208 Wire Color

[Robert]

Looking at build some L6-20 cables and wondering what, if any, wire colors are required in the US. Discussions in our shop lead to the feeling that 12/3 BWG color would be fine.

 

[JD]

Don't think you are going to find any BRG cable, so the standard Type S 12/3 BWG will be it. I assume these are dedicated 208 cables. You could always mark the W with red tape as you put the connectors on, but I do not know of any requirement on portable cable. I'm sure others will answer as well.

 

[porkchop]

If I was on the receiving end of these cables I would expect them to be standard BWG.

 

[Dionysus]

Don't know about in the US but in Canada, there is a stipulation in the electrical code that states that "white" wires not used as an identified or neutral conductor shall be marked an appropriate colour the full length you are able to. Therefore you MUST tape the white to Red or Blue in order to make sure that someone does not mistake it as a bonded conductor.
Then again I know plenty of times where this has not happened. But if you are using it for events I'd do it just in case the inspector decides to take a fine tooth comb to the crazy little things, as I HAVE seen before.

You CAN buy cable that is colour coded for different voltages, however, it can often be a special order or more expensive.
However in all honesty just go ahead with BWG cable, there are 208 specific connectors for a reason.

 

[JD]

Don't know about in the US but in Canada, there is a stipulation in the electrical code that states that "white" wires not used as an identified or neutral conductor shall be marked an appropriate colour the full length you are able to. Therefore you MUST tape the white to Red or Blue in order to make sure that someone does not mistake it as a bonded conductor.
Then again I know plenty of times where this has not happened. But if you are using it for events I'd do it just in case the inspector decides to take a fine tooth comb to the crazy little things, as I HAVE seen before.

You CAN buy cable that is colour coded for different voltages, however, it can often be a special order or more expensive.
However in all honesty just go ahead with BWG cable, there are 208 specific connectors for a reason.

In the US, this rule does apply to building wiring. (EX- 3 way switch) I don't know if this apply to portable cable. I have not seen it done, but I never had the desire to pop the connectors off of cables and look

 

[mikefellh]

Don't know about in the US but in Canada, there is a stipulation in the electrical code that states that "white" wires not used as an identified or neutral conductor shall be marked an appropriate colour the full length you are able to. Therefore you MUST tape the white to Red or Blue in order to make sure that someone does not mistake it as a bonded conductor.

It may not apply for the OP's application, but if it's used for a return black (say for wiring a lightswitch, especially a 3-way) it should be marked with Black tape.

 

[RickR]

Since neither hot is the neutral in a standard 120/208 supply I think the code applies and nothing I know limits it to installed wire. However, one could easily argue that the connectors on a portable cable clearly identify conductor uses at both ends.

 

[Dionysus]

Not sure how clear my previous post was actually. So here are the standard US and Canada colour codes (note that the ORDER of the PHASES is different between the US and Canada, not that it matters much for 208).

So for 208v specifically one wire can be red or black and the other wires must be green and white. The "other wire" is not "neutral" yes, it is "identified". That is identified as a bonded conductor. For 120 and 208 both it should be WHITE.

 

[Dover]

In the US portable cords are exempt from most of the wire color requirements because of exactly the problem your are describing. Industry standard is to use black and white as the phase wires in a 240 or 208 cable.

 

[mikefellh]

In the US portable cords are exempt from most of the wire color requirements because of exactly the problem your are describing. Industry standard is to use black and white as the phase wires in a 240 or 208 cable.

Well with polarized cords the one line is usually marked either with an ink stripe or writing along the length, or one line has a raised or sunken stripe along the length:

Unless the cord is in a sheath...then if the cord is North American it should be like:

If you get a cord from China, they could be different colours, or wired correctly using wrong colours...I once got a dollarstore powerbar that used green for neutral, white for hot, and black for ground!

 

[mikefellh]

When I used to work for a commercial electrician on a three-phase job we had to relocate the wiring conduit for an elevator. When I opened the box to disconnect the wires all three wires were BLACK! Had to trace the wires and mark them because with a three-phase motor you have to have the phases in the correct order or else the motor operates in reverse.

 

[Chris Pflieger]

It may not apply for the OP's application, but if it's used for a return black (say for wiring a lightswitch, especially a 3-way) it should be marked with Black tape.

NEC 2011 (and later) section 402.2(C) generally rules out that sort of thing. You have to use 14-3 or similar instead of 14-2 w/ tape like we did in the old days.

The reason is that many modern dimmers and controls need neutral b/c you can't depend on leakage current through LED loads.


As to the original topic, use BWG and don't sweat it as it's common enough not to confuse anyone that would happen to be repairing the cord. It's a cord, which means it's easy to open up the other end or tone it out if there's ever confusion, unlike building wiring.

 

[porkchop]

When I used to work for a commercial electrician on a three-phase job we had to relocate the wiring conduit for an elevator. When I opened the box to disconnect the wires all three wires were BLACK! Had to trace the wires and mark them because with a three-phase motor you have to have the phases in the correct order or else the motor operates in reverse.

Respectable of you to actually trace the wires back. FWIW in my experience, even when working with some of the bigger names in the industry, most people just run the motor a short distance. If the motor goes the wrong way or faults with a position error then swap two wires, otherwise you're off and going with the next step of whatever you're doing. Seems lazy if you're talking about wires running 20" across a panel, but if you're talking about a 300' run to a cabinet that's in another room the long walk wastes a lot of time.