I do love the very formal, proper british tone combined with a family guy t shirt.

I always leave a neat edge on my Strips. It looks better to start with but it also helps a lot if you need to replace a unit. Its a good working practice. The cables go back in much easier, which is helpful when there are a few cables coming in one point such as the spur point of a ring circuit. I rant, curse and rave when I'm replacing a consumer unit and the bell end before me left a big pile of ragged edges for me to battle with. Pride in ones work people, pride in ones work.

The practice of using cross-sectional area (metric) is sensible. In the US we use AWG (American Wire Guage) where a larger number means a smaller wire, up to 0000 (4/0 or Four-aught). After that we use an area measure - units are MCM (Thousand Circular Mils) where a Mil is 0.001".

Sleeve I tend to use a piece of earth wire and strip the sleeve, so as not to need a easy to lose sleeve roll, plus I tend to have extra short offcuts in any case. Here in SA you need to use a cable gland into a box, irrespective of whether it is a flush mount or surface box, so no grommets. The trunking I buy and put self adhesive tape on separately, as it is not common to get a self adhesive one. Saves a lot of time, plus no sagging ever, especially after 2 paint coats seal it in. A single screwnail every so often helps, especially with the larger sizes where you might run 10 or more inside the trunk. Stick, then drill through and place the screwnail in then gently tap into position. Those clips can be a pain at times, especially if you have a wall seemingly made out of powder which does not hold, or those walls seemingly harder than granite. Easyhold and cable tie to the rescue, but not as nice looking, but great for a bundle in a roof to make it neat along a wall.

Thank you JW for another informative video. I take it you are a licensed electrician (I know next to nothing about electrical things but am very curious.) I very much appreciate your attention to detail and soothing voice which is easy on the ears.

Here in the US, this type of cable is typically referred to as Romex, named after one of the major brands of it. Ours has a thin brown paper covering the individual wires inside instead of having talc coating. Interesting that cable that is much the same is used in the UK, though. We also don't have any covering or anything over the earth wire. I do like the idea of having that sleeving though; in a cramped electrical box we have to be somewhat careful to make sure that earth doesn't short out to the live connection on a switch or receptacle, which could be pretty dangerous.

I've seen twin and earth used for extension reels. All home made and wrapped around a short piece of fence wood. The damage to the thing was mad and the people using it were.. mad! Nice vid. More please!

Great vid, really helped me with my practical work on my course.

That was some brilliant instruction and detail. Thanks Mr Ward

Thanks JW another well explained subject.👍

Such excellent videos for someone starting out. Thank you

Hi John, another really good video, thankyou. I would love to see a video explaining the relationships/differences between MCB's, thermal overloads and motor circuit breakers. Alex.

I really appreciate your expertise in this area. I don't like wire nuts and was interested in learning about other ideas.

Another well informed video. I will be paying extra attention when a sparky does any work now and know if they are a electrician or a cowboy electrician.

Fixings, such as the clip shown in the video, in escape routes now have to be fire-proof, in practice metal. That means metal clips for surface mounted cables or metal conduit. Most dwelling this is going to mean corridors, stairs and upper storey landings. Regulation 521.11.201 came into force 1 July 2015. electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/issues/58/fire-performance-of-cable-supports/

Good ole JW. Basic bog standard electrician info. Why is it that so many can't even get this stuff right?

I have had a couple of rolls that was covered with talc incorrectly, absolute nightmare indeed. Thankfully it's been a few years since i came across the problem.

I am doing this just to leave the silver discs on the floor for the kids looooool.....Love This John!

Thank You JW. A really good video.

Thank you for destroying the stupid myth about damaging the earth by pulling on it!

Another method of stripping the cable I was shown whilst at college was at top of the cable by using a knife and strip down towards the bare earth without trying to cut through the insulation of the wire. I did it initially lol but mastered it in the end

Hi John, Love the vids.. Anyway, save time stripping that type of cable. No need to slit it. Just score deep around it, bend it slightly to see if when it actually cuts through the sheath- on both sides. Then grab both sides of the cable with each hand and pull. It'll generally snap and the sheath after the cut will just slide off.

Thanks I found that really useful... As a novice it's really helped me

jw you are a fantastic teacher

God you're good ! I'm learning loads - Many thanks.

Happy days on the stretching myth glad somebody with some sense said it 👍

I was always under the impression That the central earth was left bare so that if the live or neutral was damaged, there was a good chance it would short with the earth, tripping the RCD rather than shorting with each other and potentially causing a fire.

Hello John Great Video...........I watched nearly all of your videos But can you advise what best way of joining inline a 10mm cable ie, connector strips etc? Your opinion on this is greatly appreciated. Thanks

I did always wonder what the white powdery stuff inside was, and now I know. :)

This cable is pretty well identical to what we have in Canada, "Non Metallic Sheathed" cable, sometimes called "Romex". Installation methods differ here as to use of, installation , fastening, and sleeving of the bare conductor .. (we don't!)

John im fitting a cctv camera to the outside of my property. It comes with its own junction box twin and earth connection. Im using standard 1mm cable as its a standard camera low wattage. Immdrilling through from the outside wall into a bedroom. Is it better to use a stiffer cable or flex for that job or doesnt it make a difference

I like the pliers which grips & then strips in one operation... a single-handed job... 😎 U didnt mention the risk of nicking the copper whilst stripping it, thereby leaving a stress-point where the copper can fracture & break away.... seen this many times...😞

hi john great vid,how do you make a right angle with pvc trunking? many thanks

Informative video. I love practical videos

where twin & earth is run on a bare brick or block wall capping should be used to protect the cable from the plasterers trail that's the reason for capping.

Great video and very witty I’ve subscribed for more 👌

Leaving the earth wire bare within the cable, not only makes it a bit cheaper but also a bit thinner too. It may be marginal, but every little helps.

greetings, in Australia they used to the solid core cable, that changed years ago to multi strand, including the earth wire insulated. Do you see any advantages in solid or multi strand, what are your thoughts on both.

What do you recommend for finding wiring that's been plastered over, I mean when I put up shelves, I don't want to screw into anything bad.

Hi can you clarify for me if I can use 2.5mm yellow Arctic cable (110v) to make a 240v extention lead thankyou.

“foxes coming along and chewing it...” Gosh that’s made me chuckle...

Thoughts; I'll use a stanley where convenient if I want a particularly nice finish. Not convenient for C.U. wiring for the most part, where I use the snip-into-the-end-and-pull-the-earth method, then snip the outer with the snips, not stanley, as there's too much risk of slicing into another wire in tight spaces (not advised when working live = often), alongside the distinct possibility of sliced fingers. Also seen too many instances of careless stanley work resulting in exposed live conductors, including some pretty nasty faults in damp environments (blown SWAs at the gland). As a rule, when I use a stanley, if I cut too deep then I cut the length off and start again (assumes you have length to spare in the first place). Score the outer only... Stripping the inners - My 1.5/2.5/+ strippers of choice are my quite old but still awesome Kew Technik snips that snipped through a live 1.5 T+E many years ago ("power off mate?" - "yeah" - *snip, bang* - "nope..."). Amusingly it blew two small holes of different sizes in the blades - one being great for 0.75-1.5mm, other being perfect for 2.5. I always try to double-over exposed conductor ends where the terminal they're being fixed into allows for it (particularly if only hosting a single conductor), especially the thinner earth. I see this as creating a better contact (lower resistance) due to increased contact area, allows for higher clamping force, reduces localised heating at the connection, and increased resistance to breaking the core in the terminal where an over-tightened screw may otherwise crush the copper. T+E cable = for fixed installations only. Don't do as some do and stick plugs on the end of it to be used as a substitute for flex cable... I prefer to use capping if I C.B.A. purely to allow for the possibility of pulling in/out cables at a later date if required (better than having to chop back into that newly plastered/decorated wall...). If I'm dealing with metal back boxes I tend to add a 1.5/2.5 G/Y length of 'singles' wire from it to the socket/switch/etc. where appropriate. Better that have a back-box potentially go live if/when the plate is pulled away sometime. Thanks for taking your time to do these videos, JW. Always informative, and food for thought.

Sorry if I missed it but what do you think about folding over the ends? I always did it, but on ring circuits to sockets now I'm wondering if it makes a cleaner, more certain/secure connection without, especially when replacing sockets in tight spaces. "Theoretically" a doubled/folded over end could snap under the terminal or when pushing the socket into place.

I wonder if you use round wires, like the NYM standard, in the UK? I hate flat cables and never use them. Such a pain to strip compared to round ones.

Thanks this was really helpful

Would it be safe to do the following: Install cables into wall Cover with steel channel Fill in the hole with expanding foam ? Thanks

Just a sort-of "in your experience" question, and I realise the answer by some may not agree with others. With regards to scoring the outer jacket, is a sharp blade better or a not-so sharp one? If it's very sharp, a cleaner cut but also easy to nick the wires inside. If it's not-so sharp, not as clean, but less risk of wire damage I would think.

Would have been great to end this good video with the different ways to terminate and the ways not to terminate. e.g twisting wires together, bending the end to create loop etc

Which cable do you need to install recess spots?? I’ve used twin and earth (3 core) 1.5 square mm white cable .. is that right??

I have never seen that green/yellow sleeving before and I can't seem to find it even now. It seems like a handy way to reduce the chance of accidental shorts. Is there another name for it? It is a UK only item?

Really helpful video thank you

My wire strippers are a good time saver and also leave a clean cut end

Hi John, if this cable was plastered into a wall, it would mean destroying the house to rewire in 40 - 60 years time. Leads me on to a general question, during rewiring does it mean ripping up floor boards and digging through plaster or is the old wiring abandoned and horrible plastic trunking installed all over the house?

Little observation.... Placing two cables through different holes in a metal enclosure....was mentioned in a previous video of yours, using meter tails and with regard to magnetic fields being created. It is odd that the powers that be (BS7671) do not recommend this in a consumer unit yet allow it with cables in back boxes.

snip end open with side cutters grab earth with pliers pull back to required length then ether score and peel or snip outer off using knife risks snagging insulation on conductors

Great video

Hi John, just to chip in its also a good idea to warm cable before installing to avoid breakages

oh and also I use the cheese wire method of striping the insulation! kind regards Warren

Can someone explain to me how mice seem to be immune to 240v AC? They will happily chew away the insulation on all three cores, but never have i found the culprit laying dead at the scene of the crime. The little blighter's seem to get away with it everytime.

@ John ward, do you think you could do a video on MICC cable possibly. Your videos are always very informative and lots of the trainees on Electriciansforum.co.uk have mentioned how useful they have found your channel. Thanks. :)

In North America, the active wire is black and the neutral is white. If there are 2 active wires, one is black and the other is red. The earth(ground) is bare with no sleeve.

👍👍👍👍👍Great video!

One question which might be addressed is how long tails out to be cut.

What a long way round to strip a cable neatly.

Good recommendation with not cutting off the earth at the end of the video..

Are you not supposed to earth the metal back box as well as the outlet?

Also when removing insulation try not to cut in to the conductor as this could reduce the csa of the conductor and may introduce a fatigue area (where if it bent too much it could fracture on the cut area)

JW superhero

old generation loves single wire per line

This is a good video - thanks, but I would like to make some comments. (1) Use of a stanley knife to cut the outer sheath is impractical: it would seem from this that you haven’t carried out much installation work. In a flush box or a c.u. getting the blade round the rear end of the sheath would be mightily awkward and the risk of damaging the conductor insulation would be unaceptably high! (2) You say that metal buckle clips are outdated, but the latest wiring regs require the use of them to preclude cables collapsing in a fire. (3) If a single 2.5sq mm cable is to connect to a s/o, cu,or other termination, the conductors should be doubled back to ensure a good connection. Personally, I dislike 2.5 T&E: in ring final circuits, it’s pretty much impossible to ensure continuity, as twisting the cores does not provide a secure joint, and placing the conductors side by side means continuity is dependent on the security of the screws clamping the conductors in each s/o or “spur unit”. 4mm sq is a better option, in a radial configuration, which has the advantage that ring circuit continuity testing is not required on EICR inspections. For use outside the equipotential zone, T&E in plastic trunking is unacceptable in my view. Pvc/swa/pvc or micc is far safer.

Thanks J W!

why does the earth not come sleeved

Why can't they just build a earth wire with sleeve already in.

I've found plasters using plastic floats. This should stop the cable bing damaged. Might even save the plasterers getting arrested should police get into their tool bags !

To strip cable push a knife down the . Middle 3

i managed to stretch couple of earth conductors by pulling throughout the cast copex in concrete, i used metal draw wire and i applied my body force to pull them out from the socket, but that happens only if you attach the earth conduit to the metal draw wire and only for distances like 3-5 meters long, you can spot that the earth wire is longer and thinner but not broken and the 1.6 formula for testing would fail by a small margin

Ha! Even I know it takes a lot of force to stretch copper, and I'm a complete dumbass!

Rizwan

Thousand of kilos Ehhhhhh lol

Bad video never use a sharp knife to skin cable. You’ve just cut into the copper core and weakened that wire at that point