So you think we should have stuck with red/black/green? Colour code brain teaser!

[Lucien Nunes]

I'm sitting here in my hotel in a foreign country, taking a break from servicing a piece of equipment while some Loctite sets, browsing some old threads on various forums. Colour codes always seem to be popular topics so I came up with this little puzzle for the more widely travelled sparks. As much as I don't like the harmonised colours it shows just how much chaos there was before standardisation!

It's 1960 and you are somewhere in the northern hemisphere. You stop by a building site and see an electrician wiring a distribution board, doing a very good job and obviously competent. He has connected all the cables of a particular colour, call it colour X, to the earth terminals.

You travel to a neighbouring country, where you see another electrician doing textbook-quality work, but he has connected all his cables of colour X to the neutral terminals.

You travel further in the same direction, and in the next country you reach, you watch another first class piece of installation work being done. But here, they are connecting the colour X cables to the live terminals. ('Live' is what you would have called them at the time!)

Now, supposing you were to travel much further still in the same direction. You would reach another country where they use wires of colour X. But which terminals would you find them in? And what colour is X?

 

[Guest55]

christ , if this thread isnt closed soon i'll be reduced to sniffing the glue.

;-)

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I'm going for red

Excellent choice sir! I was thinking of Germany where red was standard for CPC (and confusingly for switched live), Holland where it was neutral partnered with a green live, UK where it was live, and then USA where it is L2.

Now to find out whether I've got this alignment right....

 

[telectrix]

I think Red White and Blue was much more .. patriotic.

red white and green for me. i'm welsh by descent. long live the dragon. ( no offence to your ex meant, geordie)

 

[Geordie Spark]

red white and green for me. i'm welsh by descent. long live the dragon. ( no offence to your ex meant, geordie)

Aye .... well, we all have our cross to bear.


Mine is being of Scouse descent but I'll get over it .. eventually.

Great Grandad on Mum's side of the family ran a pub in Birkenhead but for some reason had to leave in a hurry and so ended-up here.

 

[telectrix]

nowt wrong with birkenhead that a couple of cwt. of semtex won't fix.

 

[Geordie Spark]

nowt wrong with birkenhead that a couple of cwt. of semtex won't fix.

You think it should be twinned with Sunderland then?

It's a place I've been meaning to visit just to see for myself what it's like. I think the pub was in a street called Hope Street, but not sure now and I think they left there around the time of WW1

 

[Tiny Spark]

Well seen as the brain teaser has been answered ile just grumble.

Prefer the old colours.

Thats is all....

 

[Marvo]

FWIW my favourite was red/white/blue/black/green but I accept that the stripy earth is a good idea.

My sentiments as well. The harmonised phase colours are easy to mistake for each other in poor light.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Ok ... here's a little story that was told to me by an old spark who taught me all I know, but sadly not all HE knew !!

I'm not sure if the story is true as he was a bit of a wind-up merchant and I can't go back to ask him as he's been helping God to wire lightning bolts for many years now, so maybe some of the older hands her (Tel, Tony, Eng54?) will be able to advise?

Anyway, this old spark told me that until World War One, the phase colours were Red, Yellow and Blue, but at some point during that war it was decided to change them to Red, White and Blue because it was considered to be more patriotic and these colours were kept after the war ended - up until 1970 something when they were changed back to Red, Yellow and Blue.

So lads, is this true or was that old spark pulling my wotsit??

 

[Des 56]

So lads, is this true or was that old spark pulling my wotsit??

Now what is a wotsit?

Of course I know

I would say the answer has got to be Leg

 

[Geordie Spark]

So lads, is this true or was that old spark pulling my wotsit??

Now what is a wotsit?

Of course I know

I would say the answer has got to be Leg

That's exactly the answer to expect from a good chapel lad from the valleys.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Don't quote me on this but I think your wotsit was being pulled. The phases were red/green/blue, which did not conflict with earth because on the rare occasions it was insulated that was brown. Sensible or what? Primary colours for phases and brown earth.

 

[Des 56]

It's been over 2 years since I last posted this bit of musing ​:sailor:



For homeowners that like to play around with the electrics and delve into the consumer unit
The mixed wiring colours notice on the mains board should read something along these lines


CONSUMER INFORMATION NOTICE

The 3 live conductors, coloured Red ,White, Blue, with the additional Black neutral and a Bare earth, may now have changed to Red Yellow Blue "note" the White is now coloured Yellow ,but the sequence remains,
Be also aware,yet another change means at present it may now be Brown Black Grey, with Blue neutral or a Grey that is oversleeved as Blue (which as replaced the Black for single phase, but remains as a live for 3 phase), although presently the Black is neutral for older systems, not forgetting the Green/Yellow which as superseded the Green

In order not to complicate the matter. but for reference, the bare earth that was Green and is now Green/Yellow, may in fact be Cream if you use a lot of IT eqipment
Other colours are not precluded, as long as coloured identification is used unless its single core which must be green/yellow

So put concisely
The live may be Brown, Red, White, Black, Grey, Yellow or Blue
The neutral may be Black,Blue or even Grey
However, colours for central heating control systems may be unfamiliar to you, So,


Be familiar with this information before attempting electrical work,or alternatively get an electrician in

 

[Geordie Spark]

Thanks Des for clarifying that for us. mg_smile::confused5: