"dpb" wrote in message
...
RBM wrote:
...

--I agree that clearly marking the ends of the wire are a better than
nothing solution, but as the OP said, there must be at least one other
junction box where this wire exists. It's one thing to see a green wire
attached to a breaker or the hot side of a receptacle, but it's another
thing to have a green wire in a junction box, with nothing to define
that it's hot. I wouldn't be concerned about any "electrician" mistaking
it, as electricians would tend to be more careful regarding wires they
are connecting to, but an amateur may easily believe that it is a
ground, and in an awkward location like a tight attic, get himself hurt.
This is probably why the NEC prohibits remarking a green conductor

Certainly, but...it's already there and been there for some years.

I'm not anal-enough to rip it out just because some previous doofus ran a
green wire when shoulda' pulled a black/red/anything_but_white_or_green
one...

Again, this is based on the previous qualification OP has correctly
identified the situation and the conductor is continuous on the neutral
from the breaker to the other end and is _NOT_ also a ground doubling as a
neutral but is merely a misuse of green-insulated wire as a neutral.

If one of the other faults is also present then it definitely ought to be
corrected.


I agree, it's been there for a long time, the electricity certainly doesn't
care what color wire it's travelling through, the OP safely discovered it,
and can do the next best thing by remarking it.
But, it also sounds like the system may not be properly grounded either,
which makes me question how safe the wiring is. I can't remember ever using
a green conductor for a hot leg. The thought wouldn't even cross my mind,
and if I found myself in a real bind and had to do that, I would have
already remarked every termination so it was obvious to anyone that it's not
a ground. So here is a situation where an "electrician" had neither black
wire or black tape. I think I'd like to find out what else he didn't have.
Bottom line, anything the OP does, makes the situation safer that he found
it. In his original post, the OP said:

"No one except ME will probably ever see inside the outlet box, but
since it's semi-permanent I'd like to do it right."
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