240.21 Interpretation

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nielsencx

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Appleton, WI
Having a disagreement with an instructor over the following question:

Which of the following is not true about taps over 25' long?

a) Must be protected by a raceway
240.21 (B) (4) (5) "the tap conductors are protected from physical damage by being enclosed in an approved raceway OR by other approved means

d) Sized no less than #6AWG Al
240.21 (B) (4) (7) Al conductors must be a minimum 4AWG


He claims there is only one correct answer, and said it was answer "d".
I agree that "d" is a correct answer.

"a" states the protection can only be provided by a raceway
He argues that a raceway CAN be used to provide protection. I agree with him that a raceway is acceptable.

However, answer "a" says protection MUST BE provided by a raceway.
I argue that the second method listed in the code, "by other approved means", renders answer "a" incorrect.
There are two acceptable methods, answer "a" claims there is only one.


I believe my argument is valid. If I am wrong, please provide some clarification on why I am incorrect.
I cannot get a response from any of my instructors.

Appreciate the help.
 
nielsencx said:
I believe my argument is valid.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. The code does not use the word "must" in connection with a raceway. We don't have to protect the conductors with a raceway if we can find another approved means. That makes answer choice "a" untrue, and that in turn makes it a correct answer to the question. This is a poorly worded question, a failure on the part of the author of the question, one that we all encounter frequently. What you need to understand is that there is a difference between "truth" and "the answer that will give you positive credit on the exam." To obtain the later, you sometimes need to look past "truth" and figure out what the person who wrote the question expects the right answer to be. Sad, but true.

 
The 25 ft rule, both for taps and transformer secondaries, does not necessarily require a raceway. A lot of people might use a raceway without even thinking about it, but if you protect it from physical damage in general by other approved means, it is still correct. One alternative to a raceway, would be a metal clad cable.


The 10 ft rules by contrast, do require a raceway if it leaves the enclosure. You could not use a cable only, if you are relying on the conditions of the 10 ft rules.
 
nielsencx said:
Which of the following is not true about taps over 25' long?

a) Must be protected by a raceway
240.21 (B) (4) (5) "the tap conductors are protected from physical damage by being enclosed in an approved raceway OR by other approved means
Click to expand...

The bold is not the same as the additional method of by other means. I agree with you because of the use of the word must.
 
The problem with tests is the correct answer is not what you believe it to be, but what the instructor believes it to be.

Now that being said, I would argue it too.

One time my daughter failed an assignment. I tried to help her with it, but I couldn't find anything in her text books that even came close to what the assignment was about. I finally went in and talked to her teacher and he said, don't worry everyone else failed it too. Now what purpose could that have possibly served?
 
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