Ecmweb 4863 401ecm15pic1
Ecmweb 4863 401ecm15pic1
Ecmweb 4863 401ecm15pic1
Ecmweb 4863 401ecm15pic1
Ecmweb 4863 401ecm15pic1

Whats Wrong Here?

Jan. 1, 2004
How well do you know the Code? Can you spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn't identify himself? Here's your chance to second-guess someone else's work from the safety of your living room or office. Our NEC meister Joe Tedesco has done the dirty work and found the violation. Now it's your turn to tell us what it is. Be one of the first three people to identify the violation

David Marcotte, senior electrical designer, Bergmann Associates, Rochester, N.Y., questions the circuit's equipment grounding conductor. “Make sure it stays in the box (250.148),” Marcotte wrote. “I would bet the electrician, or wannabe electrician, was doing this work around the holiday season and was in need of practice for his holiday wrapping. And how about the teledata box in the background? Looks mighty inaccessible to me. Good luck installing a plate on that box.”

Ben Mickler, owner, Benchmark Electric, Inc., Zebulon, N.C., added, “Be sure to check Section 314.20. A box located in a wall with a surface of noncombustible material must be flush or recessed no more than 0.25 inch.”

John Penn Jr., P.E., associate, Steinle Construction Engineers, Inc., Wilmington, Del., would verify compliance with 250.4(A)(3). “Make sure that the grounding conductor is not wrapped around a non-current-carrying conductive material connected to thermoplastic conduits,” he wrote. “This would create a non-effective ground-fault current path.”

Author's note: All winners also noted that the number of extension rings installed isn't a problem as long as the conductors in the box can be extended at least 3 inches outside the opening (300.14).

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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