Lead Sheath cable

[cadspark]

I'm doing a PIR on a big house last rewired in 1963, I was told by the owner. Most of it looks to be wired in imperial PVC but the cooker and immersion circuits are VIR. Most of the sockets and switches are the bakelite type mounted on wood. I had a look at one light switch that was a more modern 70's style on a patress and it was wired in lead sheath. What era was lead sheath last used in as i'm thinking the rewire in 1963 re-used some of the switch drops?

 

[Evans Electric]

I can only guess , rubber was used in the 1930s to the early 1950s I think, so I presume lead sheathed predates the 1930s . Lead may have been used during WW11 if rubber was hard to get. All guesswork .

 

[kme]

Didn`t know we`d HAD WW11 Sandra - thought there`d only been 2???

 

[PC Electrics]

I'll be doing a quote soon to rewire a local church that has lead sheathed cable in the lights circuit. Church elders believe the place was last wired in the 50's. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that statement, but I was surprised LS might still have been in use in the 50's.

---------- AUTO MERGE Post added at 18:51 ---------- Previous post was at 18:50 ----------

Didn`t know we`d HAD WW11 Sandra - thought there`d only been 2???

Yes, for goodness sake don't wish that on us!!

 

[DeanoZX7R]

As far as I am aware, lead sheathed cables have been around since the late 1890's right up to the 1950's in domestic properties, either way deffo needs replacing especially if used in conjunction with the old twisted terminations in tin JBs!!!

 

[cadspark]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Page 39 of Approved Document P...

Older work practice encountered...

Lead-Sheathed cables.....

typically "dating from before about 1948"..

tis what the good book do sayeth.

:Salute

 

[Larnacaman]

I'm doing a PIR on a big house last rewired in 1963, I was told by the owner. Most of it looks to be wired in imperial PVC but the cooker and immersion circuits are VIR. Most of the sockets and switches are the bakelite type mounted on wood. I had a look at one light switch that was a more modern 70's style on a patress and it was wired in lead sheath. What era was lead sheath last used in as i'm thinking the rewire in 1963 re-used some of the switch drops?

Sounds more like a partial re-wire to me, probably only the socket outlets. So what era does the CU date from, is it the old MEM or Wylex rewireable fused type??

Complete re-wires were quite rare pre the 50's/60's, they only replaced circuits that had gone bad. They weren't of the modern day throw away society in those days. ....lol!!

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you find nothing basically wrong with that LS cable, ....except at the termination points of course. ray :innocent

 

[muffin]

an older electrician i work with can remember putting it in as an apprentice, so hes around 60 ish.

born in 50's plus around 16 of age, that would make it mid 60's when he last used it.

would imagine it was phased out same as all the others maybe at some point it was looked as a better alternative to rubber cable due to the protective properties of it.

maybe we should have lead and pvc inner, best of both worlds

 

[TonyCE]

Copper and Lead = tidy cash back at the Scrappies. Phased out due to cost?

My first house in Leicester had this for the lighting when I bought it circuit in 1991 - It had been built circa 1900, partially rewired since - very dodgy as the insulation just crumbles, but the porcelain spider junctions were truly inspiring to look at.

 

[Larnacaman]

Copper and Lead = tidy cash back at the Scrappies. Phased out due to cost?My first house in Leicester had this for the lighting when I bought it circuit in 1991 - It had been built circa 1900, partially rewired since - very dodgy as the insulation just crumbles, but the porcelain spider junctions were truly inspiring to look at.

Normally the insulation only crumbles at termination points, especially light points where the insulation has been subject to high heat sources for a prolonged period of time.

Once you get past these areas, the insulation is fine. This is also very much the case with TRS cables too. So long as the these cables haven't spent periods of time in overloaded conditions, the insulation in the bulk of the cable lengths should be just fine and dandy !! ....lol!!!

 

[cadspark]

The property has an 8 way wylex board that had the rewirables swapped for MCB plug ins. Had to abandon the PIR due to water pouring through the kitchen ceiling and pendant.

Given the age of the wiring coupled with a damaged kitchen ceiling now it's looking like a full rewire will be on the cards.

 

[muffin]

ive found rubber too be fine in one property yet brittle the whole length in others.

never tried or would try in reusing lead but have been told the insulation in side crumbles and as you strip back it just keeps crumbling

 

[Larnacaman]

ive found rubber too be fine in one property yet brittle the whole length in others.never tried or would try in reusing lead but have been told the insulation in side crumbles and as you strip back it just keeps crumbling

Those TRS cables that had become brittle along the whole length were probably subject to constant or long time overloading, they are generally in pretty good order once you get a little past the termination ends.

I would say the same about the lead sheathed cables too, as those lead sheaths were a pretty good isolation from the surrounding elements. But no protection from higher current demands than the conductors/insulation were designed for.

 

[cadspark]

Over a year on the house was sold in January 2012 without any electrical work being done. Old owners left my business card for the new people who have now asked me to rewire the whole place. I started stripping out the first room last work and had the boards up and lead cable is everywhere even the immersion is wired in the stuff. It's a very lucrative rewire even more so with the lead.

 

[kerching]

It must have been tough that 'rubber shortage', what, with condoms being made out of lead and all that malarky. Women were made of sterner stuff then............ :innocent