Will this wire work for my shop build?

[jkidd_39]

I got a few spools of copper cable today. I should have a few thousand foot of it. It's control wire from an electrical utility.

The info on the wire is as follows:
Rome CT-B control cable 4/C 10 AWG CU 600 volts

Here is a pic.

This will be for indoor use. Although the utilities use it for outdoor use as well.

Thanks guys!!


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[nehog]

If you have inspections, take a sample to the building inspector and ask if he'll approve it. He might say "Sure, that stuff is fine" or he might say "No, you need xyz."

If you don't have inspections, then it should work fine.

 

[Aceman]

Will it work. Yes.
Would it pass inspection. No.

I could probably say the same thing about extension cord.

They make Romex for a reason....

 

[jkidd_39]

Thank you. And no I do not have inspectors.

What are the average spec for interior wiring? Will this wire be tough to use bc of it's size?

Thanks alot!!


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[jkidd_39]

Will it work. Yes.
Would it pass inspection. No.

I could probably say the same thing about extension cord.

They make Romex for a reason....

Thanks for the reply.

What's the difference between the stuff I got and the romex? Obviously my stuff has lots of little wires and the romex is a solid strand.

Any difference in how it works??

Thanks so much guys


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[matt151617]

Romex is NM cable, the standard cable you see installed in buildings. 14 gauge is white, 12 gauge is yellow, and 10 gauge is orange.

What you could always do is sell that stuff you have now for the copper... that'll buy you plenty of Romex.

 

[nehog]

Other than the difficulty of working with 10/4, there are few down sides to using it. As Matt says, you can sell the stuff you have (were you closer I'd offer to buy some of it...) and buy Romex, but if you are not tied to a building inspector's need to follow the book, the wire is fine for any 20 or 30 amp circuit.

 

[rwreuter]

also, correct me if i am wrong...but i think that utility company wire is NOT UL rated, which means, if an inspector were to look you would fail the inspection.

like another poster, if you are going to run it for your receptacles it would be a GIANT P.I.A.

 

[kyle242gt]

Yikes, after wrangling with four strands of 12ga in 40F weather, I can't imagine trying to do much with 10ga.

 

[jkidd_39]

Thanks for the info guys. I did some pricing at the scrap yard. I get $1.20/lb for this wire. 100ft of this wire will get me a ton of romex. So I'm gonna save some for rewiring trailers and sell the rest.

Just out of curiosity, what makes this unsafe compared to romex? We were talking about it today at work. By no means are we electricians, but the best we can guess is the multiple strands of copper could be over powered and cause a fire or ground out.

Thanks so much guys. You rock!


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[rwreuter]

that wire is "romex"....just large romex and a PIA if you intend to use it for duplex receptacles. try 8-3 or 6-3 copper or even 6-3 aluminum in a house.

though all that is easy compared to stuff used in commercial applications....something like 650kcmil.....you use "chuggers" to pull that stuff through pipe.

the reason that it is unsafe is (again, usually power company's wire isn't UL rated, they are not bound by the NEC) because it hasn't been tested by UL. not to say that it is "unsafe"....it just hasn't been DECLARED safe by a competent authority.

 

[jkidd_39]

I found some more wire today. It's some big stuff. UL rated too. Any use??

Okinite 4 I/O AWG CU OKOGUARD - OKOLON (UL) RHH or RHW-2 or use-2 VW-1 600V sun res for CT use


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[nehog]

also, correct me if i am wrong...but i think that utility company wire is NOT UL rated, which means, if an inspector were to look you would fail the inspection.

like another poster, if you are going to run it for your receptacles it would be a GIANT P.I.A.

Uh, the utility company has a different set of rules they follow, so no it would not fail an inspection...

 

[rwreuter]

if he uses it in his residence (without a UL label)...IT WILL FAIL.

 

[jkidd_39]

if he uses it in his residence (without a UL label)...IT WILL FAIL.

Thanks for the reply. I did the math. I'm selling it for scrap to buy a lot more romex than this wire.

But can you go into depth about why it will fail? I can't see any way it wouldn't hold up in a 30A circuit. I am saving a few foot for rewiring a few trailers


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[slacker garage shop]

He is saying it would fail inspection. Its not UL listed and approved

 

[Yardbirdaa]

The wire would be able to carry the current just fine. Besides being a pain to work with, it's way overkill for a duplex outlet. That being said, if it isn't listed with UL, then it hasn't been tested to meet the minimum standards of safety.

 

[rwreuter]

what they said.....LOL

EVERYTHING electrical (and some other junk too) that is used in a home has to be inspected by the Underwriters Laboratory......among other things, they verify it is safe.

Power Companies are NOT bound by UL listing......why I do not know. this i do know, that UL listing ads a good chunk to the cost of electrical wire.

funny thing is, the wire is made by the same people (at least that is what i have been told, i can't verify that), one is shipped to the power companies and the other is stamped with a UL label and shipped to the stores and wholesaler's.

to be honest....i doubt if any eletrical inspector ever looks at the wire to verify if it has a UL stamp on it. it is just accepted that it does.

 

[Norcal]

what they said.....LOL

EVERYTHING electrical (and some other junk too) that is used in a home has to be inspected by the Underwriters Laboratory......among other things, they verify it is safe.

Power Companies are NOT bound by UL listing......why I do not know. this i do know, that UL listing ads a good chunk to the cost of electrical wire.

funny thing is, the wire is made by the same people (at least that is what i have been told, i can't verify that), one is shipped to the power companies and the other is stamped with a UL label and shipped to the stores and wholesaler's.

to be honest....i doubt if any eletrical inspector ever looks at the wire to verify if it has a UL stamp on it. it is just accepted that it does.

That is not true, equipment must listed but is not required to be listed by a specific organization that would require a lawsuit to make things right, but it needs to be a NRTL, Nationally Recognized Testing Lab., which UL is one, as is ETL, & others....

 

[rwreuter]

ok.....though i can't say i have seen any electrical material without a UL label

 

[mrb]

I found some more wire today. It's some big stuff. UL rated too. Any use??

Okinite 4 I/O AWG CU OKOGUARD - OKOLON (UL) RHH or RHW-2 or use-2 VW-1 600V sun res for CT use

thats some very expensive wire. you sure no one is looking for it?

 

[matt151617]

thats some very expensive wire. you sure no one is looking for it?

I'm thinking the same thing... who's giving this to you? There's no one out there that doesn't realize how much copper is worth... especially thousands of feet of it.