Arc fault/in-use cover-Code Violation?????

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corpbug

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A local Electrical Inspector has rejected a final inspection on a house that has a 30-amp generator panel, which has one single-pole arc fault breaker feeding three bedroom ceiling fans with lights, with other miscellaneous breakers. The other arc fault breakers required are in main panel.

Also, the same Electrical Inspector rejected arlington in-use cover DBVMIW that has white face cover and required us to change cover to clear before he would pass the final inspection.

Are these items code violations?

Butch Peacock, President
Seminole Electrical Services, Inc.

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Easy question first, the code doesn't care what color your in-use cover is. The inspector is way off. Ask for a code section. 2nd question, I'm not quite sure I follow. Will all bedroom outlets be afci protected in the event of an outage? If only the 30a gen. panel is fed, & the fan/lights are protected, I would say that again, your inspector is off.
 
I think my answer is going to be the same as rcarroll's. But I will put it in a different way.

I think you are saying that if the utility power were to be lost, the generator would supply power to a 30 amp panel. On that panel, there are several breakers, serving several loads. One of those breakers serves a bedroom, and it is an AFCI breaker.

I infer that with the generator on-line, there is no power to any outlets in the bedroom except the three outlets for ceiling fans and lights. Put another way, every outlet in the bedroom that has power will also have AFCI protection.

If my description is accurate, then you have no violation.
 
Sounds like a fairly new inspector. If I understand your explanation correctly, your bedroom lights are fed from the generator panel, but the receptacles are not! I wonder if the inspector has misunderstood the system and thinks that the bedroom recepts will be energized by the generator without AFCI protection!???
Certainly sounds like a legal and well planned installation to me!
Hopefully you will be able to explain the function of the system in more detail and gain the inspectors approval.

As for the in-use cover, I'm stumped! Cannot imagine what the problem is here unless the inspector has never seen a non-clear cover before!
 
I am not sure I understand the problem with the AFCI, so I will let the others answer that.
As for the in-use cover, no piece of equipment can be installed unless it is approved - see 110.2. The AHJ (Authority having Jurisdiction is tasked with approving equipment - see 90.4. The question then is, who is the AHJ. If it is the inspector, then he has not approved the equipment and you must install something that he will approve. Most AHJ's base their approval on the UL Listing and labeling, but they are not required to. If the inspector is not the AHJ, then you will need to appeal his ruling to the AHJ and then the inspector will have to justify his reason for rejecting this piece of UL Listed equipment. That could be an interesting discussion.
 
my opinion is that if it is ul approved then it is pefectly ok tyo use the device. The ahj making some other approval is in my opinion not his job and he is way out of line.
 
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