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Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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Posted by hart_1969 (My Page) on Fri, Oct 30, 09 at 19:47
Question on knob and tube wiring.....
I have a knob and tube line (2 lines about 3 inches apart) that has at one point a a white and black wire that branch off and go into 1 black insulated sleeve. THis (now) single wire off this branch feeds directly to a light switch with a metal pull on it to turn it on and off......I am doing some re-wiring and want to know if I can just cut the "branch off" and remove the knob and tube fed wire to that light - going to hook it up to new romex wiring to code.
Note - I will not be splicing any romex into the knob and tube - the new wire will go to a romex junction box so really just trying to isloate it/remove the knob and tube branch and do it correctly....THis branch is an easy one to track...there are many other lines that need a lot more tracing but not ready for those yet...
Do i electrical tape the branch if I cut or do I cap them and put the black and white wires (capped) in a junction box until i can trace back and remove the whole line back to the service panel???
Any help is appreciated... |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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| Cut off the branch and tape it up. Be very careful. The old insulation tends to be very brittle. |
RE: Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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brickeyee-
I'm just curious as I've never had to work with knob-and-tube, but is it ok by code to just have the wire ends taped, rather than terminated in an enclosure? |
RE: Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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| If the wire is a tap to feed an outlet, no. Even in knob & tube taps ended in boxes. The K&T branch circuit can end in 'space' (and they often did) at a knob (round porcelain fixture with a nail through the center.
K&T was insulated, but the old rubber insulation is very often dried out and brittle, especially if the copper wires are old enough to not be solder dipped (AKA 'lead plated'). The rubber reacts with the copper to harden and shrink. Solder dipping the wires before applying the rubber was the 'fix' for that particular problem, and even persisted into early AC wire to keep the rubber insulation separated from the copper wire. |
RE: Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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Even in knob & tube taps ended in boxes.
Not in my old house. The taps came right off the main conductors in free space in the basement. |
RE: Knob and Tube Wiring Question (how to remove a branch safely)
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| he said the ends, not the tap point. the tap point is always done outside a box, but the ends always should end in an outlet box, either a lighting outlet or a receptacle, or sometimes just around a knob to hold a free end. hth, rick |
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