Whats Wrong Here?

December 2011

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Electrical Construction and Maintenance

Joe Tedesco

Joe Tedesco, NEC Consultant

Sat, 2011-12-24 17:01

Can you identify the Code violation(s) in this photo?

Hint: Traffic lights still working?

How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldnt
identify? Heres your chance to moonlight as an electrical inspector and second-guess someone elses work
from the safety of your living room or office. Can you identify the Code violation(s) in this photo?

Tell Them What Theyve Won...

07-03-15 5:51 PM

Whats Wrong Here? December 2011

2 of 2

http://ecmweb.com/print/whats-wrong-here/what-s-wrong-here-december...

Using the 2011 NEC, correctly identify the Code sections that show violation(s) in this months photo in 200
words or less and you could win something to put in your toolbox. E-mail your response to
joseph.tedesco@yahoo.com, and well select three winners (excluding manufacturers and prior
winners) at random from the correct submissions. Winners will receive a set of insulated hand tools from
Ideal Industries, Inc., valued at more than $125.* The set includes 9.25-in. insulated side-cutting pliers,
10-in. insulated tongue-and-groove pliers, and a 0.25-in. 3 6-in. insulated screwdriver. (* Please allow six to
eight weeks for delivery of tools.)

OCTOBER WINNERS
We had three winners this month: Michael A. Patti, IBEW technician, Massapequa Park, N.Y.; Alan Burczyk,
project manager, Barbaro Electric Co., Inc., Hackensack, N.J.; and Bud Reichard, P.E., owner, AES Associates,
Seattle. They were all unimpressed with the mounting configuration of this outdoor luminaire.
As noted in 410.10(A), luminaires installed in wet or damp locations shall be installed such that water cannot
enter or accumulate in wiring compartments, lampholders, or other electrical parts. This fixture was mounted
so low to the ground that it could only be arranged to face upward. Theres no way that water could be kept from
entering the socket. The other item to make note of is the type of lamp that has been installed in this fixture,
which appears to be an indoor-rated bulb, not an outdoor-rated lamp.
Although you cant see it in the photo, the fixture had this sentence stamped on it: Wet location when
lampholder is aimed below horizontal.
Source URL: http://ecmweb.com/whats-wrong-here/what-s-wrong-here-december-2011

07-03-15 5:51 PM