[choiyancey]

The hot wire in a typical 120 volt circuit is what color

[stanfortyman]

I think you tried this already. If this was not you then it was someone else taking the same test. :rolleyes:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electr...re-283981.html

[letmetellu]

The color does not make a wire the hot wire, the person doing the wiring makes the hot wire the color he wants it, mose people go by the standard of Black is positive or hot and the white is neutral or negative.

But if you are working with wires that are 120 volts and you don't know if it is a correct wiring system it is best to check it out before you take chances.

[KISS]

Letmetellu:
Yo, get rid of the positive and negative stuff. I can pick any point on the AC sinusoidal waveform and come up with a positive, negative and zero value.

If black is positive, then look under the hood of your car sometimes. You may find a read and black wire. Red will be positive with respect to the negative terminal of the battery.

[KISS]

He was talking about AC and I was too. Positive and negative don't make sense in this context.

If you look at the seconfd paragraph here:

Thermocouple Wire and Thermcouple Cable

How are insulated thermocouple wires identified?
The insulation on thermocouple wire is color coded for identification. Common guidelines include that the negative lead in insulated thermocouple wire is red.

Let's have some fun:

St. Patrick's of Texas

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=6557&page=3

[tkrussell]

AC is positive and negative and zero?

No wonder my sinus-oidal hurts.

Makes me want to run out screaming into the BLACK night.

Is discussing color politically correct? We should all be blind to color.

[donf]

TK,

Educate me please, color would make a difference in commerchial installations?

[tkrussell]

Don, you may think I am being a smartazz , but I have a good reason for this following line of questioning, really.

If you were to go buy 2 wire cable , is there any notice of where it can be used?

Isn't the same two wire cable used in homes used in commercial?

Think about it.

Next, look in the index of the code for "Color Code", review all the sections listed, and any sections those sections refer to, and get back to me with what color codes there are, and we can continue this discussion.

I will be glad to help, I just need to insist on some sweat equity on your part.

[KISS]

The reason why I'm making a lot of noise is the OP's question was way too vague. 120 VAC was assumed, but no where was the application or geographic area show.

In the US, there are power cords that use the blue brown, green w/Yel combination. These devices may also accept 90-277 Volts as input.

[donf]

TK - Thanks for the points to check up.

One thing I do not mind is sweat equity! That's the best way to learn

[tkrussell]

In the US, there are power cords that use the blue brown, green w/Yel combination. These devices may also accept 90-277 Volts as input.

These cords usually have an IEC connector at least on one end.

[donf]

OK, due diligence completed.

Using the NEC 2008 Index and researching under "Color" I learned that the primary focus is on the color of the grounded conductor being white or gray. The grounded conductor can also be indicated by three white stripes on the wire. Also, ground being bare or green with yellow stripes.

Since there is no prohibition to the use of color to identify ungrounded conductors, then it permissible.

I did find one reference to using light blue conductors to identify "Intrinsically Safe" conductors, but I do not know how to interpret this statement. I can't think of a situation where a conductor can be considered "Safe" by its very nature.

So my answer to my question is that yes, color is allowed and sometimes required <when there are more then one main panel> if there are two or more sources of power in the same residence.

Oh and one final thought. Currently color is being used to identify the size of the conductor inside a cable.

I did find one anomaly, the index pointed to 310.(5) (C), which does not exist.

[tkrussell]

To understand Intrinsically, do a search to learn the meaning and context that the Code uses this word.

This is a very specific topic and location, is all I will say for now.

Much too deep for this forum, not relevlant for this discussion.

Also, a slap on the wirst... stop just using the word "ground".

Elaborate using "equipment ground". And learn when to use grounding, grounded.

While you may know what your referring to, others certainly do not.

Just using the word "ground" makes me cringe, like using "220 volts" in North America.

Detail, detail, detail.

If you want to play with the big boys, you need to learn the details.

So, what I think you found out is that Code does not any longer dictate what color code is for hot conductors.

By virtue of the grounded being identifed as white, and equipment ground being identified as green or bare, a typical 2 wire cable, by process of elimination leaves black as the hot conductor.

Correct?

The reference to 310.5 (C) must be a typo? I think they mean 310.4 (C).

[donf]

Wrist slapped accepted.

One final issue to toss out. From the beginning of this issue, I thought that the poster was talking about the outer sheath of the cable. Certainly the grounded conductor is gray, white or has three white stripes on it. The ungrounded conductor is black and the equipment ground is either green, green and yellow or bare.

The outer skin of the cable can be different colors that indicate the AWG of the conductors within the cable. Correct?

[tkrussell]

Re-read the original post:

The hot wire in a typical 120 volt circuit is what color

This is a popular question for home inspectors tests, in reference to the live wire.

I guess this person is gone, after all the razzing.

"Typical" hot wire is black.

Now, what about your question, is color code different for commercial installations.

What did you discover?