Knob & Tube Wiring Wiring Services
Knob & Tube Wiring wiring was a very early standardized method for wiring buildings. It was used between 1880 and the 1930s, making it one of the oldest forms of residential electrical wiring. If your home was built before 1930, it most likely had Knob & Tube Wiring wiring at least at once point. If your home still has Knob & Tube Wiring wiring, it probably needs to be replaced. We can inspect your home’s electrical system and help you determine whether or not you need to have your wiring completely replaced, or whether repairs can solve any problems you may have.
There are two main reasons that Knob & Tube Wiring wiring is not considered adequate today. They lack a ground conductor, which can be extremely dangerous. And switches were often placed on the neutral wire, so they would turn off a circuit, but not the electrical current. This can lead to house fires.
Knob & Tube Wiring Wiring Facts
Interestingly, in some ways, Knob & Tube Wiring wiring is superior to modern wiring methods as long as it was correctly installed. However, it rarely remains fully intact, as installations were likely to have occurred nearly a century ago. So while there may have been a time when your Knob & Tube Wiring wiring was perfect, if it’s still in your home, it is probably causing some significant problems. Still, here are some of the safer aspects of Knob & Tube Wiring wiring:
- It used porcelain knobs to suspend wire in open air, which helps with heat dissipation.
- Porcelain tubes added additional protection where it passed through wood.
- Wires were usually never loose or out where they could easily sustain damages.
- Hot and neutral wires were usually separated by at least three inches, except near a connection to a box or fixture. But at the connections, the wires had an additional protective woven sleeve.
Why Replace Knob & Tube Wiring Wiring That’s Working Just Fine?
Even if your Knob & Tube Wiring wiring seems to be working fine, there’s no telling what kind of a hazard it actually is to your home. One of the main reasons you need to have your Knob & Tube Wiring wiring replaced is that over the several years it’s been a part of your home, different people (and not all of them professionals) have most likely made improper, unsafe alterations to the wiring. It’s actually very unfortunate that electrical wiring can operate even it’s poorly installed, because it often creates seriously dangerous circumstances that can go unnoticed until it’s too late.
For instance, when addition branches or fixtures are added to the system, the fuses that protect the old circuits will frequently blow. If the fuses are oversized, they’ll allow more electricity in that was intended, which can cause the conductors to overheat. The insulation that protects the Knob & Tube Wiring wiring will grow brittle, and over time it will disintegrate, and could cause a house fire or, at least, permanent damage to you electrical system.
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