What's Wrong Here?

Sep 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Joe Tedesco, NEC Columnist

How well do you know the Code?

Hint: The splices for this walkway luminaire are secured and located behind the box cover.

Dave Trydahl, lead electrician, American Service, Inc., Big Pine, Calif.; L. Waraiza, master electrician, Dallas Electrical & Data Services, Dallas; and Toby Gagnon, electrician, Gagnon Electric, Saco, Maine, all correctly identified the following Code violations associated with the September photograph.

Per 300.6, Protection Against Corrosion, “Metal raceways, cable trays, cablebus, auxiliary gutters, cable armor, boxes, cable sheathing, cabinets, elbows, couplings, fittings, supports, and support hardware shall be of materials suitable for the environment in which they are to be installed.”

In addition, the requirements of 300.6(B), In Concrete or in Direct Contact With the Earth, also apply. “Ferrous or nonferrous metal raceways, cable armor, boxes, cable sheathing, cabinets, elbows, couplings, fittings, supports, and support hardware shall be permitted to be installed in concrete or in direct contact with the earth, or in areas subject to severe corrosive influences where made of material judged suitable for the condition, or where provided with corrosion protection approved for the condition.”

The requirements of 314.23(G), Enclosures in Concrete or Masonry, also apply to this installation. “An enclosure supported by embedment shall be identified as suitably protected from corrosion and securely embedded in concrete or masonry.”

And last but not least, the rules of 314.29, Boxes and Conduit Bodies to Be Accessible, are also applicable. “Boxes and conduit bodies shall be installed so that the wiring contained in them can be rendered accessible without removing any part of the building or, in underground circuits, without excavating sidewalks, paving, earth, or other substance that is to be used to establish the finished grade.”