News

This weeks photo comes from West palm beach.  WOW!

Till next time work safe be safe

Jake

Found this in Lake Worth owner paid to have someone install new cover.

Till next time

Be safe work safe

Jake

This weeks photo comes from Lake Worth, I guess you would call this an alternate means and use of a method.

Yes it was in a meter can!

Till next week work safe.

Jake

This week photo is from Dan Matson.  Thanks Dan

Till next week watch out where you shower!

Jake

This weeks photo comes from Rick Teel of Jupiter, thanks Rick

Notice the dimmer and timer hanging out the front, and you wonder why we have Licensing Laws.

This will be the third time that we visit 553.883 the new statute that allows us to install battery operated smoke alarms.  As in my past requests I am still trying to find an alarm that is battery operated (sealed 10year type) that can be interconnected.  I have been trying to find one but can only find them in Europe. Has anyone come across ones we can buy here in the USA?

We have 10 year battery operated ones but they do not interconnect, or they interconnect but don’t have ten year battery.  I have been to inspector meetings and have taught classes that have had someone tell me they installed one or seen them used in an installation.  Please email a type that I can buy here in the good old USA.  At these meeting I have been told that the Statute requires interconnection (they say it is implied) but again I have not been able to find one that meets the requirements of the Statute and interconnects.  All of the specs sent to me are not sealed battery 10 year type.  Only one of all the smoke alarms that has been sent to me had 10 year battery and was inter-connectable and that was BRK SA410LLi but I can not find it anywhere here in the states to buy, it was only available in the UK.  Please read the Florida Statue 553.883 below.  So help me find what inspectors and other officials are saying is a requirement, and I will pass it on.  So we can all be on the same page.

553.883 REQUIRES a SMOKE ALARM to have:

10 YEAR NONPLACEABLE BATTERY

NONREMOVABLE BATTERY

“INTERCONNECTABLE” SMOKE ALARM   (I don’t believe that this was the intent)

Till next week work safe be safe

Jake

Another great Photo.  What can I say!

If have a great photo please send it to me,  this weeks photo came from Lake Worth Utility.

Jake

This past week while teaching a CEU seminar I was introduced to a new product that I have not seen.  The dimmable receptacle outlet.   Over the years I have seen installations that contractors tried to install dimmers on receptacle outlet circuits only to tell them it did not meet the Code and had to be disconnected.  In explaining why they could not use a dimmer on the circuit they realized that plugging in a TV or some other appliance would have caused harm to the appliance.  So I was surprised to finally find a way for us to use dimmers on outlet circuits.   When using the receptacle outlets you will have to also use a special cord cap that only works with the dimming receptacle outlet, and that is so you won’t plug your TV or some other appliance into the circuit by mistake.

Below you will find a link to a website that has all the information for the outlets.  You can click on the link or cut and paste it into your search bar.

http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/369269_ENG.pdf

Till next week be safe work safe

Jake

This photo was sent in by Gary Gifford of Stuart.  Thanks Gary its good to know that

all the bad installations are not just down here in PB county. 

Jake

We Just finished our first round of weekend CEU classes, and as promised a link to the other Code book that we need to be using for residential electrical work.  It is the Florida Building Code Residential book.  Click on the link below and you can explore the FBC Residential book.  

This weeks information will introduce you to the other electrical code book.  The one that is located in the Florida Building Code Residential, the electrical chapters are found in Chapters 34 through 45.  As a contractor or electrician in Florida you need to be familiar with these sections because some of the sections in the NEC have been amended by this Code.  Its actually pretty helpful because it is small and compact and geared towards residential construction only so you don’t have to differentiate between residential and commercial/industrial electrical codes.  So when you get a chance click on the link below and explore Chapters 34 through 45, and if a click does not work cut and paste it into your browser and read on.

If you have any questions or have something that you want to see discussed here please email me at jleccemail@hotmail.com

http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/toc/2014/Florida/Residential%20Code/index.html

Thanks and be safe

Jake