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: Wrong receptacle layout
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 an Arlington Industries 18-in. 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.
March Winners
Our winners this month were Gabe Kaprelian, an electrical contractor from Valley Glen, Calif.; Richard B. Everett, an EC&M reader from Hamilton, N.J.; and Juan C. Hernandez, a contest participant from Germantown, Md. They were able to correctly cite Code violations in this photo.
Section 760.121(B)(5) permits the fire alarm branch-circuit disconnecting means to be secured in the “on” position; however, Sec. 240.24(A) requires circuit breakers to be readily accessible, and “circuit breaker locks” that require the use of a screwdriver to remove do not provide for a circuit breaker that will meet the Art. 100 definition of “readily accessible.” The red paint used to mark the fire alarm circuit breakers creates a violation of Sec. 240.83(A) because the ampere rating of the circuit breakers is completely obscured by the paint. Section 760.121(B)(4) requires the branch circuits for fire alarm equipment to have red identification; however, that red identification must not obscure any manufacturer’s markings. The red paint used on those three circuit breakers is not Code-compliant.
