68Malibu383
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I inspected a new construction home today and one of the two kitchen GFCI receptacles was located inside of a cabinet. It would be very inconvenient to reset, but is this allowed by NEC?
Accessible, Readily (Readily Accessible).
Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to actions such as to use tools, to climb over or remove obstacles, or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth.
Yep. Now here's the quandary, we inspectors do final inspections on new houses and there are NO obstacles to remove. We pass the job.Some interpretations on what is allowable may vary, but the need to remove obstacles seems pretty likely. Also seems likely that a receptacle located above countertop but not in a cabinet could also have an obstacle to move to gain access, yet most will let that go.
:huh:
The NEC does not require two receptacles. It requires two SABCs. It is conceivable to have two circuits, one feeding the top half of a duplex and the other feeding the bottom half, and having no other receptacles in the kitchen. Mind you, that would be a mighty small kitchen.. . . one of the two kitchen GFCI receptacles . . . .
I inspected a new construction home today and one of the two kitchen GFCI receptacles was located inside of a cabinet. It would be very inconvenient to reset, but is this allowed by NEC?
Id say no. If you have to remove dishes to reset the gfci, it's not readily accessible.
Yep. Now here's the quandary, we inspectors do final inspections on new houses and there are NO obstacles to remove. We pass the job.
Now, H/O moves in & creates a violation by installing obstacles in front of GFI outlets. What to do?
ob·sta·cle
/ˈäbstək(ə)l/ Learn to pronounce
noun
noun: obstacle; plural noun: obstacles
a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
Not quite. It is the GFCI mechanism (i.e., the "interrupter") that must be readily accessible. A GFCI breaker that serves a receptacle inside a cabinet would satisfy that requirement.The GFCI receptacle must be "installed in a readily accessible location" per 210.8.
First Charlie, I take your actual point that a receptacle outlet (defined) could be protected by upstream GFCI of either the breaker, receptacle or dead-front device type. You are correct.The GFCI receptacle must be "installed in a readily accessible location" per 210.8.
Not quite. It is the GFCI mechanism (i.e., the "interrupter") that must be readily accessible. A GFCI breaker that serves a receptacle inside a cabinet would satisfy that requirement.
Do all GFI types need to have no obstacles, like receptacle types and breaker types and dead-front types? I have plenty of GFI breakers in my panel, but the panel has a lock on it. Does the lock constitute a "obstacle".
In my code book it states that obstacle is "other than keys".
Go to article 100 and see what your version of the code says. They do change this sort of thing on occasion.
.... but the question is around "obstacle" and not "accessible".I would contend that the gfci receptacle in a kitchen cabinet is more accessible to someone who needs to test or reset than if the same circuit was protected by a gfci breaker in a panel in the basement.
In this case, if I put a keyed lock on the cabinet would it then be ok?
What about if the keys are lost?
Like I mentioned, NEC verbiage is many times wonky. A locked cabinet is indeed an "obstacle" for the things behind the door, and it's the very reason why people put locks on such things, to prevent an obstacle to hands that should not be there, etc.
In this case, if I put a keyed lock on the cabinet would it then be ok?
What about if the keys are lost?
Like I mentioned, NEC verbiage is many times wonky. A locked cabinet is indeed an "obstacle" for the things behind the door, and it's the very reason why people put locks on such things, to PRESENT an obstacle to hands that should not be there, etc.
.... but the question is around "obstacle" and not "accessible".
sorry, it was meant to say PRESENT, not "prevent"