I Thought You Would like This

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Pierre C Belarge

Pierre C Belarge

Senior Member
Location
Westchester County, New York
Yesterday, I was called out to consult on a job for an electrical contractor. He did not tell me any specifics, just that he needed some help. I get to the job and he shows me around. To his delight, he led me to this:


Now mind you, if you cannot tell this is wiring for a Hot Tub that has been in for a couple of years. :grin:

HotTub-UFwire1.jpg



HotTub-UFwire4.jpg



From here it is just a mess, running through the shrubs

HotTub-UFwire6.jpg


HotTub-UFwire20.jpg




Nice entry to the building

HotTub-UFwire9.jpg




My favorite part of the installation

HotTub-UFwire16.jpg


Bonding at its best
HotTub-UFwire14.jpg
 
Ohhh myyyyyyyyyyy, that one went straight to the favorites. Is this the tub with the 3 guys, and a power strip floating on sandals?:roll: :grin:

I don't even want to know what you had to say.
 
The UF going into the panel is a classic example of what is called an "Assured Grounded Program".

The Program calls for you to visually inspect (hence, 'assure') the ground wire and make sure it is touching the connector. :grin:
 
Are you saying that this is wrong ? Or are you commenting that the tub is not 6ft from the house ? I think we need JimW's in put on this if I remember correctly he is the local Hot Tub expert...:grin:
 
480sparky said:
From the photos, I'll bet good money a hack could have done it in about an hour.
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But just think of the Savings. Who cares if the whole family gets killed in the hot tub one day, it will make a good news story and maybe even you tube. "At least we didn't have to pay those awful prices the professionals charge" :confused:
 
acrwc10 said:
But just think of the Savings. Who cares if the whole family gets killed in the hot tub one day, it will make a good news story and maybe even you tube. "At least we didn't have to pay those awful prices the professionals charge" :confused:
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I respond to the 'savings' attitude-people with "And how much less would a car cost if it didn't have brake lights, turn signals, a horn, safety glass, headlights, seat belts, rear-view mirrors, shock absorbers....?"
 
480sparky said:
I respond to the 'savings' attitude-people with "And how much less would a car cost if it didn't have brake lights, turn signals, a horn, safety glass, headlights, seat belts, rear-view mirrors, shock absorbers....?"
Click to expand...

But look at the sound system they can put into it without waisting all that money on "safety" :cool:

I agree I won't work for people that start getting "dangerously-cheap". I hate when you tell some one "code does not allow that" and they roll their eyes upward and sigh, as if code is a suggestion to be set aside when it is inconvenient to do a job by the book.
 
From the look of the work I wouldn't think it was done by a homeowner.

There was a romex connector and I did see one staple, also there was some sort of an attempt at grounding. The person probably had some knowledge of electrical. They did install a disconnect and I don't think the cable was originally on the ground. Looks as if the siding guys pulled it loose when new siding installed.

This is just a guess but my guess would be a helper/apprentice doing side work. Very little experience but some.

Most of the homeowners I see run a piece of SO cord and it's a done deal. No staples, no connectors, no disconnect and no worrying about ground. Darwin knew what he was talking about. :grin: :grin:
 
growler said:
.....Looks as if the siding guys pulled it loose when new siding installed......
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Also looks as if the place got a new roof, there being pieces of shingles on the ground. Then again, maybe they just really need a new roof!

And from the looks of the screws on the panel cover, was it a Zinsco?
 
I'm assuming the "Connecticut Electric" box is a disconnect/GFCI unit?

The only saving grace to this mess, assuming a GFCI is present either in the panel or the enclosure outside, is that GFCI's don't need an EGC to operate.
 
peter d said:
I'm assuming the "Connecticut Electric" box is a disconnect/GFCI unit?

The only saving grace to this mess, assuming a GFCI is present either in the panel or the enclosure outside, is that GFCI's don't need an EGC to operate.
Click to expand...


Look closely at the way this is grounded. It looks to me as if there was plenty of ground to reach the ground bar originally. If he was going to just wrap it around a screw then why leave all that extra wire.

It is possible that someone removed the cable from the panel to run siding and when they replaced them they didn't consider the ground important.

I think there is new siding because the cable TV is also laying on the ground. A painter would just paint over it. Also, you can see staple marks on the cable ( rust ) where it comes out of the exterior wall.

I would like to see inside the disconnect to see if it is bonded and how he made up the ground connections. If he did his work correctly in the disconnect then he probably originally had the ground at the panel made up.

It's not good work but I do believe there has been some tampering.
 
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