12-2 wire that is actualy 14-2

All the 12-2 I have bought has a Yellow jacket. The 14-2 has a white jacket... Or did this used to be reversed over 5 years ago? You're just letting us know that according to your calibrated wire strippers you believe the core to be 14ga instead of said 12ga?

Try a different stripper, or even measure its diameter. #12 has a diameter of 0.081", or just a little over 2 mm.

How old are the wire strippers
Older wire (50's ?) was thicker then today
Yellow coating has never been on 14-2 as far as I know
I bought some over 10 years ago (?) & it had the yellow coat

Mike Dolton said:

my father got some 12-2 house wire from Home Depot

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The jacket should also be marked with the gauge. If it says 12 then there is a 99.9999% chance you have 12 AWG wire (unless the factory made some giant dangerous mistake).

is it 12-2 or 14-2

It has been a while sence I bought some, and I just checked, my 12-2 house wire is white jacket, and yes the wire striper set to 12 will not strip the new wire, it will on 14, and the wire we bought says 12-2 so it should not pull straight through when set on 12, So did the wire change over the last 5 years? just want to know because the gauge on the wire striper calls it 14-2 not 12-2 and there is a big difference when wiring and using 20amp breakers or higher. thanx for your help in this. I would just like to find out what is going on.

ScottR said:

(unless the factory made some giant dangerous mistake).

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Can you imagine!

Scuba_Dave said:

How old are the wire strippers
Older wire (50's ?) was thicker then today
Yellow coating has never been on 14-2 as far as I know
I bought some over 10 years ago (?) & it had the yellow coat

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bought in 2000

Mike Dolton said:

bought in 2000

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Were they in the remainder bin?? :laughing:

I've got the opposite issue; the 12ga. hole works best for 14ga. My 14ga. jaws are too small! (Nicks the copper no matter how carefully I do it).

I don't know where that table comes from, but the number listed for #12 is off, I haven't checked the rest. The table from the NEC lists #12 as 0.081". My vernier calipers measure a piece of #12 as 0.0795", which is pretty close.

Mike Dolton said:

It has been a while sence I bought some, and I just checked, my 12-2 house wire is white jacket, and yes the wire striper set to 12 will not strip the new wire, it will on 14, and the wire we bought says 12-2 so it should not pull straight through when set on 12, So did the wire change over the last 5 years? just want to know because the gauge on the wire striper calls it 14-2 not 12-2 and there is a big difference when wiring and using 20amp breakers or higher. thanx for your help in this. I would just like to find out what is going on.

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It's probably just a change in covering. The copper is easily guaged for accuracy.
There's a simple test to determine 12 from 14 guage, you just bend it. There's a distinct difference in stiffness between the two.
Ron

I agree with Ron6519. It is more than likely the the jacket is thinner. Strippers should not come into contact with the wire, they cut through most of the jacket then rip the remaining part loose.

Here's an AWG table http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

Can you imagine the class action lawsuit if HD was selling mislabeled wire?

InPhase277 said:

Try a different stripper, or even measure its diameter. #12 has a diameter of 0.081", or just a little over 2 mm.

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So 10 turns wrapped around a pencil should measure 0.81" (26/32") in length. Or, if you prefer, about 100 micro-furlongs.

If you buy in qty's as large as HD does you can tell anyone to label anything any way you want it.

I have seen a wiring diagram for a [vehicle of Asian origin] that had labelled wires as being of larger gauge than they were.

There is a new jacket that HD has had out in the past few years
Its "slicker/smoother" supposed to "slide along" easier
I do think its thinner then the normal jacket

OK, I had to go look at one of my rolls of wire
New Romex covering is called SIMpull

Cable dimensions (not sure what reg cable is)
410 x 179 mils, Insulation thickness 19 mils

http://www.romexsimpull.com/processLink.do?title=Contractors&type=0

Yoyizit said:

So 10 turns wrapped around a pencil should measure 0.81" (26/32") in length.

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Or 0.0152 foot-pounds per newton, in the units of my country I am forming. Soon to be a world dominating super power. Watch for it..

Or, for more traditional units, 0.000000000000000002175 light-years.

InPhase277 said:

Or 0.0152 foot-pounds per newton, in the units of my country I am forming. Soon to be a world dominating super power. Watch for it..

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Somewhere there is a rubber room waiting for you.:laughing:
I'll probably be just down the hall. . .