Is pvc pvc T&E soon to be written off ?

[Dave OCD]

If I come across an unmarked black switch wire when changing a switch or light fitting I'll put a little bit of red sleeve on, really irritates me to find a black s/l where somebody has brown sleeved it.

 

[Risteard]

I converted my hall lights to two way year before last and used some old red, yellow and blue which was white sheathed still got some left can't be dealing with brown, black and grey. No rcd protection either??

Surely there must have been around 30 corpses around the switch?

 

[Dustydazzler]

Makes reference to LSF for domestics coming in soon in one of the new amendments

 

[Risteard]

Makes reference to LSF for domestics coming in soon in one of the new amendments

I see he showcases the I.S. 201-4 LSF T&E in the video. He doesn't seem to realise that the protective conductor is of equal cross-sectional area to the live conductors as well though.

The pink cable he shows is called RD415 (or perhaps more commonly as "some of that pink sh1te"). It has actually been around slightly longer than the IS201B LSF T&E cable, as it predates the 5th Edition (although still meets the minimum Dca, -s2, d2, a2 or higher requirement). He's mistaken about its purpose, however. It is not a replacement for UK 3-core & Earth. Such a thing wouldn't be useful as we are not permitted to reidentify conductors e.g. with sleeving or heatshrink to indicate a different purpose - they must be correctly identified throughout their length. The exception to this is (from memory) 7-core and above (with the numbered black cores) which can be remarked with heatshrink. It's no coincidence that RD415 looks like FP200 - it is specifically designed for domestic smoke/CO alarm circuits. The white conductor is to be used as the interlink (white being a permissible colour for this). This cable has been supported by Ei Electronics (the parent company of Aico as they are known in the UK market) and by RECI - the Irish electrical regulatory body. The reason it is pink and not red is to differentiate it from FP200.

 

[pc1966]

When I saw the pink cable it was the white conductor that stood out and I remembered reading something about ROI specifying a cable for alarms with that colour coding. Seems quite sensible in many ways (folk see brown/blue as L/N and white as WTF) but you could argue that anyone qualified to work on mains ought to be fine with normal 3-phase colours and sleeving correctly.

Then I woke up and realised what a fool I had been!

 

[Risteard]

When I saw the pink cable it was the white conductor that stood out and I remembered reading something about ROI specifying a cable for alarms with that colour coding. Seems quite sensible in many ways (folk see brown/blue as L/N and white as WTF) but you could argue that anyone qualified to work on mains ought to be fine with normal 3-phase colours and sleeving correctly.

Then I woke up and realised what a fool I had been!

Since RD415 was released I stopped wiring domestic smoke/CO circuits in traditional cable types. It would seem hard to justify not using it when it is designed for that precise purpose. Obviously in the north is a different matter as BS7671 applies.

I don't disagree that anyone working on these things should have enough cop on to not be fooled by unusual colours. However I do consider it good practice to maintain colours throughout their length, and for that reason I agree with the Rule. That said, there can be circumstances where it can make things awkward as standard cables aren't produced in the precise colours required. As mentioned, however, 7 core cable could be the get-out-of-jail free card with this.

 

[lozarus]

Are we talking 80s here? I assumed white was the norm switched to at some time in the 70s, right up until the colour change. Had no idea it was a regional issue - but literally every house I see with 80s on wiring is in white here (Kent/London) (including my own) - and pretty sure it's not all LSF....

Distinctly remember white PVC T&E being available at a lighting retailer here in the mids up to about 2004, and grey PVC t&e also available from the DIY sheds. The white T&E noticeably different from todays white LS0H by being soft and subtle and of course, old colours.

On the contrary, our place has lots of circuits installed around 2003, all fitted out with grey Draka brand LS0H(or maybe LSF) - I'll need to go and check) in old colours - again notably different from PVC T&E by being an absoloute a**e to work with and stamped with the relevant BS number.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I still have a near full roll of 2.5 twin n earth red black with white sheath , waiting till its value goes up higher and it will then go in Ebay.
I recently sold some 4mm twin n earth red black with white sheath for £5 per metre

Not sure why white twin n earth fetches so much money on Ebay but buyer seem to fall over themselves to buy it