Tamperproof GFCI

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geochurchi

Senior Member
Location
Concord,NH
Occupation
Retired electrician
Hi All, I was under the impression that all receptacles were required to be Tamper resistant, but I see a lot of GFCI receptacles that are not listed as such, what am I missing?
Geo
 
al hildenbrand

al hildenbrand

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Occupation
Electrical Contractor, Electrical Consultant, Electrical Engineer
geochurchi said:
Hi All, I was under the impression that all receptacles were required to be Tamper resistant, but I see a lot of GFCI receptacles that are not listed as such, what am I missing?
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The primary rule is 2017 NEC 406.12, and it has a list of locations that require tamper resistant receptacles. There is a lot that isn't on the list, such as, any receptacle above 5' 6" above the finished floor.

Otherwise the GFCI receptacle device DOES have to be TR.
 
Dennis Alwon

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
al hildenbrand said:
At the very least, they are the less expensive GFCIs on the shelves at the home centers.
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I am sure they are cheaper but who carries both types? As an ec we install TR gfci wherever a gfci is required no matter what the height but if it is a gfci then you cannot install them in areas that aren't readily accessible anyway
 
steve66

steve66

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Engineer
geochurchi said:
Hi All, I was under the impression that all receptacles were required to be Tamper resistant, but I see a lot of GFCI receptacles that are not listed as such, what am I missing?
Geo
Click to expand...

There are some exceptions, but unlike dwelling units, most commercial spaces do not require tamper resistant. However, the 2017 NEC has added a lot of commercial areas to the list.

Also, don't forget - not all areas of the country adopt the latest NEC, so those areas may not have the same requirements for tamper resistant. I frequently run into projects where we are still using the 2008 NEC.
 
hbiss

hbiss

EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
Location
Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
Occupation
EC
Most commercial locations don't require them so non-TR is still being sold. Basically it's up to the EC to know where they are required and install as such according to what code cycle they are on.

AFAIC they might as well make all 5-15 and 5-20 receptacles tamper proof and be done with it but then the NEC wouldn't have any income from the manufacturers each time they ratchet up the requirements. ;)

-Hal
 
C

curt swartz

Electrical Contractor - San Jose, CA
Location
San Jose, CA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I just got screwed a couple weeks ago by HD's stock of non TR devices. We wired an addition and customer wanted Leviton since that is what the other part of the house has. We normally use Legrand or Lutron for all devices not Leviton. Instead of going to an out of the way supply house to get Leviton I decided to grab devices from HD. A couple of other customers were trying to look for stuff so I was reaching over top of them to grab what I needed. I dropped material off at job and a hour later got the call that the GFCI's were not TR. Had to pay my guy to run back to HD.

Since 99.9% of the stuff HD/Lowes sells is going into dwelling units they should not even stock non TR devices. Even the wholesalers around me stock limited amounts of non TR devices and most of their stuff is going to commercial projects.

Up until recently HD/Lowes/ACE did not stock any lamps that met the 2016 CA energy code. HD finally started stocking them, not sure about Lowes/ACE. I'm generally not for regulations but I wish retailers had more restrictions on what they sell considering most of their customers are clueless. Even Amazon and many other online retailers will not ship non CA compliant LED's to CA addresses.
 
M

MAC702

Senior Member
Location
Clark County, NV
If you shop HD/Lowes, you have to know to double-check what you are getting from what bin. I still get burned every once in a while, but I'm old enough now to know it's my fault. The whole reason they are my main suppliers when I don't have the lead time for Amazon is because their self-service means I get usually lower prices (ironically) and way FASTER service (and a closer store) than the supply houses. But the risk of the bins being pawed through by other customers and merchandised by lackadaisical employees is part of the equation.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Dennis Alwon said:
Yeah, but I don't shop there for items like gfci's. I use my local supplier whenever possible.
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If supply house only sells TR types, about has to be because that is all customers are buying so why stock anything else.

Big box stores get customers that will buy what is cheaper (some then find out later that it doesn't pass inspections) plus also get customers that know what is required and want that version - so both items are selling items and worth stocking.

Supply house that sells to a lot of contractors, commercial or industrial clients may very well still have a lot of demand for both types. Supply house that mostly only sells to residential contractors likely has a demand for TR types and little demand for non TR.

When I go to local farm supply store we have in the area because I need something now but supply house and big box stores are both an hour drive away they don't even have TR or WR receptacles. They do have 15 and 20 amp as well as standard vs spec grades, but those TR and WR are not going to move off the shelf in general other than those not paying attention to exactly what they are getting or the occasional qualified person that does know what they actually are required to use.

I might even add it is a little amusing they even have GFCI's in their selection.
 
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