I did my first mock inspection today. I came across this dutrax 600 wiring. Is this considered knob and tube, or romex?
Romex is a brand-specific name for Non-Metalic sheathed or NM cable. That is an older type of cloth-covered NM cable. Knob and tube wiring has individual conductors without any kind of sheathing, Notice that there is no equipment ground conductor in your cables (due to the period installed). That will have several implications throughout your inspection, particularly with receptacles.
That’s the type of wiring I have in my house and it did have an 18 gauge ground wire, but they cut them all at the receptacles, so I had to install GFCI’s and GFCI breakers due to no equipment ground after I changed the receptacles. 1967 home.
That wire falls under the manufactured group, braided wire. Braided wire was heavily manufactured from the 1920’s thru 1970’s. Grandfather and other relatives ran the “braiders” at Essex Wire and Cable in Marion, Indiana. Anaconda Wire and Cable in Marion, Indiana also made braided wire. FYI
I believe that the word TYPE is on the cable sheath just after the manufacturer’s trade name “dutrax 600.” If you gently expose the letters which follow it will tell you what National Electric Code (NEC) cable type it is. In this case I think that you will find it reads Type NM. That is Non Metallic cable.
Armored Cable, Type AC, was first made in the General Electric Bronx factory so each roll of Armored Cable came with a paper tag wired to it which had the letters BX to indicate the origin of the cable. Armored Cable (Type AC) came to be called BX because of that BronX factory origin tag. When Rome Wire and Cable introduced Nonmetallic Sheathed Cable; Type NM; it was meant to be a competitor for General Electric “BX” cable so they used RomeX as the trade name. Like BX before it the design was patented for several years and RomeX was the only Type NM cable available. That trade name became the craft’s moniker for Nonmetallic Sheathed Cable. Once the patent expired or the use of new materials in the insulation and jacket rendered it moot NM cable was made by several manufacturers under a variety of trade names but the name RomeX is what stuck to that cable type. RomeX brand cable is still manufactured by Southwire which is the successor firm to Rome Wire and Cable.
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Tom Horne
I am concerned about the amount of cable sheath that extends into that panel cabinet. The materials used in the jacket and the jute paper filler are combustible. The installation instructions for NM cable which are “Included in the listing and labeling” call for 3/8s to 1/2 inch of jacket to show beyond the connector inside the cabinet. The additional cloth jacket and jute filler inside the cabinet provides sufficient combustible material to sustain combustion following the occurrence of an arc. The experienced Home Inspectors here can tell you if that should be mentioned in your report but that much jacket inside the cabinet would not be likely to pass an electrical code enforcement inspection today.
A photograph showing all of the cabinet interior and ~4 inches beyond the cabinet walls would be helpful in seeing the rest of the situation.
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Tom Horne
The NEC guru said it’s not a big deal because they have fire retarder additives, making both the paper and the jacket fire retardant. afterall, you do not recommend the sheathing removed on the entire cable installed throughout entire house because it’s flammable, do you? Remember, this is a home inspection, not a code inspection.
There is a minimum on the sheathing length inside the box, but no maximum.
And Simon is correct on the rating.
The NEC has no maximum length that NM cable can enter a panelboard. The closest thing you might find is Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner which is, IMO unenforceable.
You are absolutely correct in that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that language unconstitutionally vague in a case that found a ruling based on it to be Arbitrary and Capricious.
Electrical Contractors Magazine published an article on the general deterioration of work quality in the electrical industry and the development of National Electrical Installation Standards (NEIS) by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The NEISs are not intended to be enforced as a legal requirement but rather to function as a practice guideline for the industry. It is becoming more common to see an NEIS incorporated in to the performance requirements of a contract.
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Tom Horne
and this
Is the wire in sheath braided?
Thanks
Got to love those bare wires!
You understand the difference between conductor insulation and cable sheathing… I hope!
bare wire or conductor = lacking insulation. Someone is enjoying good reefer 
Is reefer legal in Ohio?
Romex and Skillsaw fall into the same category, brand names. When I attended college it was drilled into our heads, NEVER USE BRAND NAMES TO DESCRIBE AN ITEM, it is not professional. If you ever have to go to court, a lawyer will use slang terms against you. As a Professional use correct terminology, it makes you look smart.
Well said.
As breakers are NOT tapped and grounding bars are NOT tapped.