On 8/22/2010 3:12 AM, Bill wrote:
FrozenNorth wrote:

Check the actual cable it wasn't too long ago that 12 guage came with a
white sheathing too.

You can't always go by the colour.

Thank you for your reply. I heard about that, but I've handled enough 12
gauge romex this summer to know this isn't it. I'll double check
tomorrow, just to make sure.

NMC (of which "Romex" is just one brand) has gone through continuous
evolution since 1922, when Rome Cable introduced it. The stuff sold
today is somewhat different from that sold 20 years ago and it's
different from what was sold 20 years before that and on back to the
original rubber with cloth over the rubber with a varnished fabric outer
sheath. The color code is a voluntary standard that the NEMA
implemented about 10 years back--it's useful in installing new work and
it's pretty but it's not something you should count on.

So, if you want to know if a particular cable is 12/2, the only reliable
method is to read the code-required markings embossed on the cable
sheath. Be gentle with it though, if it's 1922 vintage it likely won't
take much handling without starting to crumble.