THE OLD COLOUR CABLES STILL SELLING

[happyhero]

Hi I am an electrician working for a big company.

Does anybody know the situation with the supply of old colours/non harmonised cable drums? I see they are still available on Ebay, are thes from old stock does anybody know or they available some other way, ie will they run out soon as old stocks run out?

We are able to buy them at work as we can no longer use them and the longer we wait the cheaper it appears they will get. They have a lot of the stuff, and will probably be selling it to the employers still at the end of the year. But I don't know if it will be worth buying or waiting etc, ie I could buy it and sell it on Ebay later on at a profit. This would be a waste of time if people are easily able to get it else where, or it is still produced somewhere. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[andy]

very few places make old colours now and once they cant be used, they wont be makin them

 

[happyhero]

So is it going to be worth buying to sell at a premium later, i.e. a bit like holding on to an old valuable plate and selling it later at a premium? I am a retired electrician so I know about part P and cable colours etc and so appreciate why people would want old coloured cables. Or am I just going to end up with a house full of unwanted cable for some reason I have not considered?

 

[pdcelec]

old colour cable is very useful for installing new circuits in your own house in december 2004

 

[ban-all-sheds]

very few places make old colours now and once they cant be used, they wont be makin them

Explain why they can't be used.....?

Happyhero - I understand your quandary. Prices on eBay have been ludicrously high - I've seen people pay nearly £50 (inc delivery) for 100m of red/black 2.5mm².....

Don't know what prices are like now, or if they will hold up. I guess April will be the crunch time...

 

[CAWORK]

old colour cable is very useful for installing new circuits in your own house in december 2004

I have actually had to put a weatherproof jointer on an outside lighting cable for a light on the outside of the house, used the new core colours as I didnt have quite enough cable on a reel of old colured cable.

I done this on Jan 2nd-1year and 1 day after part p came into force!

If anybody asks me when it was done, My answer I will be "September 2004"! i.e before part p but after the introduction of new colours.

The trick is just to be ready with an answer.

 

[Qedelec]

Its hardly a hanging offence and the current carrying capacity of the cable has not suddenly become reduced. So even though the powers that be would tell you its wrong, no one is going to mind as long as you label correctly.

Anyway come the revolution and sea levels rise, we can all have our own hilltop fort and come out of Europe.

 

[Pensdown]

Anyway come the revolution and sea levels rise, we can all have our own hilltop fort and come out of Europe

Qed, I've got my hilltop fort, any timescales on the date for the revolution as I would hate to miss it!

 

[The destroyer]

As far as I am aware, it is still legal to install red/black up to the end of March 06. After that all new wiring or repairs to existing will have to use harmonised wiring.

However, with the amount of diyers who are still prepared to do their own electrics, red/black cable will be impossible to get hold of commercially, so if they are prepared to install the old cable and say it has been done for a long time, there will still be a market for the stuff, all be it, a 'black market' I would buy a reel or two and would be confident of being able to sell it at a premium at a later date.

Good luck.

 

[andy]

I would buy a reel or two and would be confident of being able to sell it at a premium at a later date.

and is that at a higher rate than doing it legally thru LABC would cost?

 

[The destroyer]

I would buy a reel or two and would be confident of being able to sell it at a premium at a later date.

and is that at a higher rate than doing it legally thru LABC would cost?

The lowest cost for LABC in my area is £117 inc. So I would say - No. Keep the cost to a reasonable amount and you should still be able to sell it, especially on Flea bay. I have recently carried out some work, through LABC and only called them in, as I couldn't get hold of any red/black and wanted to keep things legal ready for 2007, when selling your home becomes a bit more difficult !!! i.e. If I could have got hold of some cable at a reasonable rate, I would have !!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

After that all new wiring or repairs to existing will have to use harmonised wiring.

Explain "have to"?

 

[ebee]

He means to comply with BS 7671 which he needs not but nevertheless might be a good idea if folk did comply.
Must admit I hate the new "Killer Colours" though

 

[Pensdown]

I never thought there would be a black market for red & black cable, what ever next, if anyones interested, I've got some old slip conduit and VIR's

 

[happyhero]

Thanks for the inputs guys, so can I take it that we all agree that

1, there will be a market for it, for sometime

2, no one is making it after the 6th March for some other obscure reason, so that it ends up still being available through some company thus making it available at a regular price

3, and I am not missing something and will get stuck with tons of the stuff in my house because suddenly there is a good reason why no one wants it.

I can see a demand for it for many reasons and so I am tempted to buy a load and sell it at a later date to make some pocket money. But when it comes to money making schemes I always panic I have got it all wrong, or missed one important fact.