I went to a job last week where the guy is installing a generator. He brought the generator feed from the other side of the house out through the attic soffit. The wire was too short so he set a j-box. He then brought the line out of the meter socket into that same j-box, then took both in separate conduits to the ATS. I'm thinking that this is not allowed. All I have found is Article 230.7. I view this as him using the j-box as a continuation of his raceway. Thoughts, opinions?
Art 230.7 (2020) Mixing feeder and service in j-box
- Thread starter Chamuit
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
The code is specific and does not include junction box. Maybe it should. The restriction will be expanded to include handholes in the 2023 code.
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
AHJ rules usually prohibit metered and unmetered conductors in the same raceway or enclosure other than those owner/controlled by the utility.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
Wouldn't that be an auxillary gutter but it does fit the definition of raceway
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
That is a wireway and not an auxiliary gutter and a wireway is a raceway.
wwhitney
Senior Member
- Location
- Berkeley, CA
- Occupation
- Retired
So what's the difference between a wireway and a large rectangular pull or junction box?
Cheers, Wayne
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Because is does not supplement the wiring space in an enclosure. An auxiliary gutter is not connected to the equipment via nipples. It is directly attached to the equipment in a manner that provides more interior wiring space for that equipment. They are very rare and almost everything that is called an auxiliary gutter by electricians is really a wireway.
The last paragraph of the following document is saying the same as what I am saying.
CQD: 7/13/2015
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Only listings and definitions show the difference between those items.
230.7 needs some work. There is no reason to permit the mixing of service and non-service conductors in any type of raceway or enclosure except the enclosure that contains the service equipment, but the code stops short of saying that. The code only prohibits the mixing of those conductors in raceways and cables.
wwhitney
Senior Member
- Location
- Berkeley, CA
- Occupation
- Retired
So if I'm reading the articles correctly, an wet location metal wireway needs to be listed, but a wet location metal junction box does not. If so, can I use a product listed as a wet location metal wireway but say I'm using it as an unlisted junction box?
Cheers, Wayne
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Only YOUR AHJ knows the answer to a question like that.
wwhitney
Senior Member
- Location
- Berkeley, CA
- Occupation
- Retired
True in practice, but I don't see how a listing can take away permissions for use, only grant them. So if a given piece of metal would pass as an unlisted wet location junction box, then I would think it could be used as such, whether or not it has a listing as a wet location metal wireway.
Cheers, Wayne
I appreciate everyone’s feed back.
Dennis’s graphic in #4 is where my thinking goes. This is a county location, so no AHJ. I am “overseeing” the job for a company bigwig’s friend.
I’m going to make him rework his piping before they pull wire tomorrow.
Dennis’s graphic in #4 is where my thinking goes. This is a county location, so no AHJ. I am “overseeing” the job for a company bigwig’s friend.
I’m going to make him rework his piping before they pull wire tomorrow.
- Status