When Were Cloth Electrical Cords Used

Aaron s ettco wire looks like a paint coated asphalt impregnated fabric sheathed electrical wire widely used from about 1949 1975.

When were cloth electrical cords used.

Others continued to use cloth cord throughout the 30 s. The other basic electrical wiring system of this era was a bare electrical house wiring system commonly known as knob and tube. It was 1 of 2 popular methods of residential wiring in its time. Aluminum electrical wiring types click to enlarge any image.

The braided fabric wire insulation was found on a 1960 s fluorescent light ballast while the plastic wire was used in the branch circuit wiring for the light where that ballast was employed. Some companies switched as soon as neoprene became available. You can also find some original rubber cordage from the very late 20 s. In my own experience the cloth cord was used because it was a superior product for heat producing appliances such as toaster irons etc.

By the 40 s only certain things like clothes irons retained cloth cords. It was standard insulation at the time and managed to keep homes electrical currents running for many years. Even the old knob and tube wiring that predates cloth wiring was perfectly adequate at the time. Nonmetallic sheathed cable was born which incorporated a rubberized fabric coating sheath much like knob and tube wiring but here the hot and neutral wire were run together in this one sheathing.

The plugs and switches are also specially designed specifically to work with these cords in the rewiring of all types of lamps. Many power systems installed prior to 1950 were built with cloth covered electrical wire. In researching etcoflex use of asbestos in wire insulation i have not found confirmation that asbestos was used. In the 1930s a quicker installation method was developed.

Since it wasn t at all a mandatory thing the changeover is spread out over many years.