This listing is ridiculous. The guy is either an imbecile who has no idea what asbestos is, or he’s a scumbag looking to make a quick buck off of some stupid millennial who wants “vintage style” light fixtures for their house.

  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-18-2-Wire-Black-Cloth-Cord-Rubber-Asbestos-Insulated-NOS-Spool-1950/174070228141?hash=item288764e4ad:g:Pi4AAOSwO0VdqxjC

(Admin edit - listing not available , thread kept for info)

I hear asbestos can last forever basically. My house is loaded with it. 120 years old.

We have a 60-yr old ironing board with a resting pad for the iron made out of asbestos. It's perfectly safe unless it's cut or otherwise disturbed. Don't mess with it, that's all.

I hear asbestos can last forever basically. My house is loaded with it. 120 years old.

Don't inhale!

Don't inhale!

I don't think he wants to smoke it 

I hear asbestos can last forever basically. My house is loaded with it. 120 years old.

Don’t get me wrong: From a durability and performance perspective, asbestos is great. Same thing with PCBs. I’m just afraid that some idiot would buy it, not knowing what asbestos is, and then create a giant mess by releasing fibers when stripping and installing it. It kind of looks like the outer wire braid is actually just woven asbestos, which could be a problem since it is friable and there is no encapsulation.

This listing is ridiculous. The guy is either an imbecile who has no idea what asbestos is, or he’s a scumbag looking to make a quick buck off of some stupid millennial who wants “vintage style” light fixtures for their house.

  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-18-2-Wire-Black-Cloth-Cord-Rubber-Asbestos-Insulated-NOS-Spool-1950/174070228141?hash=item288764e4ad:g:Pi4AAOSwO0VdqxjC

I'd be willing to bet that someone who restores vintage electrical equipment for a living or hobby will snap this up in a second when they find it ...asbestos or not !   If they want a 100% accurate resto, they'll buy it.

Umm.. isn't asbestos part of the mix for most brake-pads?

You can see that the reel is marked type P. According to the 1935 GE wire catalog, type P flexible cord consists of untinned stranded copper wire, covered by a cotton thread wrap to prevent the layer of rubber insulation from sticking to the copper, a layer of rubber insulation and a cotton braid over the rubber. The wires are twisted and covered with a cotton braided jacket overall. There is no asbestos in this cord. Type C flexible cord is the same but without the overall cotton braid jacket.