Does a water heater need a disconnect switch?

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MAC702

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Clark County, NV
I don't do water heaters for business. But I've seen LOTS of them. LOTS of them. I've never seen one here with a switch. The only one I've seen with a cord-and-plug was a small one in a commercial bathroom.

A friend of mine just had a water heater replaced and says the plumbing company is telling her she needs to have an electrician install a switch before she calls for inspection.

I've never heard of this. Clark County, NV, is on the 2011 NEC.

Is this some current code? Even if it was, would it be required to upgrade to it during simple replacement of the water heater?

At least they hooked it all up and she has hot water in the meanwhile. Seems retarded not to be qualified to do an entire job, especially at the price they charged. She didn't ask me ahead of time if she should hire Yes! Plumbing.
 
MAC702 said:
I don't do water heaters for business. But I've seen LOTS of them. LOTS of them. I've never seen one here with a switch. The only one I've seen with a cord-and-plug was a small one in a commercial bathroom.

A friend of mine just had a water heater replaced and says the plumbing company is telling her she needs to have an electrician install a switch before she calls for inspection.

I've never heard of this. Clark County, NV, is on the 2011 NEC.

Is this some current code? Even if it was, would it be required to upgrade to it during simple replacement of the water heater?

At least they hooked it all up and she has hot water in the meanwhile. Seems retarded not to be qualified to do an entire job, especially at the price they charged. She didn't ask me ahead of time if she should hire Yes! Plumbing.
Click to expand...

First thing, flexible cord isn't permitted for use as a substitute for fixed wiring of a structure. Water heaters are typically fixed appliances. Ones that are more common to see with a cord and plug are gas water heaters with a electric ignitor and draft inducer fan, but they come with said cord already installed and are listed that way. Most electric water heaters are intended to be "hard wired".

As far as disconnecting means, the mentioned cord and plug where permitted is permitted to be the disconnecting means, or else you must have a disconnecting means withing sight of the appliance, or a lockable branch circuit device if it is not within sight of the appliance.

This has been the general rule for long before the 2011 NEC.
 
I've never seen flexible cord, either. It's almost always FMC directly from the j-box to the water heater.

I know we do in-sight discos for all kinds of stuff. But the fact is that I've NEVER seen them for an electric water heater, and I work in houses here from the 50's through recent construction, with normal circuit breakers.

Weird.

So, what is the normal thing used out there? A 30A 2-pole toggle switch? Can I use a cheap HVAC pull-out disco?
 
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422 part III is where your disconnecting means rules are. If it is under 300VA or 1/8 HP the branch circuit OCPD not within sight can be the disconnect and doesn't even need to be lockable. This would not apply to much of any "electric water heater" but would apply to a gas water heater that has electric controls and/or small blower on it.
 
Here is an interesting article from the UL corner in IAEI magizine:
[FONT=&quot]Question:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Has UL Listed any cord-and-plug connected central air-conditioning units, central heating furnaces or storage tank water heaters?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Answer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No, UL has not Listed cord-and-plug connected central air-conditioning equipment or central heating furnaces.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]These types of equipment have been Listed for permanent wiring installations only. They are Listed under UL product category Heating and Cooling Equipment (LZFE), located on page 223 in the 2010 UL White Book or may be found on UL’s Online Certification Directory at [/FONT][FONT=&quot]www.ul.com/database[/FONT][FONT=&quot] by entering the category code at the category code search field.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Only small capacity (5 gallons or less) electric household storage tank water heaters or electric commercial water heaters that are designed to permit removal for maintenance and repair have been Listed for cord-and-plug connection. These products are Listed under the product categories Household Water Heaters (KSDT) and Commercial Storage Tank and Booster Water Heaters (KSBZ), both located on page 220 in the 2010 UL White Book, or may be found on UL’s Online Certification Directory at [/FONT][FONT=&quot]www.ul.com/database[/FONT][FONT=&quot] and entering the category code at the category code search field.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The requirements used to investigate these products are detailed in the Standard for Safety for Household Electric Storage Tank Water Heaters, UL 174 and in the Standard for Safety for Electric Booster and Commercial Storage Tank Water Heaters, UL 1453.[/FONT]

As kwired mentioned Art 422 has your disconnect rules to which I might add 422.31(B) will allow a breaker lock as your disconnect.
I personally don't care fro them as the ones I see are useless but they are Code complinat
 
It had been a common practice to not install a separate disconnect when a water heater is located in a basement and within sight of the circuit breaker panel. I will install a disconnect if not within sight of the circuit breaker panel.
Typically is use a non fused pull- out.

It is very common to see smaller water heaters and boilers with factory fixed cords on them and I have used them as a disconnecting means.
 
Knuckle Dragger said:
It had been a common practice to not install a separate disconnect when a water heater is located in a basement and within sight of the circuit breaker panel. I will install a disconnect if not within sight of the circuit breaker panel.
Typically is use a non fused pull- out.
.
Click to expand...

We do the same......methinks the point of confusion is via 422.31's>>>

where the switch or circuit breaker is within sight from the
appliance or is lockable in accordance with 110.25.
Click to expand...

~RJ~
 
MAC702 said:
A friend of mine just had a water heater replaced and says the plumbing company is telling her she needs to have an electrician install a switch before she calls for inspection.

I've never heard of this. Clark County, NV, is on the 2011 NEC.

Is this some current code? Even if it was, would it be required to upgrade to it during simple replacement of the water heater?

At least they hooked it all up and she has hot water in the meanwhile. Seems retarded not to be qualified to do an entire job, especially at the price they charged. She didn't ask me ahead of time if she should hire Yes! Plumbing.
Click to expand...

Around here I think plumbers can do all the electrical that's down stream of the disconnect.
To installed the needed disconnect I think an EC license would be needed to pull the permit.

I'm sure that some plumbers would just stick a cheap A/C disconnect in there and say it was pre-existing .

Getting a water heater changed out is not that cheap anywhere. The last time I was called to install a disconnect for a water heater the plumbing company charged $200 extra for the permit and didn't even pull one ( I guess the price is higher if they do).
 
growler said:
Getting a water heater changed out is not that cheap anywhere. The last time I was called to install a disconnect for a water heater the plumbing company charged $200 extra for the permit and didn't even pull one ( I guess the price is higher if they do).
Click to expand...
They needed to charge enough to cover penalties should they be caught:happyyes:
 
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