Chris Lewis wrote:

According to Guy Noir :
On Jul 30, 1:07 pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:
"Guy Noir" wrote in message

oups.com...

Question: I have installed central air and I no longer need to 220v
window AC outlets.

They are wired with romax and the colors of the conductor insulation
are Black, Red, and White.
With the current cost of copper, I hate to replace these runs.

Standard color codes are of course black, white, copper/gnd. If I
rewire this for 110v what colors should I put where? I read somewhere
in the code that you can re-identify a cable with colored tape (green
for instance for the wire used for ground)

So, should I use black-hot white-neutral and red-green taped at each
end for ground? Does this meet NEC code or at least come close??

Yes, you'll be fine. Make sure the green is continuous and no red is
visible. Isn't there an equipment grounding conductor in the box now?

Unfortunately, no there is no bare or green conductor.

I'm talking from the perspective of absolutely strict code compliance
from the perspective of an anal inspector:

Legally, you can't use a black or red wire as neutral, but you
can use white for hot (with suitable marking). You can't use
any of them as ground, nor can you use a bare ground for anything
else.

In other words, you could make the black hot, white neutral, but you
can't use the red as a ground (or neutral).

Also, new/revised work has to be grounded (or equivalent).

"Or equivalent" is your back door:

1) Abandon both ends of the red conductor (cap or tape it off - someday
in the future you might need that red wire again - so don't cut
it off.)
2) use a GFCI outlet.
3) use black for hot, white for neutral on the "line" side of
the GFCI.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

I'd recommend the OP check more carefully to see if there is indeed a
bare ground conductor in that Romex, perhaps one that was clipped flush
with the jacket for some reason by the original installer.

If the Romex has a PVC jacket vs. cloth, there should certainly be a
ground conductor in it. The print on the PVC jacket should indicate
something like 12-3 with ground. If the Romex is old enough to have a
cloth jacket then perhaps it really doesn't have a ground, though I've
seen a lot of cloth jacketed Romex that has the expected bare ground
conductor.

Pete C.