Talk:Electrical wiring in North America

message: North America is comprised of three major countries, Canada, United States, and Mexico (minor countries include Bermuda). This article talks about Canada and the United States only, therefore it should be renamed to "Electrical wiring in the United States and Canada."  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 177.82.12.47 (talk) 14:58, 28 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: North America?

message: With the last comment from January, I'm going to assume the development mentioned in the article block is done or stalled, and go ahead and start editing.
--Robmonk 04:22, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Comment

message: the following points are contriductory
# minimum 14 gauge wire, solid for 15 amp circuits (some local codes require a minimum of 12 gauge for 15 amp circuits, except for switch legs - that is, circuit portions that are strictly between a light switch and the light that it serves; stranded may also be used, and is of greater ampacity, but is more expensive and requires slightly different techniques)
# all wiring in a circuit except for the leads that are part of a device or fixture must be the same gauge.
i don't live in the us so i don't know about your codes but this article seems very vague and in at least one place self contridictory--Plugwash 11:34, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)
replies: text:  The part about using a different guage for switch legs refers to local codes which sometimes contradict the NEC. Usually a locality will adopt the NEC codes and then add a few exceptions. The NEC requires all wire in the same circuit to be the same gauge. Gbleem 20:23, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Points are contriductory

message: Have updated the spelling within a link, but there is still a discrepancy in the terminologies! Was: arc fault interuptor (sic, with one "r"!), but article to which it links is entitled "Arc-fault circuit interruptEr" (i.e., with hyphenated "arc-fault" and misspelled interruptor (as is used in the "Ground-fault circuit interruptor" link, which itself redirects to "Residual-current device"). All bit of a mess!   Eilthireach 18:59, 11 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Spelling

message: There should be a mention of the difference in areas that use electrical conduit such as EMT pipe, BX etc. and those that use NM such as Romex.  I know Romex is used in most of the US, but pipe and BX are used around here where I live. (Hammond, Indiana) and the Chicago area.  --Kalmia 04:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Conduit 

message: This article needs to be updated to include references to AFCIs
 and combination AFCI/GFCIs.
Atlant 19:27, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  AFCIs 

message: The link The NEC at NFPA.org at the bottom is broken.
129.79.195.29 22:12, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Broken link 

message: Please don't add any more tags suggesting deletion of this article without a very good explanation.  It is at least as encyclopedia-worthy as many other articles here. It's about a *real* subject, not just some throw-away background item in some interminable chain of epic novels. It is reasearchable. The topic of electrical wiring in the United States is of interest especially if contrasted to wiring methods elsewhere, and especially if some of the rationale for the wiring practices is given. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:07, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Salvageable article

message: This article appears to focus on residential wiring. Should its title be changed to "Residential wiring (United States)" ? -- Mikeblas (talk) 00:53, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I think we can usefully broaden the scope to cover industrial and commercial wiring - provided an admin doesn't delete the article first. The problem with the focus is that few contributors know about industrial, overhead, etc. systems where as everyone has a copy of "The Dummy's Guide to House Wiring" and watched an uncle wire a light switch once. --Wtshymanski (talk) 02:38, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  scope? 

message: You know, just how many references does an article need? To some extent every article relies on a subject matter expert paraphrasing what he/she knows and summarizing it, often without a particular reference in mind at all.  We really shouldn't demand every sentence  have a reference if the sentences are generally describing things well-known to those familiar with the subject.  My goodness, the History of England article only has one reference...does anyone seriously doubt that Vikings existed and invaded coastal English villages? I know, I know, this is Wikipedia, where credentials mean nothing, and if enough teenagers raised on TV contribute somehow the  result will be a reliable and authoritative encyclopedia. --Wtshymanski (talk) 02:38, 12 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Your questions are answered at WP:V and WP:RS. -- Mikeblas (talk) 05:49, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: References

message: Original edit returned to original. Link to Split_phase page added for description of US electrical system added to Leg paragraph of Terminology section QuietJohn (talk) 00:12, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Edit

message: Since each of the THHN, THWN, XHHW articles are a one-line definition followed by the same discussion of wire type standards, perhaps they could be usefully merged to one section here. It would save a lot of repetitive explanation and put each wire type in some kind of context.  --Wtshymanski (talk) 17:50, 17 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: done. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:11, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Suggest merge of wire types

message: Wrapping switches with tape is a DIY stunt, professional electricians don't do that (if the box is too small for the wiring devices without tape on them, the box is too small). And I wish we didn't show the white wires landing on the switches, either - they should at least be taped, but should have been some other color than white. --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:09, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: As I think you know there are several more Oh my God! issues in the work shown in this photo. While WP is not a DIY, IMHO [and here my puny efforts to insert all-caps shorthand poop out] neither should it casually depict things people absolutely should not be doing. It's as if the appendectomy article had a photo captioned, Man takes out child's appendix on dining-room table. A real doctor would use surgical instruments instead of kitchen knives, as if that were the only problem. I'm therefore removing it. EEng (talk) 14:34, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Keep in mind that the US is only one of about 23 countries in North America, ditto for its codes and practices.   Also the tape thing may be a POV of folks in the trades.  If someone has an old tight junction box, they would rather  the homeowner pay them $500 to bust the wall open and put a bigger box in than to tape the switch/outlet. North8000 (talk) 12:01, 21 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: As a bare minimum an installation depicted should make sense under the codes and practices of some jurisdiction; this image shows Leviton devices bearing a UL listing, so presumably it's in the US, where it would not pass muster. This is not a "tight old junction box" but new work by an incompetent. In the US, fires of electrical origin constitute about 8% of fires in single-family homes, but only 2% of fires in apartments. Many reasons combine to make this so, but a big factor is that work in single-family dwellings is much more likely to be done by untrained persons who don't appreciate the dangers. It's not WP's job to improve this situation but we shouldn't be holding it up as an example either.  For the record I am not in the trades (though I learned from my grandfather, who was) and do my own work (and have it inspected).  EEng (talk) 16:04, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

text: Don't want to pass myself off as the big expert (I know a lot more than I made it sound like in earlier posts -- think about what EEng might stand for -- though a different area of EE than this one) but my comments are given above. EEng (talk) 01:19, 22 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: My comment was made just to nudge things a bit in our approach to this. You are doing good work  and are on the right track. North8000 (talk) 11:51, 22 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: On the subject of varying codes, I don't know of any that ban tape, but there are many local codes in the US which ban Romex. North8000 (talk) 11:58, 22 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: It's not a matter of tape being banned, but all codes have a catchall requirement that installations be done in a "neat and workmanlike manner" or somesuch. Tape around devices (to insulate their side terminals) implies you don't really believe they won't touch after you shove them forcefully into this overcrowded box, in which simultaneously some wires were cut too long, some too short, puzzling combinations of colors are connected, and so on. You have to serve an apprenticeship before working on your own for a reason -- there are many, many little things you need to know about how things are done which the Code doesn't attempt to cover. EEng (talk) 12:25, 22 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, I think in real life we'd have a few friendly debates, but nice work on the article!   Sincerely, North8000 (talk) 18:03, 22 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Needs a better picture

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on Electrical wiring in North America. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
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Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 17:48, 19 October 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The "Comparison of US practices with other countries" section *talks* about US practices, but doesn't compare them to other countries.  From reading it, you have no idea how other countries may or may not be different from what's described in the US.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.179.83.17 (talk) 03:52, 15 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Comparison of US practices with other countries" Doesn't Compare Anything 

message: How is wiring done in Mexico? --Wtshymanski (talk) 04:43, 23 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Mexico

message: sirs thanks for the invite. Question today is how big wire am i required21:13, 9 March 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: That is determined by the relevant laws/ codes at the location of the installation. North8000 (talk) 22:09, 9 March 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  feeder 

message: A summary of regulations and practices in Mexico would be really interesting and valuable, and help with the English-language blinkers so often found in Wikipedia articles. --Wtshymanski (talk) 21:35, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title: Mexico