NM Cable degradation - and an interesting, and brief, history of wiring methods

[Jerry Peck]

Read pages 12 and 13 for a good brief history or residential wiring.

https://www.mikeholt.com/files/PDF/damagedegradationnmcables.pdf

Read as much as you would like of the report as it contains very good information as to how and why things happen, some of which the home inspector may even see at times.

[Gunnar Alquist]

Thanks Jerry. That is interesting reading (at least the part that I actually did read).

I thought you were retired. You read this stuff for fun?

Some of it is way beyond my understanding i.e. "(typically based on phthalic or trimellitic anhydride and various short chain alcohols(from C8 to C15)".

Right.

I had no idea that "Greenfield" dated back to the 1800s.

I have seen the undersized equipment grounding conductors in NM cable from the early '60s homes. I wonder if the retooling the manufacturers had to go through was a pain, considering the undersized EGC was only around for a short time.