Hello Experts,
Thanks for all your help with my previous space heater wiring project.
I am thinking about restoring a log cabin that was built more than 50-60 years ago.
Some of the original wiring is still in place. Cables run under door/window fascia and through holes bored through logs to enter boxes chiseled into logs. Some of the holes could only have been drilled while the cabin was being constructed. A lot of care went into running cables discreetly under wood "U" moulding along/between logs.
I opened a box and observed that the wires are NOT bare copper, but more~silver colored, not aluminum.
[Q1] Did cables include tinned copper or steel conductors way back then?
[Q2] Where can I look up specs for old cable. I am concerned about resistance of non-copper conductors.
[Q3] Are there books on how residential wiring guidelines have changed over the last hundred years?
I will probably end up re-wiring everything eventually, but first I want to attend to some structural problems. I thought I would initially replace the main plug fuse panel with a 100A breaker panel and the ground rod -- it's just a 3/4" pipe in the ground.
[Q4] Is there a (museum) market for old Wadsworth fuse panels in good working condition?
[Q5] What size wire should I run to the ground rod and to an old well pipe? Does the size depend on the AMPS of the main panel?
[Q6] Any comments or references to re-wiring old houses would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Daneel
Thanks for all your help with my previous space heater wiring project.
I am thinking about restoring a log cabin that was built more than 50-60 years ago.
Some of the original wiring is still in place. Cables run under door/window fascia and through holes bored through logs to enter boxes chiseled into logs. Some of the holes could only have been drilled while the cabin was being constructed. A lot of care went into running cables discreetly under wood "U" moulding along/between logs.
I opened a box and observed that the wires are NOT bare copper, but more~silver colored, not aluminum.
[Q1] Did cables include tinned copper or steel conductors way back then?
[Q2] Where can I look up specs for old cable. I am concerned about resistance of non-copper conductors.
[Q3] Are there books on how residential wiring guidelines have changed over the last hundred years?
I will probably end up re-wiring everything eventually, but first I want to attend to some structural problems. I thought I would initially replace the main plug fuse panel with a 100A breaker panel and the ground rod -- it's just a 3/4" pipe in the ground.
[Q4] Is there a (museum) market for old Wadsworth fuse panels in good working condition?
[Q5] What size wire should I run to the ground rod and to an old well pipe? Does the size depend on the AMPS of the main panel?
[Q6] Any comments or references to re-wiring old houses would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Daneel