Appliance pigtail being cited as incorrect

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BMacky

Senior Member
Location
Foster City, CA
OK, I will try to make this one short: had an inspector look into an upper cabinet above an exhaust hood in a newly-remodeled kitchen. The hood is over an electric range. I attached an appliance pigtail to the top side of the hood and ran it up into the cab as you would for a microwave, and have a dedicated outlet inside the cab. Idea was future built-in microwave, and mfr required dedicated circuit for hood, so went with a receptacle here.

Inspectors issue with the set-up: "You can't go from a 12-2 (feeding the outlet), to a 16 gauge appliance pigtail and down to 18 gauge wire in the fixture. That's 2 steps down. I'd accept one step down but not two." (he's speaking of conductor sizing). Hello? Am I missing something?

We are talking about ampacities and conductors, I guess? I was not standing the inspection, so no request for a reference on this. Can anyone tell me if there is some other Code issue I am not aware of here? Seems to me that he is talking about wire size only and NOT ampacity of wire types. It's an appliance, just like slapping a pigtail on a dishwasher.

Help needed, and thanks in advance. (Looking for a sanity check mainly)
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Never heard of a two step rule however it depends on what the manufacturers instruction state. Since you used dishwashers as an example they often state that an appliance cord that is specifically approved by the manufacturer must be used.
 

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
That appears to be one he pulled out of the air for sure.
That said, the job would have been rejected in this area simply due to the use of the cord in this situation as a violation of 400.8.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Table 400.5(A) gives us ampacities of flexible cords.

400.13 says to stt 240.5 for overcurrent protection.

240.5(B)(1) basically tells us if the cord is approved for use with teh specific appliance it is to be considered to be protected within the appliance listing requirements.
 

tryinghard

Senior Member
Location
California
Inspectors issue with the set-up: "You can't go from a 12-2 (feeding the outlet), to a 16 gauge appliance pigtail and down to 18 gauge wire in the fixture. That's 2 steps down. I'd accept one step down but not two." (he's speaking of conductor sizing)...
I believe the Instpector needs to cite the code he claims is in violation.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
That appears to be one he pulled out of the air for sure.
That said, the job would have been rejected in this area simply due to the use of the cord in this situation as a violation of 400.8.


Gus I don't see how 400.8 applies when we have 422.16(B)(4)

(4) Range Hoods. Range hoods shall be permitted to be cord-and-plug-connected with a flexible cord identified as suitable for use on range hoods in the installation instructions of the appliance manufacturer, where all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The flexible cord is terminated with a grounding-type attachment plug.
Exception: A listed range hood distinctly marked to identify it as protected by a system of double insulation, or its equivalent, shall not be required to be terminated with a grounding-type attachment plug.
(2) The length of the cord is not less than 450 mm (18 in.) and not over 900 mm (36 in.).
(3) Receptacles are located to avoid physical damage to the flexible cord.
(4) The receptacle is accessible.
(5) The receptacle is supplied by an individual branch circuit.
 

BMacky

Senior Member
Location
Foster City, CA
Thanks for the Code specifics on range hoods and other replies. I too referred to the appliance mfr's spec sheet for an answer, and it said something like "approved".
 

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
Dennis, maybe be because we are "backwoods", but I have yet to see an hood with "installation instructions of the appliance manufacturer" which included cord connection except the hoods that are part of a hood/microwave combination.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Dennis, maybe be because we are "backwoods", but I have yet to see an hood with "installation instructions of the appliance manufacturer" which included cord connection except the hoods that are part of a hood/microwave combination.

I agree I have never seen it either but if such an animal exist it would be legal.
 

Jim W in Tampa

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
Your dealing with BUBBA the inspector. He makes up rules as he goes IN HIS TOWN.
There is no such 2 step rule. Ask him for code number and he will not have it. Many cord connected appliances have small wires inside. What is inside that hood is none of his business because it is UL listed. Only thing he might get you for is if instructions did not allow a cord. Never let an inspector tag without a number unless it is something you know you violated by accident. Stand up to him and fight back or plan on getting lots of red tags.
 

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
Dennis, maybe be because we are "backwoods", but I have yet to see an hood with "installation instructions of the appliance manufacturer" which included cord connection except the hoods that are part of a hood/microwave combination.
Man, that's wild. I've done it a million times and never thought about it!
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Man, that's wild. I've done it a million times and never thought about it!

Come on George-- a million ??? :grin: I think I have seen it once. I just direct wire a separate circuit to a hood. if someone feels the need to install a microwave range hood then it doesn't take much to install the wire in a jb in the cabinet above.

I also hate when electricians remove all th eslack in wires rather than push the slack into the wall for later use.
 

TobyD

Senior Member
I've also installed appliance cords at times.The problem I have is on those custom hood vents.As the electrician my time is valuable to me.There are times when the vent must me hard piped in and the duct man is not available.So, it's much easier to install the cord and receptacle and let him mount the hood and plug it in.Sometimes I'll admit there could be a code violation on this type install.
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
It's common as dirt around here. It's rare to see a hood direct connected.


It's not common here, like Dennis said. But, I like this method just put an outlet in the cabinet. Put your cord on and you shouldn't have to hang it.
Normally it only takes about 3 minutes to hang it. But now with all the fancy ones they take a little longer . No need for the electrician to hang it.

We do some dish washers and disposals this way. If the plumber is not thier yet. This way we can get our inspection and be gone...:)
 
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