sparky wrote:Most modern wiring is quite OK if used at its power rating .
On the whole I would rather favor apparent wiring kept away from thermal insulation and cooled by natural convexion
if the wiring is buried under thermal insulation it's a disaster waiting to happen
we have Thermal overloads here , it's quite acceptable ,also having the 230 volts international standard help with the current , as I said above Earth leakage protection IS compulsory
KaiserJeep wrote:The original house wiring from the early 1900's pre-dates the widespread use of insulation. It is called "Knob and Tube":
Wherever it passes through wood, they insulated with a ceramic tube. It was secured to wood with insulating ceramic knobs. I have found it still in use in old houses, although the wires by then were bare, the cotton or linen having crumbled or been gnawed away by rodents. It is amongst the most dangerous of wiring, and it's also a source of asbestos, added to the cloth insulation to increase resistance to heat. It and all 2-wire, ungrounded receptacles and electric lighting should be upgraded and made safe.
My personal experience is mostly in specifying power for computer rooms, which can get very interesting in Brownstone buildings and Victorian-era offices.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Tanada wrote:Modern Americans have become so risk adverse it is sad, that house is over a century old and was still using portions of the original wiring for 70 years without ever having a fire and never having a significant short. It is not about the quality of the materials, it is about the quality of the workmanship used to install those materials. Was it hyper safe three wire grounded super insulated in metal conduit? Nope. Was it safe? Well 70 years of evidence says it was. And before you pop off about exceptions none of the other farmhouses in the area built and wired the same way were suddenly bursting into flames either. If they had been nobody would have trusted electricity in their homes.
Hawkcreek wrote:The most stringent electrical requirements I've found were on ships. MI cable and fittings suck, especially the old stuff.
But I suppose you can't wait out on the front lawn till the fire trucks arrive, either.
Hawkcreek wrote:If you really want to build safety into your house, go with 20 amp, commercial duplex receptacles, from any building supply for about $3. Then use 15 amp breakers with 12 gauge wire. The whole idea of the modern code seems to be to protect the wiring from heat buildup, so this would give an extra layer of safety for minimal cost. The 20 amp receptacles would allow direct attachment to the 12 gauge much easier than trying to use 12 gauge on a 15 amp receptacle (no eye twisting around screws). Much more bang for the buck. Much more safety than using EMT or rigid conduit in a residence, especially considering the most common cause of electrical faults I have seen in an industrial context is skinned insulation from pulling wire into a metallic conduit of box. This would probably be worse if using the typical residential installer that only knows romex. If you are doing the work yourself or money is no object, go for it.
Probably 90 % of appliances in a modern house don't even use the ground in a 3 prong receptacle. Look at your tv's, computers, etc. The shop is probably the largest point of use of grounded plugs, because of exposed metal in tools. But the GFCI is probably the most life saving device installed in any home, so I don't mind seeing a few wasted grounds.
And of course, the proper starting point is in the design stage.
I have a friend who spent thousands installing cat 5 cable with multiple drops into every room of his dream house. I tried to tell him that wireless was on the way, but he had money to burn.
Even he laughs about it now.
KaiserJeep wrote:My garage was already drywalled with the extra-thick drywall used in garages, ........
KaiserJeep wrote:That's good for fire safety. You also need at least one "safe room" in the house with bullet resistant drywall:
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I understand, you may live in an area where this is not required. But Silicon Valley is subject to home invasions, I have a safe room, an alarm system, IP-connected security cameras that cover the entire exterior of our home, and a 12-guage to discourage "varmints".
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