New mexico code verbage

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jghooper

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Article 210. Branch circuits
(ii) (2) Laundry branch circuits. Delete the text of this section of the NEC and substitute: in addition to the number of branch circuits required by other parts of this section, at least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the laundry receptacle outlet. Such circuits shall have no other outlets.


14.10.4.12 SMOKE DETECTORS: For smoke detectors, refer to the latest adopted edition of the building code. Smoke detectors installed in new single family dwellings shall be served by a single source. When two or more smoke detectors are required in a dwelling unit, they shall be interconnected with a multi-conductor cable assembly. Location and power back-up requirement shall be in accordance with the latest adopted edition of the building code.

[14.10.4.12 NMAC - Rp, 14.10.4.12 NMAC, 6/28/2013]

What this means to me. The laundry receptacle outlet must be on a circuit dedicated to that specific receptacle. Smoke detectors must all be served by one circuit.

What does it mean to all of you?
 
at least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the laundry receptacle outlet. Such circuits shall have no other outlets.
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For the laundry it sounds like you need a single receptacle on a 20 amp circuit.

They should be using the correct term smoke alarm not smoke detector. I agree with it sounds like they want it all on one circuit.
 
infinity said:
For the laundry it sounds like you need a single receptacle on a 20 amp circuit.

They should be using the correct term smoke alarm not smoke detector. I agree with it sounds like they want it all on one circuit.
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The state is telling me they both mean the same thing. That they need to be on a dedicated circuit. Clearly that is not what it is saying. While I am not an English major these two articles say completely different things. When confronted the state simply says they have the right to interpret code. The state says I am the only person who has ever had a problem with this. I just wanted to get someone else's opinion on this.

It seems to me if they intend the code to say the same thing in multiple locations, it should when possible say the same thing verbatim.
 
So in NM you cannot have a laundry circuit that is the washing machine and an ironing set up then... like elsewhere?
Because in Jamaica I run it through a afci/gfci outlet for the iron and then to the outlet behind the machine for the machine...
 
For the laundry, I read it much like the small appliance Branch circuits... It doesn't say one receptacle, you could have 6 receptacles in the laundry room, but not also an exterior or garage receptacle. You cannot put the smoke alarm(s) on that circuit.

That the smoke alarms have to be served from a single source says to me that it or they must all be on one circuit, though this is redundant since they have to be interconnected anyway, and feeding interconnected smoke alarms from multiple sources, even if it didn't happen to be 240 volts, would violate other parts of the code, such as paralleled conductors and things that preclude what amounts to a ring circuit.

I am not seeing a conflict between the two codes.
 
JFletcher said:
For the laundry, I read it much like the small appliance Branch circuits... It doesn't say one receptacle, you could have 6 receptacles in the laundry room, but not also an exterior or garage receptacle. You cannot put the smoke alarm(s) on that circuit.

That the smoke alarms have to be served from a single source says to me that it or they must all be on one circuit, though this is redundant since they have to be interconnected anyway, and feeding interconnected smoke alarms from multiple sources, even if it didn't happen to be 240 volts, would violate other parts of the code, such as paralleled conductors and things that preclude what amounts to a ring circuit.

I am not seeing a conflict between the two codes.
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The article with respect to the laundry was included in this discussion for the purpose of comparison as the state is maintaining the bold portions both say the same thing. I am maintaining they have completely different meanings.
 
jghooper said:
The article with respect to the laundry was included in this discussion for the purpose of comparison as the state is maintaining the bold portions both say the same thing. I am maintaining they have completely different meanings.
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I agree with you. Who have you spoken to at the state level?
 
JFletcher said:
I agree with you. Who have you spoken to at the state level?
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Yesterday I spoke with the state chief Electrical inspector. He said the state interprets the code and I am the only one who has ever questioned this section. There are other anomalies in New Mexico's 4 or so pages of code which the state refuses to fix so this shouldn't come as a gigantic surprise to me. The fact is most electricians in New Mexico aren't electricians, and don't even read the code. By one county inspector own words he is the instructor and inspector. The practical problem is if the code is gibberish it is impossible to accurately interpret. The problem is compounded by the fact that English is a second language for a sizable percentage of New Mexico.
 
jghooper said:
What this means to me. The laundry receptacle outlet must be on a circuit dedicated to that specific receptacle. Smoke detectors must all be served by one circuit.

What does it mean to all of you?
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By the way they stated it I agree that the wording says only one outlet to the laundry circuit... which means you could not supply an iron there, unless it was wired from elsewhere, and that the washing machine has to be on a single not a duplex...

Still gets me that I saw a few years ago the suggestion to run an afci breaker to a gfci outlet and then to loads such as washers etc, so as to provide the afci protection for the whole circuit but also provide the gfci protection as resettable in the location nearest the appliance... yet according to the current NEC it is not allowed, unless the gfci is a blank face.. and when the code is written this way, not even that is allowed as technically a blank face gfci is an outlet..unless the washer was hard wired to this...
 
Adamjamma said:
By the way they stated it ... the washing machine has to be on a single not a duplex...
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I disagree with this part. I see no prohibition that the sole outlet cannot be a standard duplex receptacle. In fact, if this sole outlet was accessible enough, you could make it a triplex and plug in the washer, dryer, and iron.
 
MAC702 said:
I disagree with this part. I see no prohibition that the sole outlet cannot be a standard duplex receptacle. In fact, if this sole outlet was accessible enough, you could make it a triplex and plug in the washer, dryer, and iron.
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That depends on whether or not you interpret the word outlet to be a single or duplex receptacle. The word outlet is singular so to me it's one receptacle.

20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the laundry receptacle outlet
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infinity said:
That depends on whether or not you interpret the word outlet to be a single or duplex receptacle. The word outlet is singular so to me it's one receptacle.
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An easily defended interpretation. But there are other ways of looking at it.
The outlet is defined as a point on the wiring system where current is taken for utilization equipment. At a receptacle, is that point the end of the field wiring which attaches to the device, or the receptacle device itself? One can argue that a particular outlet is a receptacle outlet either because the wire is attached to a receptacle or because the outlet itself is a receptacle.
With the former interpretation, a duplex outlet can still be a single outlet, just as a simplex receptacle is, while a duplex receptacle split wired to be fed from two circuits would clearly be two outlets in one box under either interpretation.
 
Just to throw a curve, Receptacle Outlet - An outlet where one or more receptacles are installed.
Does that mean a 5 gang box with duplex receptacle outlets installed is still a receptacle outlet? :)
 
If you put in a single simplex receptacle on the 20A circuit, you still will need other circuits to plug in the washer, etc. since most of those come with 15A plugs...
 
n1ist said:
If you put in a single simplex receptacle on the 20A circuit, you still will need other circuits to plug in the washer, etc. since most of those come with 15A plugs...
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15 amp plugs will fit into a Nema 5-20 receptacle, but yes you're going to need more than one single outlet for a laundry room.
 
n1ist said:
If you put in a single simplex receptacle on the 20A circuit, you still will need other circuits to plug in the washer, etc. since most of those come with 15A plugs...
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The Simplex plug is for the washer..dedicated circuit... the fact that you are feeding it from the 20 amp breaker is not a problem since it is allowed to put a 15amp outlet on a 20 amp breaker. So you use the correct plug for the appliance... and correct outlet for the plug.

so now you have three circuits needed if you want to wash, dry and iron clothes in the one room... and you must separate the space as well, due to the working clearance requirements before space is separated..
a Washer dedicated 20 amp SP
a dryer dedicated 30 amp 2p
and a circuit for the iron to use, butnot required to be dedicated and must be outside of the physical laundry space... so, at least three feet away from the machines that make the laundry space... if you use the idea that putting laundry equipment in a room such as a basement or kitchen does not make the entire area a laundry room... so then use the idea of access clearance such as used for electrical gear, panels etc, which calls for a space of 3 feet minimum by the width or thirty inches , whichever is greater, in most cases... let’s say 2 feet then... so.. your laundry area is the two machines plus four feet in width and 3 feet in front of the machines in depth...

and the ironing can can be done outside of this space..lol...
 
Putting a 15 amp simplex receptacle on an individual branch circuit with a 20 amp ocpd is a violation of 210.21 (B)(1).

Perhaps I am misreading your post, however it seems you are implying that you need working clearance for receptacles?
 
No.. not receptacles but .. to get around classifying the whole of a basement or a room for a laundry area because there is a washing machine there, you need to classify a working space for the washing machine...
as far as using a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp OCFD that is addressed in the receptacles sections and is allowed... there are a few exceptions listed in fact... but am headed off so cannot flip through my code books at the moment...
 
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