Kitchen counter pop-up receptacles

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480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
You might run afoul of getting it accepted due to it being plug-n-cord connected. 400.12.

T&B used to make one that looks identical but was hard-wired. They discontinued them a few years back and it took me a lot of work to locate one for a hole in a c'top I had cut in.
 

jeremy.zinkofsky

Senior Member
Location
nj
Article 400 only applies to cords that are listed under UL 62, refer to 400.1 and Informative Annex A. The cord that comes with the pop-up receptacle is most likely listed under UL 817 and is not a flexible cord or cable. This means that you are allowed to conceal the power cord, run through members, etc.

Keep in mind what code cycle your municipality is under. The 2017 NEC corrected this discrepancy and placed cord sets and cord adapters under the scope of Article 400.
 

jeremy.zinkofsky

Senior Member
Location
nj

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
A colleague asked me if it was Code compliant to install pop-up receptacles on a kitchen counter surface. My first response was that it was not. But, then I found these on the Internet :

https://www.kitchenpowerpopups.com/...WVij1JlIyV6-DBkyBPt3tUY18lVgc-YcaAjUKEALw_wcB

Any thoughts on doing this and getting past an inspection. Obviously they will have to be GFCI protected.


Yes it is compliant to have a pop up receptacle installed in the counter. However, if it is not direct wired someone could argue that the required outlet is under the counter and thus does not qualify as the compliant receptacle. The plug in version is really not much different than a plug strip.
 

PaulMmn

Senior Member
Location
Union, KY, USA
Occupation
EIT - Engineer in Training, Lafayette College
Anything popping out of a kitchen countertop is going to be filled with grunge in a matter of months, if not days! One good spill of pancake batter...

How long will the 'pop-up' function continue to function without the spring breaking or rusting away? Then the only way to pop it up will be by sticking a knife in the gap around the fixture and prying it up.
 

packersparky

Senior Member
Location
Wisconsin
Occupation
Inspector
Article 400 only applies to cords that are listed under UL 62, refer to 400.1 and Informative Annex A. The cord that comes with the pop-up receptacle is most likely listed under UL 817 and is not a flexible cord or cable. This means that you are allowed to conceal the power cord, run through members, etc.

Keep in mind what code cycle your municipality is under. The 2017 NEC corrected this discrepancy and placed cord sets and cord adapters under the scope of Article 400.

400.12 does seem to apply to flexible cord sets and power supply cords.


Informational Note: UL 817, Cord Sets and Power-Supply Cords,
allows the use of flexible cords manufactured in accordance
with UL 62, Flexible Cords and Cables. See 400.10 and 400.12 for
flexible cords that are part of a listed cord set or power-supply
cord.

400.12 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted in
400.10, flexible cables, flexible cord sets, and power supply
cords shall not be used for the following:
(1) As a substitute for the fixed wiring of
 

jeremy.zinkofsky

Senior Member
Location
nj
400.12 does seem to apply to flexible cord sets and power supply cords.


Informational Note: UL 817, Cord Sets and Power-Supply Cords,
allows the use of flexible cords manufactured in accordance
with UL 62, Flexible Cords and Cables. See 400.10 and 400.12 for
flexible cords that are part of a listed cord set or power-supply
cord.

400.12 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted in
400.10, flexible cables, flexible cord sets, and power supply
cords shall not be used for the following:


What code year are you referring to?

400.12 does not exist in the 2014 NEC.

Either way, UL 817 products are not within the scope of 400.1 as they are not listed as flexible cords. So the entirety of article 400 can be ignored.
 

jeremy.zinkofsky

Senior Member
Location
nj
I don't get this. A flexible cord can be a power cord...NO?

It's all about the UL listing. All products, means and methods, etc. have to be listed for their use. This effectively categorizes or defines the difference between products. For example, the NEC doesn't combine the uses permitted for EMT and Rigid even though they are both conduit. They have different UL listings.

The listing classifies the product. So a UL 62 product is not the same as a UL 817, which is essentially what i am arguing.

To answer your question, a power cord can only be a flexible cord if it is listed under UL 62.
 

packersparky

Senior Member
Location
Wisconsin
Occupation
Inspector
It's all about the UL listing. All products, means and methods, etc. have to be listed for their use. This effectively categorizes or defines the difference between products. For example, the NEC doesn't combine the uses permitted for EMT and Rigid even though they are both conduit. They have different UL listings.

The listing classifies the product. So a UL 62 product is not the same as a UL 817, which is essentially what i am arguing.

To answer your question, a power cord can only be a flexible cord if it is listed under UL 62.

That changed in the 2017 NEC. Look at the informational note in post #10.

2014 NEC
400.8 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted
in 400.7, flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the
following:

2017 NEC
400.12 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted in
400.10, flexible cables, flexible cord sets, and power supply
cords shall not be used for the following:
 
Last edited:

jeremy.zinkofsky

Senior Member
Location
nj
That changed in the 2017 NEC. Look at the informational note in post #10.

2014 NEC
400.8 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted
in 400.7, flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the
following:

2017 NEC
400.12 Uses Not Permitted. Unless specifically permitted in
400.10, flexible cables, flexible cord sets, and power supply
cords shall not be used for the following:

Correct and i mentioned that in post #4.

This also validates what i have been saying. Why else would the 2017 code need to add specific "power supply cord" language to article 400 if they were already considered flexible cords. Shows that power cords were not article 400 items.
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
The only pop up currently on the market that complies with 406.5(E) in the 2017 code for countertop receptacles in the one made by Hubbell. If you are on the 2014, the rules were different and a number of the hard-wired popups are compliant.
 

curt swartz

Electrical Contractor - San Jose, CA
Location
San Jose, CA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Thanks for all your responses on this topic. I'm not sure what my colleague has done with this situation but I just came up with another question. With respect to the spacing of receptacles, if you use these pop-ups how do you adequately space these on the counter and exactly where do you locate them on the counter top and still be Code compliant ?
 
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