How old is romex

An electrician can tell you for sure. In the s to s, electrical installations took a turn to a more protective wiring scheme—flexible armored cable. Flex, also known as Greenfield, was a welcomed addition to home wiring because the flexible metal walls helped to protect the wires from damage, and also offered a metal pathway that could ground the system when properly installed. Although it was an improvement, this wiring method had its troubles.

Although the individual wire conductors are protected, the flexible outer metal jacket serves as a proper ground only when the metal pathway is complete all the way to the service entrance and grounding rod. There is still no separate ground wire in these installations. In the s, a quicker installation method was developed. Nonmetallic-sheathed cable was born, which incorporated a rubberized fabric coating sheath, much like knob and tube wiring, but here the hot and neutral wire were run together in this one sheathing.

It also had its drawbacks due to the lack of a ground wire, but its development would eventually lead to major innovation. Early sheathed cable, however, also has an expected lifespan of about 25 years, and where it is still in use, such installations need to be upgraded.

The s brought the age of metal conduit. This invention allowed users to pull many individual conducting wires in the same rigid metal tube enclosure. The conduit itself is considered a viable grounding method, and the system can also allow another separate grounding wire usually an insulated green wire to be pulled through the conduit. Conduit has been in use ever since those days and is still the recommended method for wiring in certain applications, such as when wiring needs to be run along the face of basement masonry walls or in exposed locations.

Most homes have some areas where conduit is used, though it is now sometimes made with rigid plastic PVC conduit rather than metal. The newest addition to wiring was introduced in around The form of NM cable was an update to older NM cable, incorporating the use of a bare copper grounding wire that joined the insulated hot and neutral wires contained within the sheathing. Is it really dangerous? Does it always need to be replaced? Read on, and get all the details in this comprehensive guide.

As the name suggests, cloth wiring is a type of electrical wiring that was used before thermoplastic-coated wiring became commonplace.

It was usually used in homes that were built before , and it was very common because it was inexpensive, and this rubberized-cloth was the standard method of insulating wires before plastics became widespread and affordable. Usually, buildings that use this wiring were built in the first half of the 20th century. If you own a home that was built at this time, there is a chance that your wiring is — at least partially — covered in cloth insulation. In addition, this type of wiring is also commonly associated with another common electrical issue — knob-and-tube wiring.

At the time that cloth wiring was used, knob-and-tube wiring was the standard method of running wires through homes. It used ceramic knobs and tubes to run electrical wires through walls.

While not all knob-and-tube installations are dangerous, they are prone to breakdown — and they lack the safety features of modern wiring installations, like grounding. They also do not typically provide enough power for modern needs — which can result in a dangerous over-stressing of the electrical system, which could lead to a fire. To boil it down, cloth wiring is an outdated type of electrical wiring which uses cloth instead of plastic to insulate and protect electrical conductors. Why is it dangerous?

It may begin to flake away, exposing the underlying electrical wire. Arcing is a serious fire hazard. Try again to use the add-image button as, sorry, I can't find your image. Please re-post the image if you can. Dwight: you can post a photo using the "add image" button and then perhaps I can give a useful answer. On - by mod - use of asbestos in mid-century and older electrical wire conduit. Here is some pertinent research describing the use of asbestos as insulation in electrical conduit:.

Here is what I hope is a better pic of the other metal found near the pipe, but not attached If you find a better web article commenting system or product I'd be glad to consider it. I can't make ouit what that surrounding material is; perhaps a type of insulation. Kim, Thank you!

I wish I could post more than 1 pic at a time. On - by mod -. Kim, Small modern diameter fabric-wrapped copper wire in metal conduit such as in your photos is probably ca Hi, we found this old electrical conduit in our yard Can anyone put an age on this? I have lots of pictures, but I seem to only be able to aedd one. I have an older house with an addition estimated to be circa I cannot find any earlier versions of NEC. Thanks for the comment, Ken. Chuck: just to be clear, the wire size needed on an electrical circuit is not based on how long or how much of the day the circuit is in use.

Rather the wire size is matched to the current ampacity permitted on the circuit. Often it is all BX or all knob and tube. I have also seen a mix so anything is posable. It seems that more affluent homes had BX. More modest homes seemed to have Knob and Tube. The Romex was likely a later addition. I can understand you not finding gas light piping. Depending on the town or location electric was available all day. Earlier times the electric was only on for some hours of the day.

I hope this helps. Have you heard of 16 AWG cloth covered romex in a 's home. I found some that at first looks like knob and tube diameter wire. I found two conductors, white and black plastic insulated. The conductor size is notably smaller than 14 AWG. Does not seem to be thermostat wire as it is in a volt J box.

Thank you for your help. Anyone know why this old Gould v 60hz 0. It goes to a 2 speed switch I think and the brown and red wires connect to the switch with the same colour wiring but then the yellow is left and the last wire on the switch is black. I've seen three or four variations such as the Cres-Flex that was a more-narrow metal.

So yes, if we refer to the patent dates, armored cable was in use even before your house was built. The electric box you showed was from Mine is very similar and let's say it could be a few years older.

Since no evidence of knob and tube wiring or gas lighting was found in the attic floor or basement, is it possible that the BX with cloth wire inside was used to wire a newly constructed house in New Jersey in ? My electrician also found BX wire spliced to the black tar Romex inside a wall. Thanks in advance! I have a home in Maine, a ranch with amp breaker box service.

I have not been able to afford to have the kind of exploratory work done to find the problem, but I did find some thing odd in a wall outlet the other night. It is mid circuit in a metal box in the wood paneling by the brick chimney. The top of the box is clean, but the inside of the bottom has some white corrosion. The lower hot and neutral pair are dark from age but also have green corrosion where they wrap around the terminal screw, but the upper pair do not.

I thought water or perhaps mouse urine from the attic, but then the top outside of the box would be corroded too, as would the top pair of hot and neutral wires. A simple circuit tester shows the wiring to be double green correct.

At some point the the upper hot must have touched somewhere because there is a bright brass splash in the screw, and it has not darkened over time--it looks polished. The inconsistencies make no sense to me but I hope they might to you, and maybe a solution to my many thousands of dollars in power I have never used. Thank you for reading my lengthy post--I can send pictures if that would help. Bruce E.

Stand at the meter and watch the dial spin rate or time it to be more accurate or on a digital meter note the number change rate per second or 30 seconds. Start turning off circuits in the home. One or two of them will usually define the main energy users in the home when you see the electric meter spin rate drop significantly.

Make a note of what appliances or in your theory current shorts to ground that are located on that circuit and you've got a good idea who's using the juice. Typically these are air conditioners, refrigerators, electric heaters.

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Apologies for the delay. Just ask us! Search the InspectApedia website. Comment Form is loading comments American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Cites early electrical patents by Edison, Sprague et als. Aronstein, J. IEEE, Aronstein, Jesse, and Wilfred E. Joint with the 18th International Conference on Electrical Contacts, pp. The languages of Edison's light. Dini, David A.

Fabian, and J. Thomas Chapin. David Dini, Northbrook, Ill. Tel: 1. Dini us. These papers on this subject can be downloaded for free. Edison, Thomas A. Patent ,, issued March 15, Patent ,, issued October 21, Edison, Thomas Alva.

Patent ,, issued January 27, Greenfield, Edwin T. Patent ,, issued December 27, Hargadon, Andrew B. Rewiring a single room for example, a kitchen can take one to two 1 to 2 days. Rewiring an entire square foot house can take one to three 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the scope of work that needs to be done.

Rewiring a house is not just cost-consuming but also time-consuming. Frequently this needs to be well-planned. Replacing the wiring is very inconvenient because your home will be without electricity during that time. Some insurance companies may refuse to insure the house until the wiring is replaced. In the cases, insurance companies may agree to insure the home if it passes an electrical inspection.

They may charge you a higher premium depending on the age of the electrical system. It is advisable to speak directly with the insurance companies to determine their official statement. Frequently they may care more about the types of circuit breakers and the electrical panel installed in the property instead of the wiring itself. Your insurance company will likely request an inspection of the major systems in our article Buying an Old House?

Should you rewire a house built in the s? However, you are approaching the age threshold, and we would recommend having an annual electrical inspection performed by either a certified home inspector or a licensed electrician. If your home is built in the s and has all original electrical panels and wiring, you would benefit from an electrical upgrade. The house likely has an older panel box and ungrounded wiring.

An annual home inspection performed by either a certified home inspector or a licensed electrician should be a top priority. If your home is built in the s and has all original electrical panels and wiring, you likely need to upgrade the electrical wiring and panels. The house probably has an undersized electrical panel box, ungrounded cloth sheathed wiring, outlets, and switches. We would recommend that you have an electrical inspection performed.

Should you rewire a house built in the s or before? Suppose your home is built in the s or before and has all original electrical panels and wiring. In that case, you are beyond the age threshold where rewiring your home is most likely needed for both modernization and safety concerns. We would recommend having a thorough examination of the entire electrical system performed by a licensed electrician.

Buying a home with old wiring can be a home inspection red flag without proper knowledge. Hubert Miles is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. I've been conducting home inspections for 17 years. I started HomeInspectionInsider. Refrigerator quality is integral to the household. This is why, while the market may hype up some refrigerator brands, you want to be cautious of marketing traps.

Based on marketplace reviews, what Roof venting uses air pressure to remove heat from the attic, which in turn keeps your home comfortable. An attic that is not venting well can cause condensation, damage the roof structure, and cause Skip to content Electrical wiring is an essential part of any home. Quick Article Navigation Show. Copper Wiring. Aluminum Wiring. Alloys and Silver Wiring.