New NM Cable ??

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junkhound

Senior Member
Location
Renton, WA
Occupation
EE, power electronics specialty
Being an old fart, I remember buying 12-2 with 14 AWG ground in green insulation up thru 1968.
Also could buy copper clad aluminum 12-2 with copper clad Al ground wire till about the same time.


I have seen it since, but just in old houses or an old roll still on a shelf in the barn <G>
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
But this stuff is fine stranded, not just stranded. I have worked with fine stranded wire and I could see where terminals and connectors would not be listed for use with it. Using wire nuts on fine stranded wire usually results in one or more of the strands actually being cut by the metal threads in the nuts.

There is also a chance that breaker terminals won't tighten down all the way on fine stranded wire.
I agree if it is fine stranded, terminations do need to be suitable for fine stranded conductors if that is what it is. I think you could tin the conductors and be OK but that can add pretty significant labor.
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
I agree if it is fine stranded, terminations do need to be suitable for fine stranded conductors if that is what it is. I think you could tin the conductors and be OK but that can add pretty significant labor.

You have to be careful tinning conductors. I was at a dealer summit for Siemens this week, and one of the dealers there related the story of using stranded wire for fire alarm panels. The AHJ required that they be tinned. So, he made up the panels with the tinned conductors. On a whim the next day, he checked all the connections and every one was loose. The solder had cold-flowed. So he retightened everything. And the following day. And the day after that, and the day after that... He delayed shipping the panels for two weeks to make sure the connections were tight out of the shop. He doesn't know what happened after that as they disappeared into the bowels of Sandia National Laboratory.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
You have to be careful tinning conductors. I was at a dealer summit for Siemens this week, and one of the dealers there related the story of using stranded wire for fire alarm panels. The AHJ required that they be tinned. So, he made up the panels with the tinned conductors. On a whim the next day, he checked all the connections and every one was loose. The solder had cold-flowed. So he retightened everything. And the following day. And the day after that, and the day after that... He delayed shipping the panels for two weeks to make sure the connections were tight out of the shop. He doesn't know what happened after that as they disappeared into the bowels of Sandia National Laboratory.
Sounds like if AHJ wanted them tinned then they should have requested AHJ be the one to keep checking them on a daily basis to make sure they are tight:happyyes:
 

resistance

Senior Member
Location
WA
I have not bought any NM cable for a while but I was told that the NM cable now has an insulated green ground conductor. Is that true and if it is true, who makes it? I personally think that it would be nice to have an insulated ground conductor. Once I get home, I will go on line to see what I can find out.

Thanks, Bill
Haven?t seen it and I've seen a lot of it. But, who knows, it could have came out a week ago :cool:
 
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