How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
What is rag wiring?
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Up until the mid-20th century, electrical wiring was insulated with rubber embedded with cloth, which some electricians call “rag wiring.” The material had two safety problems: 1) The rubber hardens, cracks, and pieces start to break off over time, especially in a hot attic, and 2) The cloth-rubber combination has a low thermal resistance and can melt or catch fire when the wires overheat.
An example of rag wiring is shown above, mixed with the newer thermoplastic insulated wiring that replaced it, in an electrical panel. To learn more about rag wiring, go to our blog post Is all cloth wiring dangerous?
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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about ELECTRICAL WIRING:
• Which house appliances need a dedicated electrical circuit?
• Can a short circuit cause a high electric bill?
• What is the maximum spacing requirement for securing NM-cable (nonmetallic-sheathed cable)?
• Is it alright to just put wire nuts on the end of unused or abandoned NM-cable or wiring?
• What causes copper wires to turn green or black in an electric panel?
• What are typical aluminum service entrance wire/cable sizes for the electrical service to a house?
• Why is it unsafe to bond neutral and ground wiring at subpanels?
• Should I get a lightning rod system to protect my house?
• Why is a strain relief clamp necessary for the cord connection to some electric appliances?
• Does a wire nut connection need to be wrapped with electrical tape?
• What is the minimum clearance of overhead electric service drop wires above a house roof?
• What are the requirements for NM-cables entering an electric panel box?
• What is the color code for NM cable (Romex®) sheathing?
• Why are old electrical components not always "grandfathered" as acceptable by home inspectors?
Visit our ELECTRICAL page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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