Gfci in lab

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jcole

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Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Hello guys and gals.

I noticed in our industrial lab that the countertop receptacles used for testing equipment was not gfci protected and are within 6' of a sink. I am assuming they did not need to be back in the late eighties when the building was built.

Are they required now? If so, when did that change?

My code book is at work and it is the 2008 code.

Thanks for the replies.
 
jcole said:
Hello guys and gals.

I noticed in our industrial lab that the countertop receptacles used for testing equipment was not gfci protected and are within 6' of a sink. I am assuming they did not need to be back in the late eighties when the building was built.

Are they required now? If so, when did that change?

My code book is at work and it is the 2008 code.

Thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...

There is an exception for this in 210.8(B)(5) in the 2017 NEC. As I recall, this exception has been in the code since about the 2008 edition.
 
so sump pumps were disallowed since 2005 iteration?

but the sump specs call for the gfi anyway
 
wyreman said:
so sump pumps were disallowed since 2005 iteration?

but the sump specs call for the gfi anyway
Click to expand...

It looks like sump pumps were excepted from the requirement since 1990. Installation instructions can be more stringent.
 
To answer the op questions perhaps this is the case
(5) Sinks — where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m
(6 ft) of the outside edge of the sink
Exception No. 1 to (5): In industrial laboratories, receptacles
used to supply equipment where removal of power
would introduce a greater hazard shall be permitted to be
installed without GFCI protection.
Click to expand...
 
If GFCI wasn't required at the time of installation they are still code compliant if unchanged. That don't mean OSHA or an insurance company won't want it changed anyhow.

Sump pumps do not require GFCI protection. If they are cord and plug connected the receptacle outlet may still require GFCI protection though, this is dependent on outlet location and not what the load is.
 
kwired said:
If GFCI wasn't required at the time of installation they are still code compliant if unchanged. That don't mean OSHA or an insurance company won't want it changed anyhow.

Sump pumps do not require GFCI protection. If they are cord and plug connected the receptacle outlet may still require GFCI protection though, this is dependent on outlet location and not what the load is.
Click to expand...

• Risk of electric shock. This pump is supplied with a grounding conductor and
grounding-type attachment plug. Install or connect to a circuit that is protected by a
GFCI, ground fault circuit interruptor.

From https://s3.amazonaws.com/pumpproduc...11+Sump-Effluent+Pump+Installation+Manual.pdf

But I digress.
 
dkidd said:
It looks like sump pumps were excepted from the requirement since 1990. Installation instructions can be more stringent.
Click to expand...
excepted from what requirement? Sump pumps were never directly required to have GFCI protection by NEC. They often get plugged into receptacles that are in a location that requires protection though. There used to be an exception for single receptacles for dedicated appliances to be omitted from GFCI protection requirements, but that went away in either 2002 or 2005 I believe (I'm leaning more toward 2005).
 
kwired said:
excepted from what requirement? Sump pumps were never directly required to have GFCI protection by NEC. They often get plugged into receptacles that are in a location that requires protection though. There used to be an exception for single receptacles for dedicated appliances to be omitted from GFCI protection requirements, but that went away in either 2002 or 2005 I believe (I'm leaning more toward 2005).
Click to expand...

2008 IIRC.
 
It is worth noting that the exception has its limitations:
Exception No. 1 to (5): In industrial laboratories, receptacles used to supply equipment where removal of power would introduce a greater hazard shall be permitted to be installed without GFCI protection.
Click to expand...
That does not mean that receptacles in labs don't need GFCI protection. You have to consider what will be plugged into the receptacle, and what bad thing might happen if that item loses power. If a GFCI trips and ruins a lab experiment so that they will have to start it all over again, that is not a sufficient reason for removing the GFCI device from the circuit. If on the other hand some type of chemical mixing is going on, and if a loss of power would cause the release of toxic fumes into the room, then it is appropriate not to have GFCI protection for that circuit.
 
data dialer for phase loss monitor

data dialer for phase loss monitor

jumper said:
2008 IIRC.
Click to expand...

I still think that sump pumps and freezers with dedicated receptacles should have only been installed before 2008.
Also garage door outlets on the ceiling

one workaround is to get a battery backup on the power and connect it to a dialer that will let you know when the power went out.
We used to have alot of that at work, but that was with POTS.
I wonder how we would do that now with a data line?
 
wyreman said:
I still think that sump pumps and freezers with dedicated receptacles should have only been installed before 2008.
Also garage door outlets on the ceiling

one workaround is to get a battery backup on the power and connect it to a dialer that will let you know when the power went out.
We used to have alot of that at work, but that was with POTS.
I wonder how we would do that now with a data line?
Click to expand...

Don't know what is all out there, but probably is applications and services that can notify you via data line. I also imagine you still can connect a traditional "dialer" to some VOIP type devices.
 
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