Grounding issue

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teelcon

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I have a new wal mart store ,that has a green wire pulled to the french fryer and to the rtu unit and it is used as a phase condutor and has been remarked with orange tape. The electrical inspector told the contractor he could do this and is telling me it is not a code violation. I contend it is a violation of 250-119. feed back please

tim
 
I would have issue with a reientification of a green wire, such that it could be used as a phase conductor. We have some great inspectors here in the forum, and expect they will wonder where this inspectors logic was.

I offer the following to support my thoughts -

90.1(A) Practical safeguarding of persons

110.3(A) Wonder how the roll of green wire was identified to be used?

Article 200.6 & 200.7 thought it was important enough to give verbage to reidentifying the grounded conductor.

250.119

I try to be careful of hack work, but this rises beyond the mark of a hack! Think this inspector is the kind that get the inspection community a bad rap!
 
Sometimes you'll see green marked with yellow tape for a clean ground from lack of green wire with yellow stripe, but that's not really a "phase conductor" is it?

That's worse than hack. We're not supposed to say the words for what this is on here.
 
I thought the only time you could re-identify a conductor was in a manufactured cable assembly (MC cable), not if pulled in a conduit. Regardless this is totally hack and should be replaced, for safety if nothing else.
 
Green or green with one or more yellow stripes is permitted for standard equipment ground conductor identification. Green with a yellow stripe is not necessarily an isolated ground conductor, although we see that as a common method for isolated ground conductor identification.


The last sentence of
250.119 Identification of Equipment Grounding Conductors.
...Conductors with insulation or individual covering that is green, green with one or more yellow stripes, or otherwise identified as permitted by this section shall not be used for ungrounded or grounded circuit conductors.


Identification of small conductors of any portion of the circuit, grounded, ungrounded, equipment grounding, is an issue that seems to pop up its head almost everyday. And has been like that since long before I started work in this industry.

Until there is equal enforcement of such installations, they will not stop.
It is not up to the inspector to decide which code sections he/she will enforce, it is simply our job to enforce the code as written.
 
Pierre C Belarge said:
Until there is equal enforcement of such installations, they will not stop.
It is not up to the inspector to decide which code sections he/she will enforce, it is simply our job to enforce the code as written.
Click to expand...


Pierre,

I have fought the #6 and smaller here in DC for the 3 years I have been here. I see daylight now (Code is winning). Intent is simply the NEC had to draw a line somewhere and there it is. Good post Pierre!
 
Tim, is this a conduit or cable? What size is this conductor, as well as the others? What are the remaining colors in use? What is now being used for EGC'ing?

Random thoughts:

If it's a conduit: Why was a green pulled to begin with?

If it's a cable: What is the white wire being used for?
 
arossi said:
I thought the only time you could re-identify a conductor was in a manufactured cable assembly (MC cable), not if pulled in a conduit.
Click to expand...

I hope this isn't true....I have re-identified plenty of #2's and 3/0's with blue and red and white tape after pulling into conduit and landing them
 
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It is in conduit, after looking at the installation again, they have pulled green wires to 3 fryers, an RTU and a Pan washer, 2 fryers have 2 green wires pulled, after pulling the panel cover the green wires are tapped back to the conduit. some of the conductors are #2 and some are #6. Does not matter it is a direct violation of 250-119 of which the last sentance states any conductor with a covering of green or green with a yellow stripe shall not be used as an ungrounded or grounded circuit conductor. which means you can not even reidentify it with white tape for a neutral or grounded conductor
 
I got that....i thought he was referring to ungrounded conductors or saying you couldn't reidentify wires you pulled into conduit...i started to get worried:cool:
 
it is in conduit, as for as using green they had green left over and asked the inspector if they could use it and reidentify. I can not believe everyone involved had their head stuck somewhere else rather than with the task at hand. My 16 year old son who works with me knew better. unfortunaly or fortunatly our ky code includes a code of ethics which requires me to report it to chief electrical inspector. So I have to report it and then continue to work with this inspector whom I have known to be competant and reasonably through.
 
teelcon said:
it is in conduit, as for as using green they had green left over and asked the inspector if they could use it and reidentify.
Click to expand...
Oh, so they could have wired using all white, and he'd allow the same thing?

"Okay, but only if it's because you had some extra white." Oy vey! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

There's never an excuse for using the wrong color in conduit. This inspector shouldn't be one.
 
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