Author: Jake

Out in the field we do it all the time, we back feed a transformer with 208v and boost it up to 480v to feed a piece of equipment, or to use it to help with voltage drop in a long run, but now the Code has made it a requirement to be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.  Not all transformers have these instructions.

Have a question you like answered, email me at jleccemail@hotmail.com

Till next time be safe work safe

Jake

This is a new requirement in the 2014 Code that has already been amended in the 2017 Code.  In the 2014 it requires a 15 or 20 ampere receptacle

to be installed within 50’ of the service area.  Then in the 2017 Code they amended it so that a receptacle will not be required if the voltage of the service

is above 120 volts to ground for services in and around Electrically driven or controlled irrigation machines or near natural or artificial bodies of water in

articles 675 and 682 .

2017 NEC 210.64 Exception No. 2: Where the service voltage is greater than 120 volts to ground, a receptacle outlet shall not be required for

services dedicated to equipment covered in Articles 675 and 682.

So in the picture below you would have to add a transformer and panel to feed a 120 volt GFCI protected receptacle unless it is a service for equipment

covered in articles 675, and 682..

Till next time work safe be safe……

Jake

This weeks comments comes from a recent inspection where the inspector asked the contractor to show a listing for the fixture that he was using next to a pool, that would meet the requirements of this new Code Section 680.22(B)(6). His request was to show that the two (2) wire fixture did not need grounding.  The fixture was listed as a low voltage luminaire but did not specifically show that it did not need grounding.  The fixture had only two wires and nothing in the manufacturers instructions show grounding the fixture. I asked the contractor if the inspector checked out the type of transformer he used and he said he did not.

The second part of this new section was the use of a transformer that met the requirements of section 680.23(A)(3) which means it is list for use as a pool or spa as a power supply to a fixture. (isolated winding type with an ungrounded secondary that has a grounded metal barrier between primary and secondary or an approved system of double insulation between the primary and secondary windings)  The transformer would also have to have specific low voltage contact limits as laid out in 680.2 definitions. (15 volts (RMS) for sinusoidal ac, 21.2 volts peak for nonsinusoidal ac, 30 volts for continuous dc, and 12.4 volts peak for dc that is interrupted at a rate of 10 to 200 Hz.)

This is a new change which allows us to install Low Voltage lighting right next to a pool, the fixture not being grounded is a requirement of this section but only one of three requirements of this new section, so you have to pay attention to the total section when installing lights next to a pool or spa.  Make sure that you are complying with all the requirements of this section.

Click on the picture below to see the whole slide

Till next time be safe and work safe.

Jake

Got a question?  Send it in, I will try and get you an answer.

In the 2014 Code we are being asked to identify or group each neutral with each circuit it serves when there are more than one neutral in a conduit , enclosure, box or switchboard.  This is already being enforced in some municipalities based on the safety factor.  As most of you know disconnecting the wrong neutral can lead to burnt out appliances and even fires.  So this is going to be a major change that is going into effect in January.  In some of the installations that I have seen they identified the neutral by numbering them according to the circuit they served. 

If you have multiple circuit in a conduit you will need to identify or group the neutral with the phase conductors it serves.  This is going to take time to do and will also hold up your job if not done properly.

If you can only see a portion of the picture just click on it

Till next time be safe work safe, and Happy Thanksgiving from us to you.

Darlene and Jake