DIYbanter - View Single Post

The Daring Dufas[_7_]

On 4/2/2011 3:58 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:35:39 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 4/1/2011 9:14 PM, Robert Green wrote:
wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
All but the very oldest BX cable had a flat bonding conductor inside
that was to be used, NOT the sheath.

** FYI, AC cable was invented at the turn of the century by Gus Johnson
and
Harry Greenfield. "BX" was never a code designation, just a name given to
AC
cable made by GE's Sprague division. The bonding conductor wasn't required
until the 1959 Nec and was never used as a ground, only to assure a clean
grounding path against the metal coils of the sheath

Grew up watching my Dad use it (was required in NYC at the time '50-'70) but
may not be now. Never heard it called anything but BX cable. (-: I guess
it's one of those things like Kleenex or Xerox. The tradename overtakes the
common name. I can still remember moving south and seeing Romex for the
first time. Oops. I mean non-metallic sheathed cable from the Rome wire
company.

--
Bobby G.

The Romex my dad taught me about had plastic insulated conductors
covered with some kind of jacket that was silver and looked sort
of like fish scales. It was some sort of fiber reinforced paper,
possibly tar paper with a silver finish. We wired the family home
with it back in the 1950's and 1960's. Darn, I'm getting old. :-)

TDD
My dad was an electrician, and when he came home after working all day
with Romex, particularly on a hot summer day, he was BLACK.
Was he ever happy when they came out with the plastic sheathed
stuff!!! That old stuff was NASTY.

I like MC cable since I got a turntable dispenser for rolls of wire
coiled like MC is. It comes off straight with no kinks or loops and
does make it so much easier to install the cable for long runs.

TDD