When did we change from rubber to pvc insulation?

deandean

I am looking at a house at the moment and I am trying to put an approx age on the wiring.

Anyone know when we changed from rubber insulated wires to pvc wiring? I guess about 1970?

And when we changed from red/black pvc wiring to brown/blue?

(and if you really know your stuff, when we changed from lead sheathed twin & earth! Never saw that stuff before).

Thanks.

M cebee

dunno-the age won't matter anyhow

rubber cabling is best re-wired

DublinDilbert

deandean wrote: »

I am looking at a house at the moment and I am trying to put an approx age on the wiring.

Anyone know when we changed from rubber insulated wires to pvc wiring? I guess about 1970?

And when we changed from red/black pvc wiring to brown/blue?

(and if you really know your stuff, when we changed from lead sheathed twin & earth! Never saw that stuff before).

Thanks.

As the poster above said its kinda academic as it will need to be changed, but I would guess the rubber stuff would be pre 1960. As my own house was built in the 1960s and it had a type of PVC insulation, although it more closely resembled a type of Teflon ( I don't think it was Teflon).

deandean

I am trying to put an approx date on when an extension was built.

Philistine

deandean wrote: »

And when we changed from red/black pvc wiring to brown/blue?

I started my apprenticeship in 1990 and we were told that the colours had "recently" changed from red/black to brown/blue, so I'm guessing very late 80's.

Bruthal

Philistine wrote: »

I started my apprenticeship in 1990 and we were told that the colours had "recently" changed from red/black to brown/blue, so I'm guessing very late 80's.

Yea i think it changed during my one which started in 1987

deandean

Yea I think the brown/blue colours came in about the time we started using MCBs instead of fuses - roughly mid 80's?

M cebee

i haven't a great memory:)

- if i recall mcbs were standard well before brown/blue

Stoner

yes it was the late 1980s for the colour change, my place was 1967 and had PVC/PVC black/red so the extension is at least that old.

Bruthal

1988-89 for the colour change i think, i was apprentice at the time and i think it happened then. The original pvc/pvc had a more plastic look to it, and the conductor had less strands in it, that was in use in the 60`s alright i think.