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.......

On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
....

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--

dpb wrote:
On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
...

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--
Hi,
In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

On 7/21/2012 8:41 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:


dpb wrote:
On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
...

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--
Hi,
In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

negative. the orange is 10ga.


--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

On Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:55:36 -0500, Steve Barker
wrote:

On 7/21/2012 8:41 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:


dpb wrote:
On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
...

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--
Hi,
In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

negative. the orange is 10ga.
The colour coding is voluntary and there is therefore "NO official
standard". It started about 2001
GENERALLY white is 14 guage, for 15 amp circuits. Yellow is GENERALLY
#12 for 20 amp circuits, Orange is GENERALLY #10, for 30 amp circuits,
Black is USUALLY either #6 or #8 - stove or drier cable, or feeding
sub panels - 40 or 60 amp.
GREY sheath can be any size and generally indicated NMW rather than
NMD (weatherproof or special app)

Because it is a "voluntary standard" it is NOT addressed by most
(possibly not any) code.

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.


The stuff I see, the newer yellow has a sheath which is softer, easier to
rip one. The older white was tougher.

Greg

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 04:43:29 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

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.


The stuff I see, the newer yellow has a sheath which is softer, easier to
rip one. The older white was tougher.

Greg

Thanks to all who replied. I did not know it was voluntary. It is a
good idea though, since the labelling was often hard to read.

The newer stuff is easy to rip open. The older white 12-2 or 14-2 was
harder but not much harder. However, I recall using some old UF
(underground) cable which was white. That stuff was a nightmare to
strip. The jacket was molded right to the black and white wires, and
the bare ground was in a ridge in the center and was molded right to it.
I remember spending 20 minutes hacking away little chunks at a time, and
and trying to expose the black / white wires without cutting it down to
bare wire. I normally left the jacket insulation on the bare wire
except at the tip. Damn I hated that stuff. The modern gray UF is
still harder to strip than standard romex, but at least it separates
from the insulated and bare wires without having to literally scrape it
away.

On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, 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.......


The yellow is manufactured in China by yellow skinned people. ^_^

TDD

On 7/21/2012 2:49 PM, 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.......



I can't speak about code issues but coloring the end yellow won't matter
because anyone who knows what they are looking for would look at the
actual insulation on the conductors.

On 7/21/2012 11:04 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:55:36 -0500, Steve Barker
wrote:

On 7/21/2012 8:41 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:


dpb wrote:
On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
...

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--
Hi,
In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

negative. the orange is 10ga.
The colour coding is voluntary and there is therefore "NO official
standard". It started about 2001
GENERALLY white is 14 guage, for 15 amp circuits. Yellow is GENERALLY
#12 for 20 amp circuits, Orange is GENERALLY #10, for 30 amp circuits,
Black is USUALLY either #6 or #8 - stove or drier cable, or feeding
sub panels - 40 or 60 amp.
GREY sheath can be any size and generally indicated NMW rather than
NMD (weatherproof or special app)

Because it is a "voluntary standard" it is NOT addressed by most
(possibly not any) code.


They started color coding the sheath the same time they changed to 90C
rated insulation on the conductors which changed the cable designation
from NM to NM-B . As you stated color coding is not a code requirement.

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 01:38:28 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:


The yellow is manufactured in China by yellow skinned people. ^_^

TDD

Then who makes the #10 orange stuff?
Overworked halloween pumpkins?

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
...


dpb wrote:
On 7/21/2012 1:49 PM, wrote:
...

... Does anyone know what the
code says about this?

NEC says nothing; only if a local jurisdiction has additional
requirements would it be an issue.

--
Hi,
In my house 12-2 Romoex has orange color.

My house was built in 1970, where Canada changed over from 60 degree C.
cable to 90 degree C. cable. Most of it was wired with Romex cable that was
not plastic coated but with loom that was tarred and painted with orange
paint. An addition was added in 1986 and it was all wired with white plastic
coated cable no matter what the gage. In between there was some
modifications to wiring and the plastic coated cable used in that date came
in many colors, I have red, orange, black and brown and all are 14 gage.

On 7/21/2012 2:49 PM, 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.......


I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating

On 7/22/2012 2:29 AM, wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 04:43:29 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

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.


The stuff I see, the newer yellow has a sheath which is softer, easier to
rip one. The older white was tougher.

Greg

Thanks to all who replied. I did not know it was voluntary. It is a
good idea though, since the labelling was often hard to read.

The newer stuff is easy to rip open. The older white 12-2 or 14-2 was
harder but not much harder. However, I recall using some old UF
(underground) cable which was white. That stuff was a nightmare to
strip. The jacket was molded right to the black and white wires, and
the bare ground was in a ridge in the center and was molded right to it.
I remember spending 20 minutes hacking away little chunks at a time, and
and trying to expose the black / white wires without cutting it down to
bare wire. I normally left the jacket insulation on the bare wire
except at the tip. Damn I hated that stuff. The modern gray UF is
still harder to strip than standard romex, but at least it separates
from the insulated and bare wires without having to literally scrape it
away.

Just be glad you never have to strip a "Sprague" cable

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:24:43 -0400, RBM wrote:

On 7/21/2012 2:49 PM, 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.......


I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating
But the insulation is good for use in pot-lights etc where the 90C
wiring was a requirement even years ago - now you use one cable
everywhere #14 is required. I think the old stuff was called R-90???

On 7/22/2012 10:59 AM, wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 01:38:28 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:


The yellow is manufactured in China by yellow skinned people. ^_^

TDD

Then who makes the #10 orange stuff?
Overworked halloween pumpkins?


No silly, that's what flavor it is. ^_^

TDD

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:05:00 -0400, wrote:

I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating
But the insulation is good for use in pot-lights etc where the 90C
wiring was a requirement even years ago - now you use one cable
everywhere #14 is required. I think the old stuff was called R-90???

The irony of this is that about the time they finally have required 90C
cable, most light fixtures now use CFL bulbs, which operate very cool
compared to the incandescent bulbs.

I've seen many boxes where the old cloth covered cable, and even some of
the newer cable was all bare wires because the old fixtures literally
baked the wires because they did not allow the heat to exit the fixture.

As our lighting changes to more energy efficient (and cooler) bulbs, I
suppose there will be more changes in wiring. Yet, some people will
still run "Hot" bulbs such as incandescents, and halogens are even
hotter. Then too, people dont always follow instructions. Just because
a fixture says 60W (or smaller) bulbs ONLY does not mean they will
follow it, particularly when all they have on hand is a 100W bulb. Not
to mention many people dont read. Just like the old plug fuses. It was
more common than not, to replace a blown 15A or 20A fuse with a 30A. If
they had made 100A fuses that fit the socket, they would have used them.

Sometimes I think the electrical code is too strict and sometimes even
rediculous, but I guess they have to be in order to protect us from
idiot people who cant or wont follow instructions, or who just dont know
or care.

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:05:00 -0400, wrote:

I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating
But the insulation is good for use in pot-lights etc where the 90C
wiring was a requirement even years ago - now you use one cable
everywhere #14 is required. I think the old stuff was called R-90???

The irony of this is that about the time they finally have required 90C
cable, most light fixtures now use CFL bulbs, which operate very cool
compared to the incandescent bulbs.

I've seen many boxes where the old cloth covered cable, and even some of
the newer cable was all bare wires because the old fixtures literally
baked the wires because they did not allow the heat to exit the fixture.

As our lighting changes to more energy efficient (and cooler) bulbs, I
suppose there will be more changes in wiring. Yet, some people will
still run "Hot" bulbs such as incandescents, and halogens are even
hotter. Then too, people dont always follow instructions. Just because
a fixture says 60W (or smaller) bulbs ONLY does not mean they will
follow it, particularly when all they have on hand is a 100W bulb. Not
to mention many people dont read. Just like the old plug fuses. It was
more common than not, to replace a blown 15A or 20A fuse with a 30A. If
they had made 100A fuses that fit the socket, they would have used them.

Sometimes I think the electrical code is too strict and sometimes even
rediculous, but I guess they have to be in order to protect us from
idiot people who cant or wont follow instructions, or who just dont know
or care.


Good comments. GFCI and AFCI devices can keep people from electrocuting
themselves and starting fires from poor wiring practices and faulty
connections; but something bad will eventually happen when a high-wattage
bulb is put into a socket rated for somthing less. It's unfortunate that
the only safety "enforcement" is often a printed sticker on the light
fixture that discolors or falls off rather than a physical barrier such as a
socket designed such that the wrong bulb won't even go into the socket.

Much of the blame belongs to the industry which has done little to nothing
to educate consumers about lighting and electrical matters for years.
There's more general information now because of the bulb phase-out, but
still very little about safety.

Tomsic

On 07/23/2012 12:16 AM, wrote:

As our lighting changes to more energy efficient (and cooler) bulbs, I
suppose there will be more changes in wiring. Yet, some people will
still run "Hot" bulbs such as incandescents, and halogens are even
hotter. Then too, people dont always follow instructions. Just because
a fixture says 60W (or smaller) bulbs ONLY does not mean they will
follow it, particularly when all they have on hand is a 100W bulb. Not
to mention many people dont read. Just like the old plug fuses. It was
more common than not, to replace a blown 15A or 20A fuse with a 30A. If
they had made 100A fuses that fit the socket, they would have used them.

Sometimes I think the electrical code is too strict and sometimes even
rediculous, but I guess they have to be in order to protect us from
idiot people who cant or wont follow instructions, or who just dont know
or care.

I think the strict standards are to allow a healthy safety margin to
accomodate *every* possibility, including user generated issues.

At least they aren't using pennies any more though.

Jon

On 07/23/2012 06:28 AM, Tomsic wrote:

Good comments. GFCI and AFCI devices can keep people from electrocuting
themselves and starting fires from poor wiring practices and faulty
connections; but something bad will eventually happen when a high-wattage
bulb is put into a socket rated for somthing less. It's unfortunate that
the only safety "enforcement" is often a printed sticker on the light
fixture that discolors or falls off rather than a physical barrier such as a
socket designed such that the wrong bulb won't even go into the socket.

Much of the blame belongs to the industry which has done little to nothing
to educate consumers about lighting and electrical matters for years.
There's more general information now because of the bulb phase-out, but
still very little about safety.

Most of the blame lies in a populace that has been conditioned to have
an attention span approximating that of a small fly.

Jon

On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:07:06 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:16:08 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:05:00 -0400, wrote:

I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating
But the insulation is good for use in pot-lights etc where the 90C
wiring was a requirement even years ago - now you use one cable
everywhere #14 is required. I think the old stuff was called R-90???

The irony of this is that about the time they finally have required 90C
cable, most light fixtures now use CFL bulbs, which operate very cool
compared to the incandescent bulbs.

That is not exactly true. 90c conductors have been required in newly
manufactured NM cable since 1987. (AKA NM-b)

Available since 1987, required since 1991 IIRC

On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:38:11 -0700, Jon Danniken
wrote:

On 07/23/2012 12:16 AM, wrote:

As our lighting changes to more energy efficient (and cooler) bulbs, I
suppose there will be more changes in wiring. Yet, some people will
still run "Hot" bulbs such as incandescents, and halogens are even
hotter. Then too, people dont always follow instructions. Just because
a fixture says 60W (or smaller) bulbs ONLY does not mean they will
follow it, particularly when all they have on hand is a 100W bulb. Not
to mention many people dont read. Just like the old plug fuses. It was
more common than not, to replace a blown 15A or 20A fuse with a 30A. If
they had made 100A fuses that fit the socket, they would have used them.

Sometimes I think the electrical code is too strict and sometimes even
rediculous, but I guess they have to be in order to protect us from
idiot people who cant or wont follow instructions, or who just dont know
or care.

I think the strict standards are to allow a healthy safety margin to
accomodate *every* possibility, including user generated issues.

Agreed, but there are places where this is not the case. For example,
if you can still get a 200 or 300W incandescent bulb, you can still
screw it into a fixture rated at 60W max. Using a 100W is likely within
the safety margin, but not a 200W or larger. And now they have those
halogen bulbs which run hotter..... That could be a fire hazzard even
if a 60W was used.

At least they aren't using pennies any more though.

I bet they still do, just not as much, due to breakers. A local auto
service center still has an old fuse box with plug fuses. They never
close the cover on this panel, and I noticed that all the fuses are
green (30A). If I was into betting, I'd bet that they are all feeding
#14 or #12 wire. I know that if I said anything about it, I'd be told
that it's been that way for the past 50 years and has not caused a
problem.

Back when I was a maintenance man for a rental company, who owned about
70 homes, I often had to repair electrical problems. I always replaced
all the 30A fuses with the correct size. A year later, I'd come back to
that property and find all 30A fuses again. For awhile I began to
install the fusestat adaptors and fusestats. That solved the problem in
most cases, but then these places were having constant calls for power
outages, because the renters did not understand how to replace the
fusestat, and this was costing the owners of the rental company money,
which they did not want to spend. I tried to convince them to add
circuits to things like an air conditioner and kitchen appliances, and
did so in some of the worst of the houses, but the rental company didn't
want to spend the money. They had the same attitude..... "The 30A fuses
worked fine, just put them back".

On Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:39:22 -0400, wrote:


Article 336.26 (NM cable construction specifications/conductors) in
the 1987 code says "Conductors shall be rated at 90c."

While there is no date on the wiring that I have, I know it's newer than
1987. It was probably made in the 90's. Just before they made it
yellow.

On 07/22/2012 02:24 PM, RBM wrote:
On 7/21/2012 2:49 PM, 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.......


I don't see where it would make any difference. Even when the newer NM
cable was made with conductors rated higher than 60 degrees, the NEC
only allowed the higher ampacity ratings to be used for de-rating
purposes, so all NM regardless of conductor type has to be used at the
60 degree ampacity rating


If it matters to the OP, "NM-B" is 90C rated, "NM" is 60C rated. The
change to NM-B happened before the change to the standardized color
coding for the jackets.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

I am looking to put a four foot baseboard heater in a bedroom . In the past I could use a 12-2 with a ground. Is that still up to code using 220 power and if it is what breaker should I use?

12 guage - 20 amp
14 guage - 15 amp
But 220 watts? I think you'll find there are two hot
connectors, to be used with 12-3.

wrote in message
...
|I am looking to put a four foot baseboard heater in a bedroom . In the past
I could use a 12-2 with a ground. Is that still up to code using 220 power
and if it is what breaker should I use?

On Wednesday, April 9, 2014 7:09:31 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I am looking to put a four foot baseboard heater in a bedroom . In the past I could use a 12-2 with a ground. Is that still up to code using 220 power and if it is what breaker should I use?

Depends on the amperage of the baseboard heater and the distance from the breaker panel. In all probability a four foot baseboard section will work ok on 12/2 with a ganged 20 amp breaker. But you should still check the heater's power requirements on the box.

| If this is just a line to line load (220v AKA 240v) why would you need
| to bring a neutral to it? (12-3)

I don't think I've ever hooked up baseboard
heat. I'm just assuming US, 220 volts is going
to need two hot wires and one white. Maybe
I'm wrong.

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.