Did ROMEX Cable Change Again? (NM-B Update)

The graphics (timeline, old pictures) are a nice touch. Liked seeing the old stuff as a contrast to how far we've come today.

Came for the update - stayed for the history lesson! Great video John!

Excellent video: to the point, good lighting, no obnoxious music, no stammering, stuttering, stumbling. Five stars and a master class on video presentation. Thank you.

Fantastic video - I am a master electrician that primarily works with high voltage critical infrastructure, this video is proof that you never stop learning in our trade. I had no idea of the history of NMD or they made flat 3 wire NMD cables. 5 minutes of my life well spent :) thanks John!

I really enjoyed the fact you listed the history of NM cable, found that even more interesting than going over the new jacket color codes which I've began to notice earlier this month while shopping at my local home depot. I never realized it's history traces it's roots to a couple of years before 1925, because I've helped with several remodel projects over the years in Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina, and every home I've been in that was built in the 1930s or before had remnants of knob and tube, along with the early cotton braid NM. A few homes I've seen were before the 1920s and skipped knob and tube altogether and went straight to the 1st gen NM because the house was in a rural area where electricity was unavailable until the end of WWII. The farmhouse in Sanilac County michigan with the deadly Chicago 3 way for the yardlight installed in the early 50s I mentioned in that video about a month ago, was built in 1908, yet there was no evidence of knob and tube when I was trying to figure out that 3 way, because electricity was unavailable until 1951 according to the farmer. There was however, lots of cotton or rayon braid NM cable in the basement, although I don't recall any of it being 3 wire, which kinda makes me wonder if there were other Chicago 3 ways in the house, considering it was wired by the father and grandfather of the farmer, and they experienced the harsh economic times of the 1930s and a major advantage of Chicago 3 ways were that they could keep constant power on both ends while switching a luminaire using 3 wires instead of four.

here's the mind blower: the color coding wasn't adopted for electricians or inspectors. it was adopted to make inventory control easier.

Thank you for providing great, concise information without any extra wording. A joy to listen to.

That's it! I'm rewiring to the latest fashions!

As a licensed electrician, I can’t understand why the change came from the manufacturer and not the NEC. It’s a smart idea, and I wonder how the advisory boards never came up with it

This excellent video just might have scored a new total points record from me on YouTube. Masterfully researched. Dense. Perfect presentation. No silly music. Top-notch graphics. Thank you.

Interesting. Considering 16 AWG is getting added to the 2024 NEC, I would have thought that would get the new color.

Thanks for keeping us up to date!

16/2-3 10 amp is next..I wonder about those colors.

Thank you again. As always I learn something new from your videos

As always, top-quality content. Not to be missed. Thank you!

We already had blue cables to identify 15 amp arc protected (AFCI) circuits for the bedrooms...

was a buider mostly residential...lot of remodels...saw progression from knob and tube thru the original colors...also the added protection of grounding including reguiring switchs have a grd...good informative video

Thanks for mentioning the underground color of gray. I can just imagine how I would feel if I was enjoying the information about the colors and then be stumped or have misconceptions if I'd come across the gray.

Dang, this makes me feel old because I realized I bought 250 foot boxes of 14-2 and 12-2 back in 1992 and haven't bought any Romex since then. I didn't even realize that there were new colored sheaths.

Like your videos. I am a retired commercial electrician from Florida and your videos are concise, to the pertinent point, and informative. Keep it up. I am up in Maine now fixing the code violations in my daughter's house in Penobscot. What that really means is gut and replace. 100 amp to 200 amp (Load calc came to 175) and Versant ran a new triplex supply to my newly installed Siemens Combo Meter Can/Disconnect and a new Siemens 200 amp PN Series 40/60 space panel. I found every metal junction box in the house, including switch boxes with no wire nuts, just the wires twisted into a mangled ball and taped; the ground wires were not bonded to the boxes, switches with not ground wire to the ground lug on the switch (yes they are self grounding switches but they were in a plastic box so they still need the grounds. I found 12 ga circuits feeding the basement with14 ga wires tapped off of it to feed the lights. That is a short list (they did not seem to know about the 6 ft. receptacle rule) but I am glad that there are guys like you here in Maine doing it right! Thanks again for your videos.