GFI's required for extension cords?

[PhaseShift]

We have an ongoing debate going on internally weather or not GFI protection is requried for outlets that have extension cords plugged into them. I dont believe the code references anything about having an outlet GFI protected where an extension cord can be plugged in (this esentially could be any outlet) so the question now becomes what is required on the extension cord itself.

Would an extension cord be viewed as a temporary istallation falling under the requirements of 590.6 for GFI protection on the extension cords? I suppose it could fall under the "temporary maintnance" portion of this section but am not sure.

If GFI protection is required as part of 590.6 since the extension cords are viewed as a temporary installation, then why do most extension cords not come with GFI protection built in know that this is a requirement?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

If you are working on a job that does not have GFCI protection then I believe the company owner must provide portable gfci protection.

 

[charlie b]

First of all (and some forum members are going to disagree with this statement :roll: ), an extension cord that is plugged into a receptacle outlet does not constitute an ?electrical installation,? temporary or otherwise. So the mere act of plugging an extension cord to a randomly selected receptacle does not, by itself, bring 590 into play. Secondly, 590 only applies to the time period of construction, remodeling, repair, and similar activities. It does not apply to a homeowner who uses an extension cord to plug a lamp into a receptacle. Finally, 590.6 does not require GFCI protection for extension cords. Rather, it requires that the electric tools being used for construction be provided with GFCI protection, and it allows the use of a GFCI cord being plugged into a permanent, non-GFCI receptacle.

 

[iwire]

Regardless of it being an 'installation' or not, if you are doing construction type work and you are using an extension cord and you are an employee OSHA requires that GFCI protection be provided to the employee by the employer.

Often this takes the form of a GFCI device that plugs in to the wall outlet and you plug the extension cord into that.

 

[iwire]

First of all (and some forum members are going to disagree with this statement :roll: ), an extension cord that is plugged into a receptacle outlet does not constitute an “electrical installation,” temporary or otherwise.

I respectfully disagree because IMO you are mistaken.

Are you suggesting decorative lighting (AKA Christmas lights) are hard wired?

See 590.5.

Also see 590.6(B)(2)(a), what is that section talking about in part?

Extension cords that arrive on site and that will be plugged in.

I understated your view on what constitutes an installation but IMPO it does not match up with the NEC or OSHAs view on it.

 

[charlie b]

I respectfully disagree because IMO you are mistaken.

How did you know I was referring to you?

Are you suggesting decorative lighting (AKA Christmas lights) are hard wired? See 590.5.

590.5 simply requires the product to have a credential. It says nothing about installation. IMHO the 90 day limit of 590.3(B) refers to the electrical setup used to give the light string something to plug into, not to the string itself. I have said this before: I can buy a box of Christmas lights, and without opening the box or even taking the box out of the plastic shopping bag I can throw the box (and bag) onto the roof of my house, and I can leave it there for years on end, and I will never have created a “temporary power and lighting installation,” in the context of 590.3(B). Hanging the lights along the gutter changes nothing. But if I were to remove the light bulbs from the two exterior light fixtures, and screw in a pair of receptacle outlet adapters in place if the bulbs, and then plug the Christmas light strings into those adapters, so that I can turn the lights on and off from inside the house, then and only then will I have created a “temporary power and lighting installation.” Then and only then does the 90 day clock start. As soon as I unplug the light strings and put the bulbs back in, the 90 day clock becomes irrelevant, whether or not I remove the light strings from the gutter.

Also see 590.6(B)(2)(a), what is that section talking about in part? Extension cords that arrive on site and that will be plugged in.

It is talking about a construction site. I have not heard from the OP as to whether they are debating a construction site, or a homeowner using an extension cord with a table lamp.

I understated your view on what constitutes an installation but IMHO it does not match up with the NEC or OSHAs view on it.

You haven’t shown me anything that declares the use of an extension cord (or for that matter the act of plugging in a lamp) to constitute “installation of electrical equipment.” Yes, there are rules about using cords, and they apply only if (at a construction site) the workers are using tools that are not plugged into GFCI outlets. But that doesn’t make the extension cord an “installation” any more than it makes the drill or other tool an “installation.”

 

[lakee911]

Regardless of it being an 'installation' or not, if you are doing construction type work and you are using an extension cord and you are an employee OSHA requires that GFCI protection be provided to the employee by the employer.

Often this takes the form of a GFCI device that plugs in to the wall outlet and you plug the extension cord into that.

Not all places have to adhere to OSHA guidelines...some government being an exception that I can think of.

 

[PhaseShift]

I have not heard from the OP as to whether they are debating a construction site, or a homeowner using an extension cord with a table lamp.

This is at an industrial facility

 

[iwire]

Not all places have to adhere to OSHA guidelines...some government being an exception that I can think of.

That is along the line of saying the IRS does not apply.:grin:

Yeah it may be true for a select few but the overwhelming majority of people that receive paychecks in the US are covered by OSHA.

I think seamen are under the Coast Guard and miners under NIOSH and military people are not looked over at all.

 

[iwire]

You haven’t shown me anything that declares the use of an extension cord (or for that matter the act of plugging in a lamp) to constitute “installation of electrical equipment.”

And you have not shown me anything but your opinion. :grin: I am not trying to be a wise guy here, but it is true. The only thing on this subject you have given me is your personal opinion of what an electrical installation is.

OTH I have shown you a number of NEC sections that apply 'past the receptacle'

In this thread I have shown you two NEC sections that would have no meaning at all if the NFPA did not consider the use of an extension cord or holiday lights as a temporary installation.

Here is the scope of 590.

590.1 Scope. The provisions of this article apply to temporary
electric power and lighting installations.

So either plugged in holiday lights are an installation and 590.5 applies OR they are not an installation and nothing on 590 applies to them.

I think it is ridiculous to say it does not apply when clearly the CMP recently added 590.5 as they feel 590 applies to temporary wiring such as lights and cords.

When I get home I will look for the proposal that added 590.5.

 

[iwire]

This is at an industrial facility

I figured it was not a home.

IMO depending on what the employees are doing OSHA requires them to be protected by GFCIs.

1910.304(b)(3)(ii)

The following requirements apply to temporary wiring installations that are used during construction-like activities, including certain maintenance, remodeling, or repair activities, involving buildings, structures or equipment.

1910.304(b)(3)(ii)(A)

All 125-volt, single-phase, 15-, 20-, and 30-ampere receptacle outlets that are not part of the permanent wiring of the building or structure and that are in use by personnel shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

Note 1 to paragraph (b)(3)(ii)(A) of this section: A cord connector on an extension cord set is considered to be a receptacle outlet if the cord set is used for temporary electric power.

Note 2 to paragraph (b)(3)(ii)(A) of this section: Cord sets and devices incorporating the required ground-fault circuit-interrupter that are connected to the receptacle closest to the source of power are acceptable forms of protection.

For anyone that is following (Charlie) along I urge you to read this from OSHA.

Electrical Standard; Clarifications; Corrections

Regardless of what each one of us to considers to be an 'installation' OSHA is out to protect workers from electrical shocks when they use portable cord sets.

 

[charlie b]

So either plugged in holiday lights are an installation and 590.5 applies OR they are not an installation and nothing on 590 applies to them.

Not being one to split hairs :roll: , but I would have said anytime that a plugged in set of holiday lights is an electrical installation. My point is that an unplugged set is not. The ?electrical installation,? temporary or otherwise, is the part that gets stuff plugged into it, not the stuff being plugged in. 590.5 therefore applies to whatever is left in place, after you unplug the light string. If it is a permanently installed receptacle (with GFCI protection and wiring methods rated for the weather conditions) located near the gutter, then the installation does not have a 90 day limit, as it is not temporary.

 

[charlie b]

For anyone that is following (Charlie) along I urge you to read this from OSHA.

This is from that very document:

OSHA does not consider a single extension cord set connected to a permanent receptacle outlet to be a temporary wiring installation.\3\ In such situations, extension cords are typically used to extend the length of the power supply cord on a tool or appliance to reach a nearby receptacle outlet. In this application, OSHA considers the extension cord set to be part of the utilization equipment.

Q.E.D.

Regardless of what each one of us to considers to be an 'installation' OSHA is out to protect workers from electrical shocks when they use portable cord sets.

Agreed. They do that by requiring tools to be plugged into a permanent GFCI outlet, or into an extension cord that has built-in GFCI protection.