NM cable color identification

[nizak]

Is there any NEC code violation in using NM cable that is not current with the color scheme for identification?

I came across some "new" #10 that's been sitting in a guys closed up shop since the late 90's.

It's by no means ancient. I suspect it's from the mid 90's.

His wife said take whatever you can use. Several hundred ft of 10/2 and 10/3, new on spools.

Thanks

 

[user 100]

Is there any NEC code violation in using NM cable that is not current with the color scheme for identification?


Thanks

No.

The jacket color thing came into being around 2000 and was conceived by cable manufacturers to make identification easier for the less than skilled/inspectors etc.

 

[nizak]

Thanks

 

[MAC702]

Quite a few homes here have pink #12 NM instead of yellow. Don't know if I ever looked at the brand.

 

[infinity]

The jacket color is useful for identification but there is no NEC requirement to use a specific color of jacket on the NM cable. I think that we've just gotten used to looking at white, yellow, and orange to have a certain meaning.

 

[mopowr steve]

Just check to see if it says nm-b. That would be the latest conductor THHN insulation rated for 90*c for use with most lighting fixtures. Otherwise earlier nm I believe had THW conductors for 75*c

 

[peter d]

Quite a few homes here have pink #12 NM instead of yellow. Don't know if I ever looked at the brand.

I started a thread about that after I saw pictures of it in a trade mag. Turns out a contractor in Las Vegas had it custom made and bought trailer loads of it when wiring tract houses. The reason was obvious - to discourage job site theft.

 

[tom baker]

Just check to see if it says nm-b. That would be the latest conductor THHN insulation rated for 90*c for use with most lighting fixtures. Otherwise earlier nm I believe had THW conductors for 75*c

Change to NM-B was 1984...

 

[MAC702]

I started a thread about that after I saw pictures of it in a trade mag. Turns out a contractor in Las Vegas had it custom made and bought trailer loads of it when wiring tract houses. The reason was obvious - to discourage job site theft.

Thanks for that. No wonder I've never seen it anywhere else. And these were some pretty high-end tract homes in some gated communities. But tract homes none-the-less.

 

[retirede]

I started a thread about that after I saw pictures of it in a trade mag. Turns out a contractor in Las Vegas had it custom made and bought trailer loads of it when wiring tract houses. The reason was obvious - to discourage job site theft.

Around here, the meth-heads steal wire, throw it on a fire to burn off the insulation, and sell the copper for scrap. They don't care about the color.