Control Circuit in PVC

[rweccentric]

I am hoping someone can send me to the correct section of the NEC where it explains what physical protection is required for a control circuit as it comes above grade.

The details as I understand them:


We have a customer that has a card reader at their employee gate, he has asked me to see if I can show his landscaping company that this control circuit is up to code, or at least that it was when it was installed 9 years ago. (They cut through it with an edger and are refusing to pay for the damage since it wasn't up to code.) The circuit in question is a 12V card reader at an outdoor gate, which was installed in Sched. 40 PVC. Is there anything in the Code that would require this to be installed in something stronger like Rigid instead of the PVC? Or is the installation acceptable? And what sections of the NEC are relevant?

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.

 

[tom baker]

Its not the voltage but the type (power rating) of the circuit that we are concerned with. 12V is typically low voltage but not always...think of a car battery, low voltage but high power (amps).
Your card reader is probably a class 2 limited energy circuit. It does not require conduit as if the cable is damaged there is no danger of fire or shock, if the NEC required physical protection sch 40 PVC would suffice.
The rules for a class 2 limited energy circuit are in Art 725, the mother of all low voltage articles.

 

[hbiss]

We have a customer that has a card reader at their employee gate, he has asked me to see if I can show his landscaping company that this control circuit is up to code, or at least that it was when it was installed 9 years ago. (They cut through it with an edger and are refusing to pay for the damage since it wasn't up to code).

It doesn't even have to be in conduit but Sched. 40 was used to protect it against things like that. How the hell did they cut through it with a string trimmer?? So they don't think it was up to code? :lol: Don't let them wiggle out of it!

-Hal

 

[JFletcher]

It doesn't even have to be in conduit but Sched. 40 was used to protect it against things like that. How the hell did they cut through it with a string trimmer?? So they don't think it was up to code? :lol: Don't let them wiggle out of it!

-Hal

Edgers have a metal blade that rotates slower than string trimmers/weed-eaters; they're designed to not kick up rocks, last longer, and dig into the soil a bit, to give a perfect edge. String trimmers can be used for it tho holding one sideways and running it on low speed is kinda the hack way to do lawn care. You are correct tho; they damaged it, they are responsible.

 

[hbiss]

I know what an edger is but have heard many people, including "pros" call a string trimmer an edger. A true edger does a better job of trimming the grass around beds but most lawncare people use string trimmers in the way you said. With practice they can do almost as good a job. That said I can't see why they would be near a fence post with that PVC coming out of the ground with an edger unless they were careless. They should have been out following the edge of the bed, no? Now a string trimmer on the other hand could have been used to trim any growth around the post and PVC and possibly cut through it after awhile. Still carelessness. I've seen fence posts hacked up and tree trunks damaged by string trimmers.

-Hal