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. Can you identify the specific Code violation(s) in this photo? Note: Submitted comments must include specific references from the 2020 NEC.
Hint: Spectacular EMT failure
Tell Them What They've Won…
Using the 2020 NEC, correctly identify the Code violation(s) in this month's photo — in 200 words or less — and you could win an Arlington Industries SL1B18 single-gang slider bar kit, which includes an 18" Slider Bar and plastic box for mounting between studs with non-standard spacing. E-mail your response, including your name and mailing address, to [email protected], and Russ will select three winners (excluding manufacturers and prior winners) at random from the correct submissions. Note that submissions without an address will not be eligible to win.
September Winners
Our three winners this month were: Garret Konz, an EC&M reader from Lincoln, Neb.; John Marcotte, an electrical supervisor for Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Conn.; and Rick McLain, a master electrician with Falcon Electric LLC, Springfield, Mo. They knew that using PVC conduit to support boxes, luminaires, and other equipment is not permitted.
Section 352.12(B) is straightforward in prohibiting PVC conduit for support of luminaires or equipment other than conduit bodies. The weight of the box, receptacle, cover, and luminaires are causing the PVC conduit to bend and bow. A simple touch of the receptacle cover causes the entire installation to bounce back and forth and side to side, as if on a trampoline. How long do you think it will be before the PVC conduit snaps?
The outlet box is not considered properly supported either. Outlet boxes must be supported in accordance with one or more of the requirements in Sec. 314.23(A) through (H). Using PVC conduit to support outlet boxes is not mentioned in any of those provisions.
Lastly, I know it may not be clearly visible in the photo, but the receptacle was not a weather-resistant (WR) type as required by Sec. 406.9(B)(1).
