Readily Accessible Receptacle

[Sparky1981]

We are installing a receptacle for a small transformer to power faucets. We would like to mount this receptacle behind an apron below the sink. To access the receptacle you would need to remove screws and remove a panel, thus not meeting "readily accessible".

The receptacle is protected by a GFCI circuit. We are connecting it to the same circuit as a receptacle above the sink. This device will be mounted on the load side of the receptacle above the sink, which will have the test and reset buttons. To me this wont require the faucet power to be readily accessible.

I am not aware of any other section of the code that would require this.

Does anybody have any experience or a section of code that tells me otherwise?

As always appreciate the brain power on this forum!

 

[rc/retired]

We are installing a receptacle for a small transformer to power faucets. We would like to mount this receptacle behind an apron below the sink. To access the receptacle you would need to remove screws and remove a panel, thus not meeting "readily accessible".

The receptacle is protected by a GFCI circuit. We are connecting it to the same circuit as a receptacle above the sink. This device will be mounted on the load side of the receptacle above the sink, which will have the test and reset buttons. To me this wont require the faucet power to be readily accessible.

I am not aware of any other section of the code that would require this.

Does anybody have any experience or a section of code that tells me otherwise?

As always appreciate the brain power on this forum!

A receptacle outlet is not required to be readily accessible. I believe you're ok with the installation you propose

Ron

 

[PaulMmn]

I'm assuming your 'small transformer' is a wall-wart...

 

[augie47]

also assuming the receptacle is not GFCI as they must be readily accessible.

 

[BarryO]

The receptacle is protected by a GFCI circuit. We are connecting it to the same circuit as a receptacle above the sink. This device will be mounted on the load side of the receptacle above the sink, which will have the test and reset buttons. To me this wont require the faucet power to be readily accessible.

No different than the situation with garage opener receptacles, which aren't readily accessible but now must be GFCI'd. They're on a GFCI breaker or the load side of an upstream GFCI receptacle.

 

[PaulMmn]

No different than the situation with garage opener receptacles, which aren't readily accessible but now must be GFCI'd. They're on a GFCI breaker or the load side of an upstream GFCI receptacle.

That strikes me as very GFCI-happy. Mine's on the ceiling of the garage, a good 12' up. Not likely to be flooded out. What are the chances, however, that when you drive home on that Dark and Stormy Night, something will make it trip (lightning surge in the area?), and you have to get wet going in the front door, back to the garage, hit the reset (probably poking it with the end of a broom handle), then out in the rain to drive your car back in.

 

[jim dungar]

No different than the situation with garage opener receptacles, which aren't readily accessible but now must be GFCI'd. They're on a GFCI breaker or the load side of an upstream GFCI receptacle.

I just climbed my son's aluminum step ladder in order to push the "learn" button on the controller. GDOs are touched much more often the receptacle they are plugged into.

 

[BarryO]

That strikes me as very GFCI-happy. Mine's on the ceiling of the garage, a good 12' up. Not likely to be flooded out. What are the chances, however, that when you drive home on that Dark and Stormy Night, something will make it trip (lightning surge in the area?), and you have to get wet going in the front door, back to the garage, hit the reset (probably poking it with the end of a broom handle), then out in the rain to drive your car back in.

Yea that's the whole point of the readily-accessible requirement, so that you don't need a broom handle to reset the ground-fault function. As far as the requirement that GDO receptacles need to be ground-fault protected, there are more than one example of over-the-top things in the Code now. Don't get me started on tamper-resistant receptacles ...