Knob & Tube Wire

Knob & Tube Wire

Is knob & tube wiring safe?

Knob and tube (K&T) wiring has a long and useful life as long as it's not disturbed or tapped on to or otherwise added to.  K&T wiring replaced the use of black painted pipe  (BPP) . BPP was very labor intensive.  BGP was in use before and for a short time after the 1906 earthquake.
 
Now days the best way to handle K&T wiring is to keep the old #14 K&T circuits for the existing lighting and replace some of the K&T plug circuits with modern romex wiring.  By limiting the knob and to wiring to lighting circuits the number of watts on the old K&T is minimal.  K&T wiring can continue its useful life for many years to come. 
 
Plug outlets on the K&T circuits are generally two-pronged non grounded outlets.
 
See the article called Grounding Myths that explains your options in converting from two-prong to three-prong grounded wiring.
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