Daisy Chain

We used whips unless the structural ceiling was a long distance from the fixtures.
 
For 2X4 lay in style fixtures we would use whips. For down lights fixture to fixture with MC cable.
 
If the troffers are close together where you can daisy chain with a whip of 6' or less, you can install these whips unsupported if you use listed connectors. The NEC considers the connectors as adequate support. If they are further apart, I like to run EMT and use a J box and have 3 or 4 whips to the fixtures. The same 6' rule applies to these whips from a J box.
 
Rick 0920 said:
If the troffers are close together where you can daisy chain with a whip of 6' or less, you can install these whips unsupported if you use listed connectors. The NEC considers the connectors as adequate support. If they are further apart, I like to run EMT and use a J box and have 3 or 4 whips to the fixtures. The same 6' rule applies to these whips from a J box.
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But you can't daisy chain with a whip (assuming we are talking about the typical whips with 18 gauge conductors)
 
We would typically use whips with the boxes located so that each box could serve multiple fixtures.
I saw one project where they were daisy chained using EMT and a 4 square box on the top of each fixture. The internal wires pulled in to the box via a chase nipple. Not sure what happened if they wanted to change out or relocate a fixture:)
 
On a side note, in a residential setting where the local codes do not permit #14 wire and 15 amp circuits for power and lighting, I have seen electricians pull #12 feeds in and out of switch locations but pull #14 switchlegs to lighting outlets. The inspectors turn them down for this because they consider the smaller switchleg a "tap" conductor. How is this any different than using a smaller conductor for a troffer in a whip?
 
Rick 0920 said:
On a side note, in a residential setting where the local codes do not permit #14 wire and 15 amp circuits for power and lighting, I have seen electricians pull #12 feeds in and out of switch locations but pull #14 switchlegs to lighting outlets. The inspectors turn them down for this because they consider the smaller switchleg a "tap" conductor. How is this any different than using a smaller conductor for a troffer in a whip?
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Because the 14 would be a branch circuit conductor and you can't have taps on branch circuits. The conductors in the whip are fixture wires and 240.4(E)(2) refers you to 240.5(B)(2) for the overcurrent protection of fixture wire.

It seems strange that you can't use 14 THHN in an application where you can use 18 TFFN, but that is what the code says.

Even if you make your own whips, you would have to use wire sized to the branch circuit OCPD, unless you used fixture wire to make the whip.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
Because the 14 would be a branch circuit conductor and you can't have taps on branch circuits. The conductors in the whip are fixture wires and 240.4(E)(2) refers you to 240.5(B)(2) for the overcurrent protection of fixture wire.

It seems strange that you can't use 14 THHN in an application where you can use 18 TFFN, but that is what the code says.

Even if you make your own whips, you would have to use wire sized to the branch circuit OCPD, unless you used fixture wire to make the whip.
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Can you still have a tap on a branch circuit supplying a counter mounted cooking unit and and a cabinet mounted oven? I think I remember that in one of the notes of T.220.55. But I think it's the only place on a branch circuit that allows tap conductors? Thank you for the response.
 
Rick 0920 said:
Can you still have a tap on a branch circuit supplying a counter mounted cooking unit and and a cabinet mounted oven? I think I remember that in one of the notes of T.220.55. But I think it's the only place on a branch circuit that allows tap conductors? Thank you for the response.
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See 210.19(B) Exception 1
 
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