First time poster hope i am in the rite section for this question, I am hooking up a set of bleachers in a high school gym and the engineer has a convenience receptacle tapped off of one of the phase conductors of the motor circuit, when i RFI it his responce was it is not a code violation and that i should tap on line side of disconect. i have been looking in the 2011 NEC and can not find anything that says that is a violation. Is it? am i wrong? could i get a code article that explains this please?
Convenience receptacle on a motor circuit
- Thread starter woody66
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Massachusetts
It could be fine, more info needed.
renosteinke
Senior Member
- Location
- NE Arkansas
The devil is in the details.
What's the ampacity of the circuit? Hanging a 120 receptacle from a 50-amp motor feeder is a problem.
Where's the neutral? Motors often do not have neutrals. Using the conduit as a 'neutral' for the receptacle is a problem.
Here's the gist of it: once you add that receptacle, it's not a motor circuit anymore; it's a feeder. The feeder serves two circuits: the receptacle and the motor. Both circuits need correct overcurrent protection.
What's the ampacity of the circuit? Hanging a 120 receptacle from a 50-amp motor feeder is a problem.
Where's the neutral? Motors often do not have neutrals. Using the conduit as a 'neutral' for the receptacle is a problem.
Here's the gist of it: once you add that receptacle, it's not a motor circuit anymore; it's a feeder. The feeder serves two circuits: the receptacle and the motor. Both circuits need correct overcurrent protection.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
If both the receptacle and motor circuit have proper overcurrent protection it is a multi outlet branch circuit.
Motor circuit can have branch circuit protection higher than ampacity of the conductors to allow starting. The receptacle can not. I will have to do some looking but I think the motor will be limited to 50% of the branch circuit rating if it also has general purpose receptacles also connected to it.
Thanks for the input
Thanks for the input
I didnt say but there is a motor controler that requires the nutral and he does show tapping ahead of the controller. It is a 3 phase 5-wire curcit 20A i was just thinking there was a code violation with it, i have been wrong before thank you for the input
Vic
Thanks for the input
I didnt say but there is a motor controler that requires the nutral and he does show tapping ahead of the controller. It is a 3 phase 5-wire curcit 20A i was just thinking there was a code violation with it, i have been wrong before thank you for the input
Vic
- Status