Sleeving colours for harmonised wiring
 

If you are working on a wiring system that has (or soon will have!)
mixed old and new wiring colours, what should you do about colours of
sleeving to indicate switched lives in junction boxes/switches? Are
there rules about this?

My inclination is to fit brown sleeving where there are new cables, and
red where there are old, which seems the best way of avoiding confusion
to anybody looking at the wiring in the future. Or should it be brown
sleeving throughout? (I'm not suggesting systematically changing red
sleeving to brown all through the house, just for example when a new
accessory is being wired in).

Thanks
David

On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 20:16:59 GMT, Lobster
strung together this:

If you are working on a wiring system that has (or soon will have!)
mixed old and new wiring colours, what should you do about colours of
sleeving to indicate switched lives in junction boxes/switches? Are
there rules about this?

My inclination is to fit brown sleeving where there are new cables, and
red where there are old, which seems the best way of avoiding confusion
to anybody looking at the wiring in the future. Or should it be brown
sleeving throughout? (I'm not suggesting systematically changing red
sleeving to brown all through the house, just for example when a new
accessory is being wired in).

Theoretically, brown and blue sleeving whether it's on old or new
cables.

There is the thing of the old black sleeved cables being confused for
L2 on a 3 phase system but ignore that. Just stick one of those "wires
could be live or neuttral, depending on the weather" stickers on the
CU.
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

Lurch wrote:
On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 20:16:59 GMT, Lobster
strung together this:

If you are working on a wiring system that has (or soon will have!)
mixed old and new wiring colours, what should you do about colours of
sleeving to indicate switched lives in junction boxes/switches? Are
there rules about this?

My inclination is to fit brown sleeving where there are new cables, and
red where there are old, which seems the best way of avoiding confusion
to anybody looking at the wiring in the future. Or should it be brown
sleeving throughout? (I'm not suggesting systematically changing red
sleeving to brown all through the house, just for example when a new
accessory is being wired in).

Theoretically, brown and blue sleeving whether it's on old or new
cables.

Thanks. I've never owned any 'neutral' (ie black or now blue) sleeving
- is there any situation in a normal domestic wiring system where I'd
need it?

David

Lobster wrote:
If you are working on a wiring system that has (or soon will have!)
mixed old and new wiring colours, what should you do about colours of
sleeving to indicate switched lives in junction boxes/switches? Are
there rules about this?

My inclination is to fit brown sleeving where there are new cables, and
red where there are old, which seems the best way of avoiding confusion
to anybody looking at the wiring in the future. Or should it be brown
sleeving throughout? (I'm not suggesting systematically changing red
sleeving to brown all through the house, just for example when a new
accessory is being wired in).

Thanks
David
I believe we should all be sleeving with text indication L1,(2&3) and N
printed on the sleeve. RS have been plugging them in recent fliers.

Lobster wrote:

Thanks. I've never owned any 'neutral' (ie black or now blue) sleeving
- is there any situation in a normal domestic wiring system where I'd
need it?

Yes, anywhere you need live, switched live and neutral in one cable.
Examples:

- to parallel-up two lights on one switch, where the supply feed arrives
at the first light (ceiling rose, etc.) but an unswitched 'live' is
needed at the second rose for looping onwards to the rest of the
circuit. Here it's convenient to run 3-core & earth between the two
roses, using (in old colours) red for unswitched live, yellow (sleeved
red) for switched live and blue (sleeved black) for neutral. The
'switch drop' can then connect in at either rose;

- wiring bimetallic thermostats where a neutral is needed for the
accelerator heater;

- bathroom & loo fans with run-on timer.

--
Andy

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
Just stick one of those "wires could be live or neuttral, depending on
the weather" stickers on the CU.

;-)

--
*What do little birdies see when they get knocked unconscious? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.