Why Knowing WIRE INSULATION Types Is Crucial

I've noticed many electrical apprentices out there have a difficult time understanding why there are so many different wire types, and think that each wire is actually different somehow. They're only different in insulation, and here's how.

🤘⚡️EU Learning System⚡️🤘
-Video courses on every side of the electrical trade (theory, code, safety, wiring, install, troubleshooting, leadership, and more)
-Practice exams for 2017, 2020, 2023 code
-YouTube videos categorized and searchable
-Audio lessons
-Forum
-Business version has admin portal and ability to assign learning to technicians and monitor progress
-Any business size from 2 techs to 2,000!

🎓💡CONTINUING EDUCATION💡🎓
-State Approved
-Video Based

✍📝PRACTICE EXAMS📝✍
-2017, 2020, and 2023 NEC versions
-Online Residential Wireman Exam
-Online Journeyman Exam
-Online Master Exam
-300 Question Online Code Cannon (not license specific, all code)
-Take as many times as you want
-All of the above come with printable PDFs

🎤🎧PODCAST🎧🎤
Spotify:
Apple Podcast:

📱👍SOCIALS👍📱

🎧🎹Music, Editing, and Videography by Drake Descant and Rob LeBlanc🎹🎧

#electrician #electrical #electricity

WIRE INSULATION

Every wire is essentially the same, for the most part. You're either working with aluminum, copper, or copper-clad aluminum as an electrician. But before you pull out your wire strippers, it's important to know that each of these has their own special things you should be aware of - but really what's important to know is the type of insulation around each conductor.

In the NEC (National Electrical Code) there are many different tables, charts, and articles that talk about what conductors you may or may not use for certain environments. Most discuss temperature limitations as a primary factor for selection. Many also have environmental reasons for their design. As an electrician, you're responsible for knowing what conductors you should be selecting based on the environment you're working in.

Insulation can and does melt, often. When a conductor is not sized correctly, that conductor can become hotter than it was intended to be, and over a long enough time this can cause the insulation around that conductor to begin to break down. This over-heating can melt the insulation, creating a short-circuit or ground fault. Most of the time a circuit breaker or fuse will stop any major harm from happening, but not always.

Insulation is often over looked. Many electricians just begin wire stripping and think little about what they're removing from the conductor. IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART!! It's crucial to understand why certain conductors have certain insulation types, and even more important is knowing when to select the correct application for the work you're doing.

#conductor #insulation #wiretypes #electrical
--

IF YOU ENJOY THESE VIDEOS PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND "LIKE" THEM ABOVE. ALSO CHECK OUT THE ELECTRICIAN U PODCAST ON ITUNES AND SPOTIFY!!

[c]

One thing that may have been interesting to talk about is THHN, MTW and TFFN. Machine/control wire insulation vs building wire.

[ElectricianU]

One thing I should have mentioned is that bundling multiple conductors together is not only a heating issue, there can be induced and capacitive currents that can have an effect on each other making it more difficult for current to travel through the conductors. This adds to the overall impedance on the circuit which can also cause extra heating in the conductors. Just some extra info fer ya...

[lthomp]

Hey Dustin, your videos were a huge inspiration to me getting into the trade. Was already somewhat interested, but your passion for it really sold me on how cool it can be. Just hit the three month mark on my apprenticeship, and even though it can be a bit overwhelming, I'm loving it. These videos are great and really help introduce/deepen different topics for me.

[urinecakes]

3 months into my apprenticeship (at 26 😅) and I appreciate all of your content. Trying not to get ahead of myself but understanding why I have to do things the way Im told helps me wrap my head around it all.. without having to ask why this or why that on site lol.

[lllooolll]

Last day in the cnc shop is 11/7/2020 and I start my apprenticeship begins 11/9/2020. THANK YOU

[issacgonzalez]

Broo you're killing it with this knowledge

[marioj.]

I’m just a HVAC commercial tech that loves watching your vids. You share a lot of your knowledge and I’m glad to be learning the electrical side of my work and more.

[dexster]

Sparkie from the UK here. Its always intresting to see how you do electrical work over there. Keep it coming.

[corynethers]

Bro I been watching your videos for about 2 years now, I just started going to IEC in Columbus Ohio and they show us your videos quite a bit. Makes me feel a head of the game cuz I've already watched all your videos lol. Love your channel man!! Keep it up bro!!

[easymac]

As a new apprentice, I find your videos very helpful and useful. Thank you for posting. In this instance though, the title isn't wrong; you explain "why" knowing insulation types is important. IDK why I was expecting more depth discussion about the *types* and their uses. An idea for a future video perhaps. And as I type this, I see someone else mentioned it as well.

[Hatim.]

Damn, you re spoiling us with this much video, it looks like you re back! Hell yeah! The best to do it on youtube 💪💪💪 much respect and gratitude

[NickFrom]

Love the damaged insulation segment. There are so many areas that damage insulation that you never think about unless you are the one that comes to fix where it has failed. On the other hand we get really focused on damaged insulation for really common things, that frequently come down to the people installing it. I was just in an addition to a house that had been wired, approved, drywalled and simply needed devices installed. In total there were about 7 boxes I had to work on. I found four separate conductors with damaged insulation, all in the same fashion. In every case it was a jagged scrape about 1/2" long resulting in exposed conductors. Then came the figuring out what went to what. No diagram anywhere, just wires hanging out of boxes with no indicator of what was supposed to do what. Ok fine, this is common, but unnecessary. Finally, everything is hooked up and no matter what device you turned on, it tripped the gfci. Long story short, bad gfci. Ok these things happen, but that was already installed and I was working downstream from it and had to work on the stupid thing in place because moving the billion ton washing machine in front of it was worse than crawling on top of it and hanging down the back. I told the homeowner he needed to find an electrician that knew how to pull wires.

[charlesw]

The pic @ 6:55 though, I come across illegal junctions too often. If I did that in someone's home I wouldn't sleep worrying of that exact scenario.

[waynejarrell]

This is my favorite YouTube channel...and I'm not even an electrician 🤣👌✌

[joshuapooler]

I used to work for a power factor correction company. We were concerned alot with kVBIL, the products they made ranged from 14kV to 40kV, so most of the time we used air as our insulation. The highest voltage rating I've used is 14.5 kV, expensive stuff.

[RB-xvsi]

Nice intro to wire insulation. Another cool topic to build off this (you may have already covered this in another video) is sizing conductors based on the terminal’s temperature rating and how that affects the sizing process. That concept took a long time for me to grasp and no one could explain it to me well so I had to figure it out on my own.

[jontnoneya]

helpful!! LOVE this channel. Thank you so much. As a home owner and DIYer, you're really helping me understand things at a much deeper level. WELL DONE!

[williamwinn]

I am an experienced electrician and love the channel! I sometimes feel like its me talking to my guys... only your much better. Your usually very detailed and concise, but this video was not. I understand that publishing anything regarding electrical theory is a risk. I get it. The insulation of electrical conductors is not theoretical. I’d love to know the types of insulation and there insulation properties....

[briwindau]

Exactly what I needed to understand what a potential vendor for a commercial project was talking about. Thanks for this video!

[davidrenteria]

You are almost single handedly keeping me looking good at work, most times they teach me something and then I come here sans improve off it or I learn it here first then wow them at work