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Posted by John Grabowski on February 26, 2008, 7:56 am
> Which would you rather see in a basement for wiring? Old BX or new Romex?
> I'm really not sure which should be preferable. BX has cloth covered
> insulators and just the little strip for ground, but it is working well
> (was working on a switch hot and accidentally touched the box, the lights
> were off almost simultaneously with the spark - woops. Just for the record
> I was wearing my work boots and was careful not to let my hands touch
> anything metal; I just didn't realize that the switch I was using was
> almost as wide as a single gang box...) cloth covered insulation appears
> to be in good shape. I like the damage resistance of the BX, but I also
> like the higher temperature rating of the new NM-B.
>
> I'm certain that the old cloth had a 60C temperature rating if any; new
> NM-B has 90C. Does it really make a big difference? I know the right
> answer to the question is "use new BX with 90C insulation and a separate
> ground wire" but... um... you priced BX lately? I am definitely replacing
> a few runs with romex to allow for a 3-way switch on the stairwell light
> and will be replacing a couple lampholders with shop lights (cheap 'n'
> sleazy, just using short fixture whips out of the blank plate of the
> octagon box, there's no ceiling in the laundry room and won't be until
> *ALL* the wiring is done)
>
> Also, in situations where someone's already been there and pulled
> somewhat-newer Romex, do you generally consider it acceptable to
> "repurpose" it if it runs where I need it? This is all the old NM not
> NM-B, and for extra goodness some of it has a 16AWG ground. Is this a big
> deal? Repulling it is not the end of the world, just a minor PITA. I know
> it's not the best it could be, but ISTM that it should be acceptable...
>
> Oddly enough, this whole line of thought was prompted by the light at the
> bottom of the stairs going out as I was pulling a piece of Romex through
> the same space. Whenever I knocked against one of the pieces of BX going
> into the ceiling box (I was reaching above the ceiling space between the
> studs) the light would go out, and then when I touched it again it would
> come back on. I figured this needed immediate attention, and I just
> imagined that I'd find that I'd have to repull all of the runs that
> entered the box due to it being fried. Imagine my surprise when I pulled
> it down and everything looked fine inside, but when I removed the
> lampholder itself the neutral screw was loose. OK, reinstall, works.
> Left it dangling from the wires and carefully wiggled the two wire nuts
> inside the box. When I wiggled the neutral, the light would flicker. Not
> good! removed wire nut, here it didn't have any spiral steel insert and
> was very loose on the wires. Some electrician - presumably back in
> 1948! - didn't notice it, and here it was to freak me out 60 years
> later... A new wire nut out of the electrical drawer and all is working
> fine now :)
I vote for new. When you go to sell the house it will look better to have
new wiring. I don't like working with the cloth covered conductors.
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