Pics of a pretty slick pool electrical install:

[brantmacga]

This is from a new pool contractor in town; this is their 5th job. They've been doing all their own electrical so far, and they called me a week or two ago to see if I could start doing their work. Since then, I've been called to troubleshoot two of their installs. Here's one from today (the first looked just as bad).

Enjoy:

Ughh.

The GFCI was tripping with one of the shell lights connected. There was a short somewhere in the UF that was feeding it, and the bulb was blown.

 

[peter d]

What tools did you use for this troubleshoot?

Chainsaw?

Gas and a match?

Sledgehammer?

Dynamite?

 

[SEO]

I'd run out of ink in my pen writing all the violations in the picture. Probably just as bad on the other end!

 

[wireguru]

wow. it takes alot of hard work to make something so expensive look so bad.

 

[brantmacga]

yeh its pretty terrible. not sure if you can tell from the pics, but the feeder is NM run underground to a panel in detached garage, which is also fed by NM buried underground back to the house. The NM exits the wall and goes straight underground at the building; not even a pipe sleeve.

I was commenting to the guy who installed it (didn't know that at the time) how bad the work was. He told me he had it looking "real nice" until xxxxx electrical contracting company showed up to troubleshoot and "messed it all up".

 

[peter d]

I was commenting to the guy who installed it (didn't know that at the time) how bad the work was. He told me he had it looking "real nice" until xxxxx electrical contracting company showed up to troubleshoot and "messed it all up".

Priceless.

 

[wewirepgh]

Looks like my friend Dan's work

Looks like my friend Dan's work

He calls himself O'shea Electric we call him O'Shame Electric

 

[SEO]

Thats the kind of job that happens when they take the lowest price.:grin:

 

[nakulak]

that's a shame for brand new work.

I was thinking it would be nice to have a feature here with the worst of the worst - like a "Hall of Shame" ? (or is there already one ?)

 

[480sparky]

Wow! Thanks for the great start on a 3-eay weekend.

I say a great start, 'cause it can't get any worse than that!

 

[growler]

yeh its pretty terrible. not sure if you can tell from the pics, but the feeder is NM run underground to a panel in detached garage, which is also fed by NM buried underground back to the house.

It doesn't look to be buried very deep. Did they get any of this work inspected?

 

[resistance]

It doesn't look to be buried very deep. Did they get any of this work inspected?

Of coarse not! Why would they get their work inspected. It's obvious they know what they are doing--having no need for an electrician or electrical inspection. Connecting conductors is waaay too simple...........yada yada..
<----I hear and see this on a regular basis. Well was--seeing that things are slow--maybe they are partly to blame

 

[brantmacga]

It doesn't look to be buried very deep. Did they get any of this work inspected?

I seriously doubt it. I saw no permits on the premises. In that particular jurisdiction, the permit is supposed to be hung next to the equipment.
The property was out in the sticks not visible from the road. I've had a couple of my contractors try to install pools w/o permits; what they don't understand is when the random assessor's visit happens (which they do here; i got one a couple of months ago. ) the stuff is really going to hit the fan. When I was working for another EC we did a job that was unpermitted. They happened to get a visit from the assessor 6/mo later, and the taxes were applied retroactive to the last visit. The pool contractor came close to getting his business license revoked.

 

[resistance]

I guess lacerated work like this eventually gains us work! :wink:















After the customer comes to their sanity!

 

[electricalperson]

are those breakers listed for that enclosure?

 

[brantmacga]

are those breakers listed for that enclosure?

Square D's are; I'm not sure about those tandem breakers though. I've never used them in that type of panel, so I haven't looked it up. They used them to make room for another 2-pole breaker on a pump, which wasn't needed. They didn't need that many SP's either as different low voltage fixtures were on individual CB's.

 

[steelersman]

are those breakers listed for that enclosure?

at this point should it even matter?

 

[resistance]

yeh its pretty terrible. not sure if you can tell from the pics, but the feeder is NM run underground to a panel in detached garage, which is also fed by NM buried underground back to the house. The NM exits the wall and goes straight underground at the building; not even a pipe sleeve.

I was commenting to the guy who installed it (didn't know that at the time) how bad the work was. He told me he had it looking "real nice" until xxxxx electrical contracting company showed up to troubleshoot and "messed it all up".

If you aren't planning on replacing the existing work they installed, make sure you put this in writing, and have them sign it! That NM cable want last!

 

[brantmacga]

no i just replaced the bulb in the pool fixture; they were going to run a new UF and connect it.

 

[growler]

Of coarse not! Why would they get their work inspected. It's obvious they know what they are doing--having no need for an electrician or electrical inspection. Connecting conductors is waaay too simple...........yada yada.

In some areas of the country the pool companies can do their own electrical work but they still have to get an inspection on an in ground pool.

I have a brother that runs a pool company in tennessee and he has to get inspections on all the work. In many areas he can do the electrical but it still must pass inspection. That's why I asked if they permited the job and were attempting to get an inspection.

A pool is not something that you want to install without and inspection because there are to many things where you can get in trouble and not just electrical.