210.63 (A/C service recep)

[George Stolz]

1.) NEC Section/Paragraph: 210.63
2.) Proposal/Comment Recommends: [revised text]
3.) Proposal/Comment: 210.63 Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Equipment Outlet. A 125-volt, single-phase, 15- or 20- ampere-rated receptacle outlet shall be installed at an accessible location for the servicing of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment. The receptacle shall be located on the same level and within 7.5 m (25 ft) 27.5 m (90 ft) of the heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment. The receptacle outlet shall not be connected to the load side of the equipment disconnecting means. The receptacle shall be accessible without passing through a doorway.
4.) Substantiation: The 100' extension cord is standard equipment for all trades in construction and maintenance, even for refrigeration technicians. An extension cord is required to make any use of a receptacle 25' away from the equipment, and since a 100' cord is likely to be in use in that circumstance, we may as well make full use of it.

The last sentence is to ensure that the flexible cord requirements of Article 400 are reinforced, and to guarantee that the receptacle shall not be behind a locked door when service is required.

[/proposal]

I couldn't help myself.

Red text is deleted, green text is new.

 

[tom baker]

I like the doorway part but not the longer distance for a 100ft cord. Plus a 25 ft cord and tool cord gets you there.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

It is my understanding that the 25' rule comes from the mechanical codes and just changing the NEC will not make the requirement go away.

 

[infinity]

For what it's worth I don't even own a 100' cord. All of our cords are 50' in length.