What's Wrong Here? Hint: The Installers Forgot to Install a Few Things
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: The installers forgot to install a few things.
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.
July Winner
Our winner this month was Devin Rhea Dillion with the Virginia Department of Transportation. He was able to cite some Code violations in this photo.
Where are the other parts of the covers for these outdoor receptacles? It appears that they snapped off at some point and were never repaired or replaced. The missing cover parts leave these GFCI receptacles exposed to rain, snow, sleet, ice, dirt, and anything else Mother Nature can throw at them.
The types of covers originally installed here appear to be a “weatherproof when closed” design. These covers would not comply with Sec. 406.9(B)(1), which requires the enclosure to be weatherproof whether or not an attachment plug cap is plugged into the receptacle, unless the provisions of the exception allow “weatherproof when closed” covers.
I’m fairly certain that routine spray-washing does not occur in this area, which is adjacent to a public sidewalk; therefore, the exception would not be applicable. This may not have ever been a Code-compliant installation. One last item is the lack of an expansion fitting where the PVC conduit emerges from the ground. This requirement was added to Sec. 352.44(B) for 2023.
About the Author
Russ LeBlanc
Owner
Russ started in the electrical trade as an apprentice in 1985. He worked his way up to become a Journeyman Electrician and then eventually became a Master Electrician and Licensed Construction Supervisor. In 1999 Russ become an Electrical Instructor for The Peterson School of Engineering in Massachusetts where he developed his passion for teaching, and quickly became Department Head of Electrical Instruction. Russ has taught thousands of apprentices, electricians, engineers, inspectors, and other electrical professionals during his career as an instructor. He continues to provide electrical professionals with Electrical Code seminars, Arc-Flash Awareness training seminars and educational material through his LeBlanc Consulting Services in North Reading, MA whose specialty is educating electricians. He has been an active member of the NFPA Electrical Section and has authored hundreds of National Electrical Code proposals and comments which have become Code rules to improve the safety for the electrical industry. Russ is also an IAEI certified Electrical Inspector.
Please visit www.russleblanc.net for more information.