Does this violate the code of dedicated equipment space?

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yeemartin

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With these plywood walls above the MCC. Do you consider this violating 110.26(F) dedicated equipment space?

Thanks.
 
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Per the wording in the NEC, I think so.

Per enforcement I think not, how is this any different than a flush mounted panel board?
 
Gotta wonder what sins that plywood sofit is hiding. :grin:




FWIW I think the house keeping pad is also a violation that is just accepted. :)
 
I have done exactly that on more than one occasion and was never cited for it ,we did however have access from the rear or out the bottom in the rear aisle behind the MCC.We called it a spaghetti bowl,conduit came into the top or a bulkhead plate in the rear and was ended with a hub with an insulated throat.The cables did nothing more than route back and forth from the correct MCC vertical section to it's required conduit for distribution to the user.The front panels were sometimes also removable

This is just an extention to the horizontal wireway of the MCC.When conduit systems were more prevalent(the era prior to using much cable tray) this was common practice in industrial complexes.

dick
 
iwire said:
Gotta wonder what sins that plywood sofit is hiding. :grin:




FWIW I think the house keeping pad is also a violation that is just
accepted. :)
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First two rules of inspecting: 1) If it's closed, open it. 2) If it's locked, find out why.:grin:

I consider house keeping pads a trip hazard if it sticks out to much past the front, I don't care if it's three feet past the front.
 
If this is truly a hybrid "Auxilliary Gutter" Art 366 then I see nothing wrong on the other hand who is to say that there is not a bunch of rigid conduit connections directly into the MCC behind that so called box.

dick
 
hurk27 said:
If it does then every flush mounted panel I have ever done would be in violation, I can see this is a section of code that needs some work.:confused:
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Yes the section does need work. It is my opinion that there is no way to install a flush panel without violating this section based on the current wording.
 
Pokesomi said:
I dont see a problem here. I just pulled out my code book and I dont see anything that would violate it.
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The issue would be 110.26(F)(1)(a).
(a) Dedicated Electrical Space. The space equal to the width and depth of the equipment and extending from the floor to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft) above the equipment or to the structural ceiling, whichever is lower, shall be dedicated to the electrical installation. No piping, ducts, leak protection apparatus, or other equipment foreign to the electrical installation shall be located in this zone.
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And before you say the wall is not equipment, take a look at the exception. It appears the CMP thinks that a suspended ceiling is "equipment" so I would conclude that the wall is too.
 
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don_resqcapt19 said:
The issue would be 110.26(F)(1)(a).

And before you say the wall is not equipment, take a look at the exception. It appears the CMP thinks that a suspended ceiling is "equipment" so I would conclude that the wall is too.
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But if the inside dimensions of the "wall" are exactly the same as the dimensions of the equipment, a violation would not occur. Now does 110.26(F)(1)(a) interpret "space equal to the width and depth" to be the entire equipment itself or simply its 'wiring entrance locations".
 
jim dungar said:
But if the inside dimensions of the "wall" are exactly the same as the dimensions of the equipment, a violation would not occur. Now does 110.26(F)(1)(a) interpret "space equal to the width and depth" to be the entire equipment itself or simply its 'wiring entrance locations".
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Looks that way to me?

(a) Dedicated Electrical Space. The space equal to the width and depth of the equipment and extending from the floor to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft) above the equipment or to the structural ceiling, whichever is lower, shall be dedicated to the electrical installation. No piping, ducts, leak protection apparatus, or other equipment foreign to the electrical installation shall be located in this zone.
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(a) Dedicated Electrical Space. The space equal to the width and depth of the equipment and extending from the floor to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft) above the equipment or to the structural ceiling, whichever is lower, shall be dedicated to the electrical installation. No piping, ducts, leak protection apparatus, or other equipment foreign to the electrical installation shall be located in this zone.
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The top and bottom wall plates are in the space.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
The issue would be 110.26(F)(1)(a).

And before you say the wall is not equipment, take a look at the exception. It appears the CMP thinks that a suspended ceiling is "equipment" so I would conclude that the wall is too.
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I don't think the cmp was thinking a wall is equipment, they were just distinguising what is a structural ceiling. So I'm going with wall is not equipment.
 
Are we sure it is made from plywood or can you get flame retardent material or a coating over plywood ,a nonmetallic aux gutter definition in ART 366.2 would allow it.Do we know whats behind it?

The reason I keep going nback to the gutter thing a ma jig as I have done something similar a number of times so I keep thinking its okay as a gutter installation.

dick
 
markstg said:
I don't think the cmp was thinking a wall is equipment, they were just distinguising what is a structural ceiling. So I'm going with wall is not equipment.
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If the CMP is not calling a dropped ceiling 'equipment' there would be no reason for the exception and like Don IMO if a suspended ceiling is equipment so must be a wall.
 
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