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. It's your turn to identify the violation.
Hint: This might just burst your bubble.
December Winners
Our three winners this month were: Jeffrey L. Masters, P.E., an electrical engineer with Wunderlich-Malec Engineering in Minnetonka, Minn.; Bill Petrovic, a design engineer with Aschinger Electric in Fenton, Mo.; and Ryan Kondracki, a project engineer with AMA Consulting Engineers, P.C. in New York. Each one of them knew that it doesn’t matter if this receptacle is installed in a dwelling unit or some other occupancy — it needs to be GFCI-protected.
For dwelling units, Sec. 210.8(A)(7) requires GFCI protection for 125V, 15A or 20A receptacles that are installed within 6 ft of the outside edge of the sink. For other than dwelling units, Sec. 210.8(B)(5) notes the same GFCI protection requirements for those receptacles.
Installing a GFCI-type receptacle would satisfy this requirement, but some people may feel that the freezer would hinder access to the receptacle. This might violate the requirement in Sec. 210.8 that it be readily accessible. Another possible solution would be to feed this receptacle through another GFCI device upstream or protect the entire circuit with a GFCI-type circuit breaker.
In closing, I can assure you this receptacle had absolutely no GFCI protection of any kind.
