white With Bk, R, Bl tracers -- A resonable person could accept Purple 120v & Pink 277v as travelers legs if part of the directory. switch legs would be The same branch circuit feeds. Doing it as such there would always be an identified voltage in each outlet.
 
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