Altering a disconnect

Status
Not open for further replies.
there is no NEC issue here or permit required, this would be up to the person"s judgment drilling the hole & installing the lock
 
mpd said:
there is no NEC issue here or permit required, this would be up to the person"s judgment drilling the hole & installing the lock
Click to expand...
I would hang them by thier toenails if someone got hurt on a locked disconnect. I believe it would be in a direct violation of 404.8 a .. Placing a lock on a switch in the open position directly violates this requirement that they not be located where a lock exists through the handle making it not readilly accessible. As in the definition of said capable of being reached quickly for operation....etc etc
 
Many, many disconnects are capable of being locked on as well as off.
Just about every 60 amp non-fused I've used for A/Cs is like that.

Also, a lot of breaker disconnects - like the 200 amp 3R I installed this week for a service - the cover over the breaker handle can be locked, and it doesn't care whether the breaker is on or off.
 
mpd said:
so i guess locks on panel covers are illegal?
Click to expand...
It is an approved cover built by a mfg in the buisness of making covers for panels. I would like to listen to your phone conversation when your insurance co calls for its yearly visit and you tell him you are drilling out disconnects to lock them in the closed position. It would truly be priceless to me.
 
it would not be my phone conservation, because it would not involve an electrical inspection, and insurance companies do not enforce the NEC, so what is the code violation
 
Gimme a break..

Gimme a break..

Oy, my head hurts from this thread..yikes, guys, it's just a freakin padlock on a handle...anyone who isn't capable of safely adding a hole in the shackle of a disconnect surely would not be capable of even doing basic electrical work.. :roll:

As was stated here many times in this and other threads, as far as the NEC is concerned, the disconnects we're discussing are to be used for servicing the equipment, NOT for emergency shutdown!!

Any equipment that would possibly require some sort of means for emergency shutdown, would have such a means readily accessible to the operator of that machine, and it would be a mushroom button, pull cord, trip wire or light beam, none of which we're talking about here.

Drill the bloody hole, install the padlock, make sure the maintenance team and building manager if necessary have a key and move on. :)
 
so i guess locks on panel covers are illegal?
Click to expand...

As well as the deadbolt on the equipment room door?






I would like to listen to your phone conversation when your insurance co calls for its yearly visit and you tell him you are drilling out disconnects to lock them in the closed position.
Click to expand...

Closed position/open position...whatever it takes.

The disco is not there for an emergency shutdown, it's there as a disconnect source to service the equipment.....and possibly to hold fuses.
 
quogueelectric said:
I believe it would be in a direct violation of 404.8 a .. Placing a lock on a switch in the open position directly violates this requirement that they not be located where a lock exists through the handle making it not readilly accessible. As in the definition of said capable of being reached quickly for operation....etc etc
Click to expand...

Where does 404.8 say any of this?

It only requires the switch be readily accessible, not readily operable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top