size of EGC at AC unit

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jwelectric

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
I was asked a question today that has me thinking. Please forgive me if it has been addressed before.

An air conditioner unit has minimum circuit 19 amps and maximum HACR 30 amps. The electrician installs 12/2 NM cable as it is rated at 20 amps and a 30 amp breaker.

Is this installation in violation of Table 250.122?
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
I was asked a question today that has me thinking. Please forgive me if it has been addressed before.

An air conditioner unit has minimum circuit 19 amps and maximum HACR 30 amps. The electrician installs 12/2 NM cable as it is rated at 20 amps and a 30 amp breaker.

Is this installation in violation of Table 250.122?

No. 250.122(D)(1) directs you to 250.122(A) "...in no case shall be required to be larger than the circuit conductors..."
 

jwelectric

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
No. 250.122(D)(1) directs you to 250.122(A) "...in no case shall be required to be larger than the circuit conductors..."

Something so simple that I just couldn't think of it. I did learn something though, look before I leap. I didn't even open a book just tried to answer from memory :ashamed1:
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Something so simple that I just couldn't think of it. I did learn something though, look before I leap. I didn't even open a book just tried to answer from memory :ashamed1:

Well, even though I kind of new this, I have to admit, that I had to look it up to get the details.
 

jwelectric

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
C'mon Mike. What would your students say...

Here is an email I received form a past student this morning about the thread:

Good evening Mike,
I hope this finds you well and in the best of spirits. I was looking over the internet this evening when I found this post you made,
http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=145929
I now ask you if you are willing to admit that you are human, ha..ha..ha.
Are you read in the face now? Even I knew the answer to that one.

Your friend,

I left his name off on purpose but I did reply that I was very much ?RED? in the face after posting something so stupid, but I refused to admit that I am human. Ask Roger or Dennis about this, I think that either or both will say, he might be but he sure doesn?t look like a human. Maybe an alien or beast of some kind but not human.

Recon I will receive flack over this for sometime to come.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Here is an email I received form a past student this morning about the thread:

Good evening Mike,
I hope this finds you well and in the best of spirits. I was looking over the internet this evening when I found this post you made,
http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=145929
I now ask you if you are willing to admit that you are human, ha..ha..ha.
Are you read in the face now? Even I knew the answer to that one.

Your friend,

I left his name off on purpose but I did reply that I was very much ?RED? in the face after posting something so stupid, but I refused to admit that I am human. Ask Roger or Dennis about this, I think that either or both will say, he might be but he sure doesn?t look like a human. Maybe an alien or beast of some kind but not human.

Recon I will receive flack over this for sometime to come.

I thought I made a mistake one time.





But I was wrong:lol:
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Here is an email I received form a past student this morning about the thread:

Good evening Mike,
I hope this finds you well and in the best of spirits. I was looking over the internet this evening when I found this post you made,
http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=145929
I now ask you if you are willing to admit that you are human, ha..ha..ha.
Are you read in the face now? Even I knew the answer to that one.

Your friend,

I left his name off on purpose but I did reply that I was very much ?RED? in the face after posting something so stupid, but I refused to admit that I am human. Ask Roger or Dennis about this, I think that either or both will say, he might be but he sure doesn?t look like a human. Maybe an alien or beast of some kind but not human.

Recon I will receive flack over this for sometime to come.

Well, I've made some obviously wrong comments here too. Some times we type before we think, even though we know better. But on a brighter note, I think this makes an excellent exam question.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
But on a brighter note, I think this makes an excellent exam question.

It is a good exam question - until the writer muddies the water by leaving important information out of the question, as well as giving multiple choice answers that may have more than one correct answer depending on the information that was left out. Seems like we get posts about a lot of this type of situation, most of time the question is simply poorly written.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Years ago I read a Peanuts comic strip that always comes to mind. The quote was--- "I thought I made a mistake once but I was wrong."

The other quote-not sure where it came from-- was---"I may not always be right, but I'll never be wrong."
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Years ago I read a Peanuts comic strip that always comes to mind. The quote was--- "I thought I made a mistake once but I was wrong."

The other quote-not sure where it came from-- was---"I may not always be right, but I'll never be wrong."

When I first heard "I thought I made a mistake once - but I was wrong" was from my high school math teacher. He was pretty smart (at least us kids thought so at the time) but was kind of arrogant. He said this in front of the whole class as if it were his saying and as though he almost was serious. Kind of fit his personality pretty well and I can still hear him saying it.
 

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
I left his name off on purpose but I did reply that I was very much ?RED? in the face after posting something so stupid, but I refused to admit that I am human. Ask Roger or Dennis about this, I think that either or both will say, he might be but he sure doesn?t look like a human. Maybe an alien or beast of some kind but not human.

Recon I will receive flack over this for sometime to come.

Seems to me as though I've done this about five times over the past year - if this is noteworthy to you, then figure you're still above average. :)

I blame it on using the electronic version of the NEC more than the paper copy. With the paper version, it's a lot easier to stumble over related material on the way to the section you're honing in on. :)
 

jwelectric

Senior Member
Location
North Carolina
This is very true George as just a few years back I would quote the page number when ask certain questions but today it is the computer to find the answer.

I was driving the car in real heavy traffic when the question was asked and my mind would not turn loose of Table 250.122 and a 30 amp circuit.
As soon as I hit the driveway I bailed out and into the Holt site for information instead of absorbing the question into a clear mind.

I have gotten many emails and it makes me feel foolish making such a simple mistake, yes when I feel foolish it is a normal thing so don?t ask people.

Thank you for the boost George, I needed that and Happy Pappy?s day
 
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