Plugmold in an air conditioning supply duct.

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DaveSchlarb

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I just found a 6' Plugmold in an air conditioning supply duct running under a floor... I know that the flexible cords that are plugged into it have to go, but my question is does the plugmold need to go as well...

Thanks!
 
DaveSchlarb said:
I just found a 6' Plugmold in an air conditioning supply duct running under a floor... I know that the flexible cords that are plugged into it have to go, but my question is does the plugmold need to go as well...
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Holy guacamole! And welcome to the forum.

I day yes, it should not be there. How does it receive power?
 
PaulMmn said:
What were the cords plugged into it feeding??
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This duct is a floor trench and the cords disappear into a knotted mass of coax and audio cable somewhere under the room. I haven't gone spelunking to trace them yet... I'm guessing that they are probably extension cords that are run to the other side of the room.
 
Depending on the relative sizes, there might be some concern with obstruction of the air flow in the duct. And any wiring there should be plenum rated for smoke generation (also the plugmold itself!)

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Thanks Everyone! I found the plugmold when I was in the process of ripping out all of the LV cable. I'd like to say that it surprised me, but nothing in this building surprises me anymore... TONS of hack work...
 
Frank DuVal said:
This isn't a computer floor type HVAC plenum is it?
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I wouldn't think so technically... it was originally designed to supply cooling to old video editing equipment, and based on what I've seen in other places in this building, someone decided that it looked like a good place to run their cables. The electrical prints do not show anything there, LV or otherwise.
 
DaveSchlarb said:
does the plugmold need to go as well...

Thanks!
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first thing is if you remove all the cords it really doesn't serve any purpose anymore.

general rule is any wiring within environmental air spaces is supposed to only serve equipment within the space and such equipment generally must be something that is acting upon the environmental air. Some exceptions are spaces above ceilings used for environmental air and space between framing members used for environmental air movement.

If it is actually in a duct and not a building space used for environmental air - I think code is clear that it can't be there at all if it isn't something associated with the air.
 
kwired said:
first thing is if you remove all the cords it really doesn't serve any purpose anymore.

general rule is any wiring within environmental air spaces is supposed to only serve equipment within the space and such equipment generally must be something that is acting upon the environmental air. Some exceptions are spaces above ceilings used for environmental air and space between framing members used for environmental air movement.

If it is actually in a duct and not a building space used for environmental air - I think code is clear that it can't be there at all if it isn't something associated with the air.
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I think that this gives me the ammo that I need to be able to explain why they can't be there to management.

Thanks Everyone!!!
 
But if it is no longer being used for A/C purposes (air feed disconnected or permanently blocked off) you can do whatever you want with it, subject to other rules for wiring method used. It should not matter why it was built, just how it is now being used.
 
GoldDigger said:
But if it is no longer being used for A/C purposes (air feed disconnected or permanently blocked off) you can do whatever you want with it, subject to other rules for wiring method used. It should not matter why it was built, just how it is now being used.
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It is still in use for A/C... I ripped out about 300 pounds of coax from the other end of it about a year ago, and just about froze to death. lol
 
DaveSchlarb said:
It is still in use for A/C... I ripped out about 300 pounds of coax from the other end of it about a year ago, and just about froze to death. lol
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In post #12 you said it was originally used to cool some old equipment. If that equipment is no longer there, is it possible to remove the A/C air connection too?

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GoldDigger said:
In post #12 you said it was originally used to cool some old equipment. If that equipment is no longer there, is it possible to remove the A/C air connection too?

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I wish because it is fed by the biggest, most expensive RTU that we have. At the end that I ripped the coax out of it's cooling our server racks, and some of the old equipment, that it serves, is still in use, but the old lv cabling that is in there has been bypassed.
 
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