Lamp Cord

[thiggy]

We have an old pre Civil War farm house in rural Miss which was wired just after WW2 when electricity was first made available in the area. All of the lights in the rooms are bare bulbs suspended from the ceiling through round ceramic box covers using twisted flexible cloth insulated wire. The wire has become worn and a couple have shorted out due to abrasion. Is this type of lamp wire still available? I would like to continue with the same type of lights and do not wish to replace with modern fixtures, but for safety sake I would like to replace all of the wire. Do you have any suggestions where I could find this product?

[crokett]

I wouldn't think the fixture depends on the kind of wire you use. Also, code in your area may be different but here if you are replacing wire, code says it must be modern wire. Anyway, if you are replacing wire because it is worn, why not replace with modern sheathed cable?

[LCHIEN]

I wouldn't think the fixture depends on the kind of wire you use. Also, code in your area may be different but here if you are replacing wire, code says it must be modern wire. Anyway, if you are replacing wire because it is worn, why not replace with modern sheathed cable?

Some good points there.
That kind of wire is no longer used because of its drawbacks compared to more modern wiring. If you can find it it probably would be very expensive and have all the problems that make it obsolete now including the problems for which you are considering replacing it. Original is one thing to collectors, but unsafe is another.

[Slik Geek]

Today's safety standards require redundant levels of insulation for wiring that is accessible to mere mortals. Thus, the replacement wiring would have to employ "double insulation" (such as a wire insulator plus a jacket) in order to meet code.

Because the wires also provide mechanical support for the light fixture, some form of strain relief is also necessary by today's standards. The idea is to prevent the electrical wiring from carrying the mechanical load. This could be accomplished by using chain, cord, or non-current carrying wire to suspend the fixture from the ceiling.

Do replace the wiring with a safer alternative as soon as possible!

[thiggy]

Thanks for your observations. The point of my question was to learn if there is a modern code-compliant cord that is permissable to use in this manner.

[parnelli]

There appears to be replacement wiring available, but all I found with a quick search is 18g wire...and it's anything but cheap!

For what it's worth:
http://www.sundialwire.com/
http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/1914

[LCHIEN]

There appears to be replacement wiring available, but all I found with a quick search is 18g wire...and it's anything but cheap!

For what it's worth:
http://www.sundialwire.com/
http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/1914

Interesting - but some of them are not UL listed/rated (not even 100% sure of the difference).
But it may affect whether your insurance co. will pay if your house catches fire.

[Pappy]

There appears to be replacement wiring available, but all I found with a quick search is 18g wire...and it's anything but cheap!

For what it's worth:
http://www.sundialwire.com/
http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/1914

Your first link shows a 16ga. wire in grey that is UL rated.

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Fabric covered wire is still available ...

Edit ...
PARNELLI --
I posted this before I noticed that you linked to Sundial, also. I'll bookmark antiquelampsupply.
The fabric wire that I bought locally was 18g.

---

Thiggy:

Here is a source for fabric covered wire -- advertised in "The Old House Journal"

http://www.sundialwire.com/

This pic from the Sundial website is probably similar to the fixture that you have ...

(Sundial even has wire for knob-and-tube!)

Disclaimer - I have not bought from Sundial.

Check local lamp repair shops in your area, some of them have fabric covered wire.

I'm an old-house-hugger, too. My grandmother had fabric covered wire bare-bulb hanging fixtures in her rural Tenn. home. I installed a similar fabric covered wire fixture in the kitchen or our 1908 bungalow when we remodeled recently - because of those old memories. FYI - We bought the fixture from Rejuvenation Lighting.

http://www.rejuvenation.com/



I strongly recommend that you subscribe to "The Old House Journal". It is a great resource. (NOT the same as "This Old House"). The forums on the "Old House Journal" website can be helpful, too. Click on "Talk"

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/

Good luck with your old house,

- Lonnie