Whats the oldest type of wiring sytem you have had to work on/repair/replace

[Pete999]

Carrying on from the types of cables etc got me wondering, what are the oldest types of wiring you have worked on?
Myself I can recall working with Lead covered cables, cleated singles, capping and casing (no not PVC trunking) TRS, VIR Bare MICC apart from us old timers, the list wont mean much to many of you.

 

[Cadgey123]

Carrying on from the types of cables etc got me wondering, what are the oldest types of wiring you have worked on?
Myself I can recall working with Lead covered cables, cleated singles, capping and casing (no not PVC trunking) TRS, VIR Bare MICC apart from us old timers, the list wont mean much to many of you.

I am quite young (ish) 28, and I had the pleasure of ripping out VIR cables on a farm which were still live and in use at the time.
All enclosed in metal conduits.

They are the ones with a material type insulation? How old would you estimate that to be?

Ps I still reckon existing methods although dated are definitely better engineered.

 

[The Ghost]

I can remember working on houses with neutral fuses as well as live. Rewireable fuses all wood casing etc.

 

[LewisM]

Ps I still reckon existing methods although dated are definitely better engineered.

Agreed, I recently installed emergency lighting in the communal areas of a block of low rise flats built in the 1920s we rewired the circuits using existing conduit system which meant the whole job was done without any damage to the building and the conduits can probably still be used again for many years to come.

 

[Dave OCD]

I've ripped out a fair bit of lead, liked the tin JB,s with sheath clamps to maintain earth continuity, and they often have porcelain 'screwit' connectors within - to think you can get a modern version of them again !
Also as a young lad came across cloth/rubber covered singles in wood casing with individual grooves for each conductor, under floorboards.

 

[Dave OCD]

Agreed, I recently installed emergency lighting in the communal areas of a block of low rise flats built in the 1920s we rewired the circuits using existing conduit system which meant the whole job was done without any damage to the building and the conduits can probably still be used again for many years to come.

I guess the conduit would have been a bit rusty in places and you had to run internal CPCs ?

 

[LewisM]

I guess the conduit would have been a bit rusty in places and you had to run internal CPCs ?

Not as much rust as I thought there would be, not much was stuck to the cable lube.

 

[davesparks]

I think the oldest cables I've worked on have been a couple of jobs where I've re-routed and re-terminated imperial micc.

 

[7029 dave]

Worked on an old cu, when I started in 1979, early 1900's wooden fuse box glass front, the fuse wire on the outgoing fuse's were exposed across the carrier, no DP switch. Obviously VIR cables.

 

[westward10]

I rewired some heating circuits last year in a school. Existing was VRI singles in underfloor conduits, the longest pull was about 30 metres and we pulled a tape through using an existing conductor and the new went through easy. Funny thing the existing was pretty deteriorated in the boards but once it was fully out the tubes it was mostly like new.

 

[Dave OCD]

Exposure to air is the key.

 

[westward10]

Exposure to air is the key.

Yes you are correct as the conductors showed no sign of corrosion transfer from the conduits either.

 

[Dave OCD]

I replaced a CU around5-6 years ago which had all rubber cabling - all good as new with very high IR readings and still operational now, couldn't make sense of it !

 

[Pete999]

I rewired some heating circuits last year in a school. Existing was VRI singles in underfloor conduits, the longest pull was about 30 metres and we pulled a tape through using an existing conductor and the new went through easy. Funny thing the existing was pretty deteriorated in the boards but once it was fully out the tubes it was mostly like new.

Yes saw that same thing from time to time

 

[LankyWill]

I made the mistake of touching some VIR in an old council manor house(national trust), when the sheathing turned to dust i immediately regretted it.

Got called to a church where the old Imperial MICC had got damp, and was causing an intermittent fault. Luckily i just pulled in a new Metric MICC, it was a switch leg so fairly straight forward.

 

[PEG]

...I put a new string,on Edison's kite...

 

[Bob Geldoff1234]

I helped my father rewire Blackpool town hall in the 80's and it was one of the first buildings in Blackpool to have electricity.circa 1850.It was lead cable with waxed paper as the insulators.They terminated in metal joint boxes and then had bitumen poured in to seal it.It was still in use when we ripped it out in mid 1984.I bet they never had any loose joints on that installation!.Blackpool also had its own generating station feeding the area including the town hall.

 

[Vitesse]

I removed this from a house last year. It wasn't in use but I needed to remove it to put a new CU in, to replace the existing one from the 60's and the owner let me keep it.

Not in bad condition considering it's 80 odd years old!

The company that installed it was formed in 1931 and ceased trading in 2008. So not a bad run.

The house was built in the 30's and I think domestic properties started getting electricity installed in the 1930's? So it could be one of the original domestic boards.

Fused neutrals as mentioned earlier.

 

[ruston]

...I put a new string,on Edison's kite...

I saw you.

 

[sparkdog]

Used to do lead sheathed cable when I was an apprentice. If the existing wiring was lead any new circuits were done in the same.