Indeed, that would be a bit daft, even though probably 'not a problem' in reality!
Well, in context, again daft - if one has three insulated conductors to choose from, and only needs two, why use a bare one?! However, more generally, as for the question as to whether a bare (but sheathed) conductor is acceptable (regs-wise) as a live conductor for ELV, I'd have to read the regs to see what they say. In terms of 'electrical common sense', it would clearly be fine.
We've been through this many times before, and I think eric is right.
Ah!
They will - but so will they with a G/Y-insulated conductor. In both cases, that can be largely addressed by 'identifying' the use of the core (probably by sleeving) at the ends. There is always the argument that someone may 'break into' a cable along its length and hence not see those identifications - but that must be a very rare occurrence (and would equally apply to a black or blue being used as a switched live, but 'identified' as such only at the ends).
I can well believe that - but the standard presumably wasn't written with ELV use in mind.
Quite so. As I said, anyone chopping blindly into the middle of a cable (hopefully an extremely rare occurrence) is not only mad, but is also going to get caught out by black/blue used as line conductors etc., and goodness knows how they would interpret the colours of 3C+E!
Indeed.
There is no current or foreseen shortage of idiots.
And vice-versa.
There's a lot of implying/inferring/extending going on there.
With multicore cables it may not be explicitly forbidden, but does that automatically mean it must be good practice?
I started wondering about that. However, if, even with ELV, a bare conductor can only be used as a "CPC", is not that defined as a conductor which only carries current under fault conditions, and not under normal operating conditions?
Indeed not - but, as I said, such idiots would have the same problem with a black/blue being used as a line conductor just as much as if a G/Y were used as a line conductor - so the only way of protecting them from their own idiocy would be to ban anything from being a line conductor if it was not identified as such along its full length.
I wouldn't personally have said so - it comes just after the reg which effectively says that, in general, any conductor (whatever its native insulation colour) can be used for any purpose provided that it is appropriately identified (sleeving at the ends being one acceptable form of identification). 514.4.2 then indicates one exception to that general rule, by forbidding a G/Y single from being used as anything but a protective conductor. There doesn't seem to me to be much "implying, inferring or extending" involved in that.
On the contrary, I think that most of us regard it as not being good practice.
As above, not good practice, but 'allowed'.
Fair enough. However, as I've just written to BAS, I personally find it pretty logical. First we have a reg which say that (amongst other things), in general it is acceptable to over-sleeve a G/Y to use it as a live conductor. That is quickly followed by a reg saying athat a G/Y single cannot be used as anything other than a protective conductor. I personally feel that it follows very logical to conclude that the second of those regs modulates the first, such as to indicate that using an (over-sleeved) G/Y as a live conductor is only acceptable for multi-core cables. That's how I see it, anyway - but I suppose I should really leave eric to defend himself
Green/yellow cores are not an "earth" wire unless you do not identify them as being anything else.
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