Water piping above electrical equipment

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cppoly

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In 110.26 dedicated working space 6' above electrical equipment is required. Does that mean water piping can be located above the 6' working space ?
 
cppoly said:
In 110.26 dedicated working space 6' above electrical equipment is required. Does that mean water piping can be located above the 6' working space ?
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The "working space" about the electrical equipment requires 6.5' headroom. Piping can be installed above the working space.

The "dedicated electrical space" above the equipment is required to be 6' above the equipment or to the structural ceiling. Piping can be installed above the dedicated electrical space for the equipment, but protection must be provided for leaks, condensation, etc.
 
Yes, with plenty of room to spare as you have described the circumstances
NEC 2011
If the piping is not in the dedicated space directly above the equipment footprint and we are referring to working space the piping must be above the minimum 6'6" required height or above the top of the equipment if it is higher than the 6'6".
When you are discussing dedicated space make sure the AHJ agrees prior to install if less than 6'
 
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cppoly said:
In 110.26 dedicated working space 6' above electrical equipment is required. Does that mean water piping can be located above the 6' working space ?
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Sorry I worded the question wrong. It should say: Does that mean water piping can be located above the 6' dedicated electrical space?

For instance if the top of a transformer is 36" high, you need 6' above that for dedicated electrical space (with the footprint of the transformer). My question would be is piping allowed above the 36" + 6' that's located within the footprint of the transformer.

110.26(1)(B) says it can be above the dedicated electrical space required in 110.26(1)(A) if provided with protection.
 
Your answer is correct, but your example is not. There is no requirement for "dedicated equipment space" for a transformer. You only need to maintain the dedicated equipment space for switchboards, panelboards, and motor control centers. I believe the reason (and there is no code statement that backs this up) is that we need to reserve that space for the future installation of additional conduits. Think of it this way: once the transformer (or the fused disconnect, or the variable frequency drive, or the enclosed circuit breaker) is installed and operating, are you likely to need to install additional conduits anytime in the future? I think not. But you may need to add circuits to a switchboard, a panelboard, or an MCC. That would be a more difficult task, if there was a pipe or duct in the way.
 
charlie b said:
Your answer is correct, but your example is not. There is no requirement for "dedicated equipment space" for a transformer. You only need to maintain the dedicated equipment space for switchboards, panelboards, and motor control centers. I believe the reason (and there is no code statement that backs this up) is that we need to reserve that space for the future installation of additional conduits. Think of it this way: once the transformer (or the fused disconnect, or the variable frequency drive, or the enclosed circuit breaker) is installed and operating, are you likely to need to install additional conduits anytime in the future? I think not. But you may need to add circuits to a switchboard, a panelboard, or an MCC. That would be a more difficult task, if there was a pipe or duct in the way.
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Thanks Charlie. But there is no provision to deal with the potential water hazard at all? For instance, water piping 5' directly above a transformer's footprint?
 
cppoly said:
Thanks Charlie. But there is no provision to deal with the potential water hazard at all? For instance, water piping 5' directly above a transformer's footprint?
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Sometimes a sheet metal drip pan would be installed above equipment. Extending at least the width of equipment if not more.
 
That pipe is supposed to not leak just as your work is supposed to not catch fire.

That doesn't mean there won't ever be a condensation nuisance or other issue.

Is there a code section that can be used to compel someone to do anything about it? Apparently not.

I was at a fire scene once with a guy from the state fire marshal's office and a pvc pipe above the fire put the fire out. So if your panel is going to catch fire, maybe you want that pipe there!
 
Back in the 1970s the Palo Alto fire department participated in a study of using PVC pipe for residential fire sprinklers (wet system).
They worked great (at least once per installation), cost a lot less for materials and installation and could have gone a long way to making residential sprinkler systems common. But the code writers just could not accept the idea. :(

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GoldDigger said:
Back in the 1970s the Palo Alto fire department participated in a study of using PVC pipe for residential fire sprinklers (wet system).
They worked great (at least once per installation), cost a lot less for materials and installation and could have gone a long way to making residential sprinkler systems common. But the code writers just could not accept the idea. :(

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They do now. BlazeMaster is all over the place since the mid 80's. You can even do a multi-purpose system using PEX.
 
Water piping above electrical equipment

I've installed plenty of gear only to have sprinkler pipes and refrigeration pipes installed directly above. I was then required by the AHJ to have a drip pan installed over panels or under the lines to protect the gear regardless of the height. I think its a good idea. I have been in plenty of commercial buildings where the roof gutters (flat roof) started to back up or fail and just constantly drip all over the gear, needless to say not a happy ending.

I always tell the other trades to bring their pipes at least 12" in front of the panel so when the condensate they don't drip on the panels.
 
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