Hi,

You should ask WHY the practice is considered unsafe. The answer will be that the cable has not formally been approved for mains use.

Note that a lack of approval does not automatically imply unsuitability per se, merely that under the local electrical code the cable is not approved and certified for such use and hence is considered unsafe. Which is what I pointed out in my article and in my notes here.

You may wish to actually study the relevant standards and establish what sort of charateristics a Cable must meet in test to be certified. You will find, if you compare the requirements and the actual items that in terms ofbasic specification the cable could be certified for mains use, if anyone was prepared to pay for the approval process.

Which brings us back to the difference between DIY and Commercial and the disclaimer/warning etc. I am sure you are aware that ANY for of DIY electronics involving mains voltage are de-jure unsafe, as the builder would be required to gain full approval, unless of course he accept that he operates under his own risk.

If the warning bothers you and you feel unsure (as you obviously did) wrtiting (as you did) got you the standard advise for anything not officially approved to the relevant standards and/or by UL and/or according to CE, which is "it's unsafe". They will tell you the same about any Kit that involves wiring anything to the mains.

HOWEVER, their advise is strictly from the legal, not from the practical point of view, eg the fact that an item is not positively certified as meeting certain standards makes it unsafe, not the fact that it is not able to meet said standards, which was my point to start with.

In order to be able to reject my point that excluding formal approaval the cable is safe has not been addressed anywhere.

Ciao T