• What's Wrong Here?

    Hint: A danger sandwich
    May 1, 2008
    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 Tedesco, 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

    Lance Johnson, an estimator/journeyman electrician with Three Phase Electric in Canby, Ore., was kind enough to send in these photos. “This was all sandwiched between two pieces of plywood,” says Johnson. “A lineman owned this house and performed all this lovely work before the new owners purchased it.”

    These pictures show extreme and unsafe ways in which to install any electrical system. It’s obvious the lineman wasn’t aware of the basic rules that require those conductors to be installed in proper raceways, enclosures, and cabinets. The lack of proper grounding and bonding and proper overcurrent protection would fill the page with rules from Articles 110, 200, 240, 250, 300, 310, and so on.

    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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