Orange Smurf Tube

[tom baker]

How did orange get picked as the color for telecom raceway (orange smurf tube or NM Fex conduit)?

 

[JFletcher]

Good question. I've installed miles of 1/2 and 3/4" ENT for comm cable, never a foot of the orange stuff. I'd like to know why the resi and plenum guard are both orange; seems like a potential major pitfall if you install resiguard in an air handling space.

According to Carlon's site, they are available in other colors.

I did find this:

http://www.doesitcomply.com.au/article/correct-conduits-for-communications-cabling

which seems to suggest orange is perhaps an international standard for cabling.

Also found this:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22343148-Orange-Underground-Cable-Install

the 5th post down lists 'standard colors' but no mention of where that standard comes from. If orange is standard for OSP installs, probably convention made inside plant orange as well.

 

[zbang]

How did orange get picked as the color for telecom raceway (orange smurf tube or NM Fex conduit)?

Making a wild assumption- because early fiber inner-duct was usually orange; still is in most places.

 

[kwired]

Orange is ID color for communications in general - don't know why it was chosen.

When they bury HDPE for communications it usually is orange anymore. When they mark underground lines for the one call identification they use orange markings to ID communications, other utilities use other standardized colors - most common is yellow for gas, red for electric, blue for potable water, green for sewer, white is what you are supposed to use to mark proposed excavation location

 

[tom baker]

So a defacto standard? It must of started somewhere..
In my RAV4 hybrid, all the DC high voltage parts are orange.
Mike Holt said we orange as electricians won't touch it.
Some years ago a fire alarm tech asked me why fire alarm panels are red.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I expect it came from the standard that set the colors for utility locates, but I have no idea where that standard came from. Utility locate markings for phone were orange before I started in the trade. The orange was expanded to cover other communications systems.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Making a wild assumption- because early fiber inner-duct was usually orange; still is in most places.

i'll see your assumption, and raise you a SWAG....

my assumption was that it was used to identify fiber optic cable,
as the stuff doesn't like to be bent or disturbed. nice and visible.

 

[gadfly56]

So a defacto standard? It must of started somewhere..
In my RAV4 hybrid, all the DC high voltage parts are orange.
Mike Holt said we orange as electricians won't touch it.
Some years ago a fire alarm tech asked me why fire alarm panels are red.

And not all of them are. Early Pyrotronics MXL panels were beige. Later MXL panels are standard in black. System 3 panels were blue. Kidde Mercury panels were white, IIRC. The CP2-ER releasing panel is beige. Many commercial fire/burg panels are standard in white.

 

[zbang]

Weren't Edwards panels also beige? And every Faraday panel I've seen was black, except for the copper .