Flexible Wiring above Dropped Ceiling, NEC 400.7 and 400.8

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doubleclawhammer

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In a hospital project I'm working on, some patient rooms will ceiling mounted include hoists lifts to help bariatric patients move from their bed to the toilet. The mfg cut sheet calls out the installation of a receptacle above the ceiling to charge the integral battery in the hoist via a small plug-in adapter module. From the adapter to the charger there will be a flexible cord...all provided by the mfg and all above a dropped ceiling.
Article 400.7(A)(7) permits the use of flexible cords for the "wiring of cranes and hoists", BUT Article 400.8(5) states that flexible cords are not permitted "Where concealed by...dropped ceilings."

Looking at the initial statement in Article 400.8, which states: "Unless specifically permitted in 400.7...", here are my questions: Based on your experience, does a patient lift qualify as a crane or hoist? Do you think it is Code compliant to locate a receptacle above the dropped ceiling for the lift? In your opinion, should be mfg take steps to re-design this portion of the product?

Any thoughts or opinions would be most helpful.

Thanks!
 
You can install a receptacle above a suspended ceiling but you can't use it for permanent plug in load.
the 2002 and 2005 NEC made changes to 400.8 Uses not permitted - some were saying a suspended ceiling was not a ceiling. The CMPs intent is clear. Portable cord is not allowed in a suspended ceiling space.
I have personally seen portable cord after 10-15 years where the insulation has dried out and cracked.
I can not how a cord above a ceiling for hoist would of ever been the intent 400.7A7.
Could the battery be installed in an enclosure below the ceiling and the charger plugged in nearby?
 
If you only have one or two rooms. I would consider it a hoist.
Otherwise, You should talk to the AHJ about it.
Or manufacture?
Would it be possible to hard wire it ?
I have had to pull the cord off of a condensation pump for an AC and hard wire it.
 
Tom,

Thanks so much for your response. I was hoping for a differenent opinion, but I think I can deal with this by hard-wiring the unit. I'll just need to give it some thought because the receptacle is for a plug-in transformer. If I know the transformer output voltage and KVA, I can substitute a CPT in an enclosure, and replace the flexible cord with conduit and wire. I'm certain the mfg will void any warranties, but I can deal with that as a separate issue.

Thanks again,

Ted
 
Mike Holt did a NEC question and Answer article in the July 2008 EC&M Magazine called "Stumped by the Code?" Aug 14, 2008 4:25 PM, By Mike Holt, NEC Consultant

Q. Can a receptacle for a LCD projector that is cord and plug connected be located above a suspended ceiling?

A. No. Cords are not permitted to be run through holes in structural or suspended/dropped ceilings [400.8(2)]. They are also not allowed to be concealed by walls, floors, or ceilings, or located above suspended or dropped ceilings [400.8(5)].
http://ecmweb.com/mag/stumped_by_the_code_0814/index1.html
Click to expand...

Is Mike saying that the receptacle is not allowed above a ceiling because the NEC prohibits the use of cords above the ceiling?
 
tkb said:
Is Mike saying that the receptacle is not allowed above a ceiling because the NEC prohibits the use of cords above the ceiling?
Click to expand...
Yes.

The real answer would be the same as the answers in this thread, the NEC would not prohibit the receptacle itself but, a piece of equipment that utilized a flexible cord would not be allowed to be plugged into it and left.


This is kind of the same thing with locating panels or load centers in residential bathrooms, a panel or load center could be installed in the bathroom but you couldn't install any breakers in it. :)


Roger
 
Does it make any difference if the flexible cord is on the _secondary_ side of the presumably power limited plug in adapter module?

Can you contact the manufacturer to get their answers to the code questions for your installation?

-Jon
 
doubleclawhammer said:
From the adapter to the charger there will be a flexible cord...all provided by the mfg and all above a dropped ceiling.
Click to expand...

My opinion is that this installation is one of the few permissible uses for a receptacle above a dropped ceiling. The cord from the transformer to the charger is not a "flexible cord" for the purposes of the NEC -- it is part of a listed piece of utilization equipment. Flexible cords, as discussed in the NEC, are specific cable types (SOJW, for example) and specific listed devices (extension cords, for example). The cord from the transformer to the charger is part of the UL-listed transformer/charger/lift assembly, just like the factory wiring of any other product. Perhaps more importantly, it almost certainly qualifies as a power-limited low voltage circuit.

The code does not prohibit the installation of receptacles above a dropped ceiling. If they had intended to do so, then they would have made the code say so. The prohibited condition is specifically the installation of a flexible cord, not the receptacle. This suggests that the one permissible use for a receptacle above a ceiling is to plug in a device that has no cord - a wall wart. That's what you've got. That's not prohibited. I think.
 
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