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 2023 NEC.
Hint: This bursts my “bubble.”
Tell Them What They've Won…
Using the 2023 NEC, correctly identify the Code violation(s) in this month's photo — in 200 words or less — and you could win a $25 Amazon gift card. E-mail your response, including your name and mailing address, to [email protected], and Russ will select one winner (excluding manufacturers and prior winners) at random from the correct submissions. Note that submissions without an address will not be eligible to win.
January Winner
This month’s winner is Robert Mutton with The Inspector, LLC in Burke, N.Y. He knew that the wiring inside this red “T” conduit body is not accessible as required by Sec. 314.29(A). The electrical metallic tubing (EMT) raceway installed tight against the cover of the conduit body is blocking access to the wiring inside the conduit body. The Art. 100 definition of “accessible” (as applied to wiring methods) is “capable of being removed or exposed without damaging the building structure or finish or not permanently closed in or blocked by the structure, other electrical equipment, other building systems, or finish of the building.” This definition was revised for 2023 to address this scenario, which was not previously included in that definition or the requirements in Sec. 314.29(A). Now, it is unquestionably a violation to have an installation like this.
