SceneryDriver
Senior Member
- Location
- NJ
- Occupation
- Electrical and Automation Designer
I helped a friend with the electrical gutting and rewiring of his mother-in-law's new (to her) house this weekend. This has been an ongoing weekend project; everything from the service drop to the sump pump outlet in the far corner of the basement is being replaced. The house is ~65 years old, with cloth covered BX to match, and hacked-'n-slashed by the old DIY owner.
What surprised me more than anything though, were the "frangible" BX connectors. They look like the cast metal connectors we all know, except that a sharp rap with a linesman's pliers (or a stern look, really) shattered them to pieces. :jawdrop: It was almost as if they were made of ceramic or dried clay.
I've never come across connectors that bad. Were they just made like this in the past, or has time done something to the metal? At least they were being relied on as the bonding means. Opinions on the longevity of cast connectors and couplers made today? I prefer steel, but sometimes, you use what's available.
SceneryDriver
What surprised me more than anything though, were the "frangible" BX connectors. They look like the cast metal connectors we all know, except that a sharp rap with a linesman's pliers (or a stern look, really) shattered them to pieces. :jawdrop: It was almost as if they were made of ceramic or dried clay.
I've never come across connectors that bad. Were they just made like this in the past, or has time done something to the metal? At least they were being relied on as the bonding means. Opinions on the longevity of cast connectors and couplers made today? I prefer steel, but sometimes, you use what's available.
SceneryDriver