lead sheathed wiring

Nov 20, 2003 54 Replies

Not at all. Good things last. All the 100 year old crap has long since decayed. By definition, if its been there 100 years and still works, its probably pretty good.

Points about making sure the cable sheath is earthed, and making sure its on a modern RCD system, are good. I've seen brand new PVC cable eaten to a short by rodents.

Obviopusly if you are into a complete rewire, take out old stuff. But its stupid to replace things that are working OK just because they are made in a way you don't reognise. ESPECIALLY if they can be backed up by a modern safety system.

As indeed was the drilled through PVC cable in a wall I came across.. But of course, it tripped the MCB when it got wet...

Only on TT, which isn't common except in rural or ex-rural areas.

Christian.

Lead is still widely installed in hard water areas. There is no real reason to replace it. The lead soon gets a thin layer of scale that prevents absorbtion of the lead itself.

Christian.

And I suppose you think lead water pipes are still OK, well they don't leak and are only a health hazard if someone is stupid enough to drink from the supply....

You're a class one toss pot.

Though vaguely amusing I suspect that smacks of UL, you're not really suggesting that a bit of lead wire could be confused with an organ pipe are you? They are just a little bit different in diameter.

I would have though plastic would have been the preferred choice, and in any case if you are correct you must be referring to really hard water areas.

Of course plastic MDPE would be much better. However, if the incoming is lead and the house pipework copper, I wouldn't worry. I certainly wouldn't fork out thousands to get it replaced. I'd get a little worried if the internal pipework was all lead.

Christian.

The 'supply pipes' might not be, are you confusing the 'Organ Pipes' with the pipes IYSWIM ?!

I suspect he means little pneumatic pipes linking the console with the organ itself, not the ones that make the sound - a system used in pre-electric days. At the business end these would connect with what were effectively pneumatic relays controlling access to the music pipes

I've found this once - the back section had the two grooves, the thin cover strip had decorative grooves moulded on it so you could install it on the surface without it looking too bad -: the ancestor of mini-trunking. 100 times neater than surface run slip joint conduit which I have seen in local houses - probably when they were converted to electricity between the wars

No it's not, you really are talking utter rubbish. If you bothered to read my earlier post on the subject, you'll see *I* gave factual reasons why it should be removed asap. You are just pushing some half-arsed theory of your own that is without foundation in the real world.

The pipes that the air passes through on the way to the pipes which sound on an organ are very big I seem to remember. They need to be to minimise any noises that they might make.

Ah yes, there are some small[ish] pipes for pneumatic couplers on old organs aren't there. I still think you'd have to be pretty silly to confuse them with wires.

Lead at least lasts better than 1000 years, the jury is still out on polypropylene ;-)

Err, think not. Against the law.

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