On Saturday, July 21, 2012 12:49:23 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I recently bought a roll of the old "White" 12-2 w/ground romex at an

auction. The price was right and electrically the color dont matter.

The stuff is new and in excellent condition.



I dont recall when the change occurred which made 12-2 romex yellow, but

I believe it was near the end of the 1990's. Therefore this roll of

"white" must be at least 12 years old.



Considering that I'm using it in a farm shed which will not require

inspection, I'm not worried about the code. However, I'm curious if

this stuff would still be legal to use in a new installation for

residential work which would be inspected? I know there's probably

still a fair amount of this stuff around. Does anyone know what the

code says about this?



Yea, the thought has occurred to take a yellow permanent marker and at

least color the ends!!!!



By the way, when are they going to come out with designer colors on

romex? I'd like some dark brown to match my walnut paneling, some red

for the trim around the fireplace, and some light violet for the

bathroom. And what about those blue plastic boxes. I want my choice of

designer colors too. That dark blue dont match anything in the

house.......... (just kidding).



Speaking about designer colors, I just bought my first bag of matching

yellow romex staples. Until now, they were always white. This ought to

make this a much better world, except now I cant use the same ones on

white 14-2 romex, and wil have to buy a bag of white ones even if they

are the exact same size.......

Type NM-B cable first began to be manufactured with color-coded jackets in 2001 to aid in identification of the conductor size. The color code that was introduced, which continues to be used today is as follows:

14 AWG - White
12 AWG - Yellow
10 AWG - Orange
8 AWG - Black
6 AWG - Black

This color coding system was developed to aid those who sell, install, and inspect Type NM-B cable so that the cable size can easily be identified, to reduce mistakes resulting from the use of an incorrect conductor size.

It should be noted that this color coding system is not a requirement of NFPA 70, National Electrical Code(R) (NEC(R)) or UL 719, Safety Standard for Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable. Type NM-B can be produced and sold without using this color code. As such, the print legend, which is required by the NEC(R), should be used to verify the conductor size.