Class 1 Div 2 Openly Winded Area

[YTNT]

I am looking at an installation where 120V receptacles and distribution panels are to be used.

Near the area of installation but just greater than 10" in distance is a tank that on occasion is filled with hydrocarbon fluid.

I am concerned that this will still be a Class 1 Div 2 area and i will require explosion proof outlets and panels. However it is an openly winded area which I am told makes it an unclassified area.

Can someone advise as to whether or not I will still need to used explosion-proof equipment?

 

[Smart $]

Did you literally mean 10" (i.e. ten inches), or is that a typographical error? If the latter, what is the correct distance?

 

[petersonra]

Can someone advise as to whether or not I will still need to used explosion-proof equipment?

A competent person presumably determined whether the area needed to be classified or not. There should be documentation somewhere attesting to the determination. Speculation from random people is not the same thing as a competent person's signature or seal on a document.

I don't think anyone can tell you whether this area should be classified or not based on the little information you provided.

In any case, if it is an open space, and there is indeed a division 2 area, it is likely the division 2 area is pretty limited in scope and you might well be able to find a place outside of the classified area to locate the equipment you are installing.

BTW, just because something is a hydrocarbon does not mean it is especially dangerous and warrants some kind of classification for the area.

 

[YTNT]

Smart $,

It was a typographical error. It was meant to be 10' (10 feet).

The actual measured distance was 11.5'

 

[Smart $]

...
I don't think anyone can tell you whether this area should be classified or not based on the little information you provided.
...

I agree.

 

[rbalex]

I'm gritting my teeth here. Since both of the two previous commenters have asked and/or confirmed relevant issues, I usually try to keep out of it.

The OP has identified their location as Tabago. I don't know which edition of the NEC, if any, is used there. (It is possible it is an IEC application.) However, assuming the NEC applies, the specific requirement for properly documenting classified locations has been in place since 2002 [Section 500.4(A)]. Who is qualified to do it or how it is enforced is up to local jurisdictions.

Assuming the contents of the tank is flammable, this is one of the few cases where electrical area classification can be determined directly from the NEC [Art 515; Table 515.3]. Open space is relevant, wind is not.