Ecmweb 4644 Cw2aweb
Ecmweb 4644 Cw2aweb
Ecmweb 4644 Cw2aweb
Ecmweb 4644 Cw2aweb
Ecmweb 4644 Cw2aweb

Whats Wrong Here?

Feb. 17, 2011
Hint: Hairdresser turned electrician?

How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn't identify? Here's your chance to moonlight as an electrical inspector and second-guess someone else's work from the safety of your living room or office. Joe, who has a knack for finding shoddy electrical work, did the dirty work and found this mess. Now it's your turn to identify the violation.

Find the Answer

"I see all kinds of crazy things working in the field," says EC&M reader Robert Stemmer, owner of Specialized Construction in Lomita, Calif. "Check out the fancy braided wire and termination on the neutral (grounded conductor) from the subpanel to the panel on the left, the missing insulated bushing, and the circuit breaker storage compartment on the bottom right."

Wow, that's a creative homemade jumper cable, isn't it? Something tells me this isn't a listed product. And let's not forget to mention the lack of insulated bushings on each end of the conduit nipple connecting the two cabinets.

As noted in 300.4(G), "Where raceways contain 4 AWG or larger insulated circuit conductors and these conductors enter a cabinet, box, enclosure, or raceway, the conductors shall be protected by a substantial fitting providing a smoothly rounded insulating surface, unless the conductors are separated from the fitting or raceway by substantial insulating material that is securely fastened in place.
Exception: Where threaded hubs or bosses that are an integral part of a cabinet, box, enclosure, or raceway provide a smoothly rounded or flared entry for conductors.
Conduit bushings constructed wholly of insulating material shall not be used to secure a fitting or raceway. The insulating fitting or insulating material shall have a temperature rating not less than the insulation temperature rating of the installed conductors."

We could also question whether the maximum conductor fill limitation has been exceeded in this nipple too.

About the Author

Joe Tedesco

Tedesco served the industry in many roles during his career. He was a director, senior electrical code instructor for National Technology Transfer, Inc. and American Trainco, Inc.. He was also a codes, standards and seminar specialist for the International Association of Electrical Inspectors and an electrical field service specialist for the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. He ran his own business as an NEC consultant and is a Massachusetts licensed master electrician and journeyman electrician and certified electrical inspector (one and two family 2A; General 2B, and Plan Review, 2C). Tedesco also wrote articles for CEE News and EC&M (Code Violations Illustrated and What's Wrong Here?) for more than 15 years and helped launched the Moving Violations video series.

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