quick question

[gavindrummond]

I was at work today when one of the boys was wiring in an isolator switch for a fan which was fed off a light.

He used these colours.

3 core : brown live

Grey switch live

Black neutral.

I was under the impression that brown is live black is switch live and grey is neutral.

I asked him about this and his reply was it does not matter which way you want to do it as long as there sleeved.

Is this true?

 

[Andy™]

providing they are identified, it makes no difference

 

[monkey5]

it doesnt matter,as long as there identified, but its good practice to use grey as neutral to get away with black being a neutral, sure its in one of the books we read but not sure. i do always use grey as neutral, it also means theres no cross over of cables in the isolator, well the ones i use are l, sl then n.

wayne

 

[betty swollocks]

So long the conductors are identified it doesn't matter

Personally I use

brown - live

Black- neutral

Grey - switched live

But then I'm just plain reckless

 

[Evans Electric]

I think the NICEIC recommend NOT using the black as neutral , so you must do as they say , like I always do :innocent

But as Andy says , use what you like as long as you sleeve them . Pity they don't sell a 3 core with L-N-SW-E for house bashing . Brown-L Blue-N and a new designated colour to indicate a SW instead of using 3ph colours where they're not needed. Useful for 2 ways etc.

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:33 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:32 ----------

Never happen !!!

 

[gavindrummond]

Cheers guys just wanted to clear that up

 

[ProDave]

I have never got hung up about which colour to use as neutral.

The PROBLEM is cable manufacturers only make 3 core cable with 3 PHASE colours. So if you need to use one as neutral (which we do often) you have to pick one, and sleeve it in blue.

Now it would be somewhat daft to sleeve the brown one in blue and use that. So it's either grey or black.

NICEIC don't make the rules, so I'm not letting them dictate what I do.

In the old days, I NEVER heard anyone complaining about using the blue (then a phase colour) as the neutral. It just "made sense" So why get on your high horse at using black as neutral now? (as long as it's sleeved blue)

Am I alone in thinking we should be able to buy 3 core and earth with the colours brown blue and grey. Then it would be obvious what each core was for.

 

[betty swollocks]

From now on you'll not leave any identifying marks of any kind.

You'll not make conductors stand out in any way.

You're entire installation is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter.

You are a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly.

The NICEIC is their name.

They will silence you're native tongue.

They will make sure you are no longer in part P of the System.

Because you are now above the System.

Over it. Beyond it.

You are "them."

You are

the Men who still use neutral as Black.

 

[steptoe]

The way i see it is we have mostly always used L3 as N in the past so why now change to using L2 ?

 

[paul b b]

I have never got hung up about which colour to use as neutral.The PROBLEM is cable manufacturers only make 3 core cable with 3 PHASE colours. So if you need to use one as neutral (which we do often) you have to pick one, and sleeve it in blue.

Now it would be somewhat daft to sleeve the brown one in blue and use that. So it's either grey or black.

NICEIC don't make the rules, so I'm not letting them dictate what I do.

In the old days, I NEVER heard anyone complaining about using the blue (then a phase colour) as the neutral. It just "made sense" So why get on your high horse at using black as neutral now? (as long as it's sleeved blue)

Am I alone in thinking we should be able to buy 3 core and earth with the colours brown blue and grey. Then it would be obvious what each core was for.

cant do that though, the electric goes the othe way in the brown so all the leccy will stay in the switch

 

[Andy™]

The way i see it is we have mostly always used L3 as N in the past so why now change to using L2 ?

it was more appropriate to use blue. the fact it was L3 didnt really make any difference to it, and still doesnt

 

[steptoe]

But, isnt it now confusing the issue by using a different core that the one generally accepted?

I always learnt on numbers and labels, ie, L1 L2 , L3 and P & N , and not colours, maybe to do with multi cores all being black.

I dont think the colour matters, I think its keeping continuity with existing 'standard' practice to use the 3rd core.

 

[ProDave]

The way i see it is we have mostly always used L3 as N in the past so why now change to using L2 ?

That's the only sensible reason I have ever heard for using Grey as Neutral. But it's only "convention" rather than a regulation.

And lets be honest, it was done that way, because just about everybody recognised blue as a neutral colour (it was used on mains flex for instance) even though it was not at that time recognised by bs7671

 

[Adrian]

we will never get away from black being neutral so why try to use grey and I think you should be able to get t&e in brown blue and grey .I have never seen t&e used on 3 phase

 

[paul b b]

Did they not stay away from that because of the old 3c and e had a blue in?

 

[MSH1601]

I find grey makes the best N because the CPC is in between that and the other 2 cores. Much like a CPC divides the cores in a T&E. Just my personal pref.

 

[steptoe]

The colours have changed, why dont people simply accept that?

The numbers havent,

Those are the facts,

why change things to suit your own twisted preference?

This subject has been done to death, personally if I was running a job and anyone used black of a 3c&e as a N then I would refuse the job on the grounds of poor workmanship, that is only a personal preference though.

 

[SteveT]

it doesnt matter,as long as there identified, but its good practice to use grey as neutral to get away with black being a neutral, sure its in one of the books we read but not sure. i do always use grey as neutral, it also means theres no cross over of cables in the isolator, well the ones i use are l, sl then n.wayne

I agree....but caveat,

99% of guys i work with use Grey {sleeved blue) for nuetral, this is the industry accepted norm, black used as swicth live with brown sleeve......but.......there is no reg as long as the cable is correctly ID'd at all connections.