Conduit protection?

[kwired]

I think the question we're really asking is: Who gets to decide what protection is needed?

One approach is to assign the duty to some outside, uninvolved, expert, and let him make the call. That's what the inspector is doing. That's what many folks assert is right and proper every time we have a new code cycle.

Another approach, the more traditionally "American" approach, is to let the FREE citizen decide - and rely upon the market to help him.

"Lawn mower damage" is a very good example to use to illustrate this point. I've some rather flimsy solar lights simply stuck in the ground along my walkway .... and I've managed to not damage them at all in the past year.

By way of contrast, the nearby apartment complex has steel light poles that are leaning, or bent, or otherwise show damage, all from the activities of the grounds crew. It is almost as if these guys make it their mission to break things.

The usual response in that second situation is to keep patching things - until they get tired of 'minimal' stuff being broken, and take it upon themselves to beef things up.

There are just too many variables, too many judgement calls, for this situation to have a single answer. The OP needs to consider that the inspector just might have a better grasp of reality than he does .... and the inspector needs to know the difference between 'good design' and 'good law.'

I don't know where you are at in Nevada but if snow removal activity goes on those light poles are often damaged from that more often than from lawn care activity. Snow removal is generally hard on anything in the area - even the streets and sidewalks it is being removed from get damaged at times.

 

[renosteinke]

I'm from Reno. We're just a bit west of Los Angeles.

I didn't say a word about snow, but since you mention it ....

Around here I see most privately owned pole lights are mounted to a cylindrical concrete base, about 3-ft. tall and 2-ft. diameter. There's no 'code' requirement to do so; I suspect folks just were smart enough to recognize that they might get hit by a car, truck, or snowplow.

Oddly enough, most of the 'government' pole lights are not mounted to such structures; I have had several calls to 'make safe' such lights after a collision, and repair them later.

I've also witnessed a few instances where it took only one or two impacts for the property owner to see the wisdom in errecting bollards, or some other barrier, for protection.

 

[iwire]

.

Oddly enough, most of the 'government' pole lights are not mounted to such structures; I have had several calls to 'make safe' such lights after a collision, and repair them later.

Most 'government owened' structures along a road way are designed to break saving injury to car occupants. Raising the bases or installing bollards would be frowned on.

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/policy_guide/road_hardware/ctrmeasures/breakaway/

 

[A/A Fuel GTX]

In reality, everything is subject to physical damage given the right conditions. A #6 GEC needs protection but a #4 doesn't. If something is going to take out the #6, I say the #4 wouldn't make it either. I think the physical protection degree should be left up to the installer.

 

[petersonra]

In reality, everything is subject to physical damage given the right conditions. A #6 GEC needs protection but a #4 doesn't. If something is going to take out the #6, I say the #4 wouldn't make it either. I think the physical protection degree should be left up to the installer.

I am sort of inclined to agree. However we all know that if that was the way things were done there would be a lot of installers deciding that there was no chance of damage at all.