I have quite a large reel of 1.0mm three core and earth, which I have used in the past for two way lighting. Are these colours changing as well as the twin & earth colours, or can I use this cable for many years to come?
Thanks,
Steve
I suspect the new colours will be brown, black and grey.
Christian.
How morbid!
Is there anything forbidding using up old 'stock' on extending existing wiring etc? Or any limit is it's DIY?
My understanding is 'no'; I recall suggestions were made here a while ago that it might not be a bad idea for DIY-ers to buy in considerable stocks of the stuff in order to thwart any future attempts to accurately date any wiring undertaken by said DIY'ers!
David
No, but there are requirements for labelling when new and old colours meet.
Christian.
Just doing a rewire using harmonised core colours and yes the 3 core and cpc is Brown,Black and Grey just like the new 3-core SWA cable ive used.
Jon.
Well those are the 3phase colours with blue as neutral.
Dave
Wonder then if the new colour sleeving will become readily available? Finding the old stuff wasn't that easy.
That would be just one yellow sticker on the CU stating "CAUTION this installation has two versions to the wiring colours of BS 7671. Great care should be taken before undertaking extension, alteration or repair that all conductors are correctly identified"
I think I am paying about 85p per sticker. What a rip off
Adam
Get some self adhesive label sheets from PC World and print them yourself?
PC World, wash your mouth out with carbolic soap Dave !
About £4 from an electrical wholesalers for 100m of brown sleeving.
Adam
You know the rules. It will probably have to be a notice/sticker of durable material indelibly marked.
Adam
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes
Really?, I've bought some from Screwfix and B&Q among other places - Red and Earth,never had need for black
I notice our B&Q has a notice saying "New cable colours now available - stock up now". Didn't say whether you were supposed to stock up on the old or new stuff which may confuse some people.
And approved (license fee GBP2,000) by nulabor.
Yes - but if you were sleeving old to match new you'd need brown blue black and grey - as well as the common green/yellow.
Buy yourself a proper Brother (or Dymo) labeling machine. Mine goes up to 25mm wide tape and has a triangle with a lightening flash inside symbol... The resultant labels a pretty robust (have some around CH pipes, others on kids lunch boxes/drinking bottles that get washed 5 times a week with no degradation) and laminated so the type doesn't get wiped off.
This a stand alone unit, if I was buying now I'd get what is in effect a specialist label printer for the computer. You can then design an print almost anything, inc graphics.
But where/why would you want to do that at the moment?
(a) You can carry on using old colours until 31/03/2006.
(b) Marking at an old/new junction is only required in 3-phase installations. For single-phase it's only necessary to post a notice at the CU (or other relevant dis-board) with the words:
"CAUTION This installation has wiring colours to two versions of BS
7671. Great care should be taken before undertaking extension, alteration or repair that all conductors are correctly identified."(c) The colours black and grey have no meaning in a single-phase installation - hence there's no need for sleeving of those colours.
(d) Live or switched live conductors in lighting circuits where the cable colours are black, blue or yellow need to be marked with red sleeving (old colours, no change). With 'harmonised cables' such cores in blue, black or grey need to be sleeved in brown.
(e) Where you use 3-core & earth cable to carry live, switched live and neutral (e.g. for looped-in lights wired in parallel) the colour schemes should be as follows:
. Old colours New colours Conductor Core Sleeve Core Sleeve
--------- ---- ------ ---- ------ Phase (L) Red --- Brn --- Sw. L Ylw\ Red Blk\ Brn Neutral Blu/ Blk Gry/ Blu
\ My interpretation/preference. The SL & N core colours / could be swapped without violating regs.
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