Using the old "White" 12-2 Romex (2024 Update)

I recently bought a roll of the old "White" 12-2 w/ground romex at an auction. The price was right and electrically the color dont matter. The stuff is new and in excellent condition.

I dont recall when the change occurred which made 12-2 romex yellow, but I believe it was near the end of the 1990's. Therefore this roll of "white" must be at least 12 years old.

Considering that I'm using it in a farm shed which will not require inspection, I'm not worried about the code. However, I'm curious if this stuff would still be legal to use in a new installation for residential work which would be inspected? I know there's probably still a fair amount of this stuff around. Does anyone know what the code says about this?

Yea, the thought has occurred to take a yellow permanent marker and at least color the ends!!!!

By the way, when are they going to come out with designer colors on romex? I'd like some dark brown to match my walnut paneling, some red for the trim around the fireplace, and some light violet for the bathroom. And what about those blue plastic boxes. I want my choice of designer colors too. That dark blue dont match anything in the house.......... (just kidding).

Speaking about designer colors, I just bought my first bag of matching yellow romex staples. Until now, they were always white. This ought to make this a much better world, except now I cant use the same ones on white 14-2 romex, and wil have to buy a bag of white ones even if they are the exact same size....... :)

Reply to
fred.flintstone
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On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, snipped-for-privacy@thecave.com wrote: ...

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional requirements would it be an issue.

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Reply to
dpb

Hi, In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

negative. the orange is 10ga.

Reply to
Steve Barker

The colour coding is voluntary and there is therefore "NO official standard". It started about 2001 GENERALLY white is 14 guage, for 15 amp circuits. Yellow is GENERALLY #12 for 20 amp circuits, Orange is GENERALLY #10, for 30 amp circuits, Black is USUALLY either #6 or #8 - stove or drier cable, or feeding sub panels - 40 or 60 amp. GREY sheath can be any size and generally indicated NMW rather than NMD (weatherproof or special app)

Because it is a "voluntary standard" it is NOT addressed by most (possibly not any) code.

Reply to
clare

The stuff I see, the newer yellow has a sheath which is softer, easier to rip one. The older white was tougher.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

Thanks to all who replied. I did not know it was voluntary. It is a good idea though, since the labelling was often hard to read.

The newer stuff is easy to rip open. The older white 12-2 or 14-2 was harder but not much harder. However, I recall using some old UF (underground) cable which was white. That stuff was a nightmare to strip. The jacket was molded right to the black and white wires, and the bare ground was in a ridge in the center and was molded right to it. I remember spending 20 minutes hacking away little chunks at a time, and and trying to expose the black / white wires without cutting it down to bare wire. I normally left the jacket insulation on the bare wire except at the tip. Damn I hated that stuff. The modern gray UF is still harder to strip than standard romex, but at least it separates from the insulated and bare wires without having to literally scrape it away.

Reply to
fred.flintstone

The yellow is manufactured in China by yellow skinned people. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

I can't speak about code issues but coloring the end yellow won't matter because anyone who knows what they are looking for would look at the actual insulation on the conductors.

Reply to
George

They started color coding the sheath the same time they changed to 90C rated insulation on the conductors which changed the cable designation from NM to NM-B . As you stated color coding is not a code requirement.

Reply to
George

Then who makes the #10 orange stuff? Overworked halloween pumpkins? :)

Reply to
fred.flintstone

I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the

60 degree ampacity rating
Reply to
RBM

Just be glad you never have to strip a "Sprague" cable

Reply to
RBM

But the insulation is good for use in pot-lights etc where the 90C wiring was a requirement even years ago - now you use one cable everywhere #14 is required. I think the old stuff was called R-90???

Reply to
clare

No silly, that's what flavor it is. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

The irony of this is that about the time they finally have required 90C cable, most light fixtures now use CFL bulbs, which operate very cool compared to the incandescent bulbs.

I've seen many boxes where the old cloth covered cable, and even some of the newer cable was all bare wires because the old fixtures literally baked the wires because they did not allow the heat to exit the fixture.

As our lighting changes to more energy efficient (and cooler) bulbs, I suppose there will be more changes in wiring. Yet, some people will still run "Hot" bulbs such as incandescents, and halogens are even hotter. Then too, people dont always follow instructions. Just because a fixture says 60W (or smaller) bulbs ONLY does not mean they will follow it, particularly when all they have on hand is a 100W bulb. Not to mention many people dont read. Just like the old plug fuses. It was more common than not, to replace a blown 15A or 20A fuse with a 30A. If they had made 100A fuses that fit the socket, they would have used them.

Sometimes I think the electrical code is too strict and sometimes even rediculous, but I guess they have to be in order to protect us from idiot people who cant or wont follow instructions, or who just dont know or care.

Reply to
fred.flintstone

Good comments. GFCI and AFCI devices can keep people from electrocuting themselves and starting fires from poor wiring practices and faulty connections; but something bad will eventually happen when a high-wattage bulb is put into a socket rated for somthing less. It's unfortunate that the only safety "enforcement" is often a printed sticker on the light fixture that discolors or falls off rather than a physical barrier such as a socket designed such that the wrong bulb won't even go into the socket.

Much of the blame belongs to the industry which has done little to nothing to educate consumers about lighting and electrical matters for years. There's more general information now because of the bulb phase-out, but still very little about safety.

Tomsic

Reply to
Tomsic

I think the strict standards are to allow a healthy safety margin to accomodate *every* possibility, including user generated issues.

At least they aren't using pennies any more though.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Most of the blame lies in a populace that has been conditioned to have an attention span approximating that of a small fly.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

That is not exactly true. 90c conductors have been required in newly manufactured NM cable since 1987. (AKA NM-b)

Reply to
gfretwell

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