"Leon" wrote in message
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wrote in message
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In recent posts I have heard mention of 12/2 and 10/2 wire, as well as
12/3 and 10/3 wire. What is the difference and what would you wire a
new shop with?

I assume the 12/2 and 10/2 mean with ground.? What is the extra wire
in the 12/3 and 10/3 for? Is that for wiring 220V?

Jim

10/3 and 12/3 are with ground. Also there are only 3 wires in those
cables.

10/2 and 12/2 only have 2 wires.


No, no. X/2 means X conductors *plus* a ground. Two colored insulated
conductors, plus a bare ground conductor. Typically today, it's difficult
to find wire without a ground wrapped in it. In the old days it was easy to
find that and the terminology made accurate sense, but these days ground is
always there. So, the actual wire count in X/2 is three.

X/3 also indicates the number of conductors not counting ground, so there
are three colored conductors, *plus* ground. Useful for such things as
three way switches, etc. Likewise, the actual conductor count in X/3 is
four.

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-Mike-