romex

[norcal]

I'll stir the pot.

What says the interior of this space is a wet/damp location?

From the 2008 NEC:

Location, Damp. Locations protected from weather and
not subject to saturation with water or other liquids but
subject to moderate degrees of moisture. Examples of such
locations include partially protected locations under canopies,
marquees, roofed open porches, and like locations,
and interior locations subject to moderate degrees of moisture,
such as some basements, some barns, and some coldstorage
warehouses.

Location, Dry. A location not normally subject to dampness
or wetness. A location classified as dry may be temporarily
subject to dampness or wetness, as in the case of a
building under construction.

Location, Wet. Installations underground or in concrete
slabs or masonry in direct contact with the earth; in locations
subject to saturation with water or other liquids, such
as vehicle washing areas; and in unprotected locations exposed
to weather.

 

[George Stolz]

You referring to the fake gutter?

Yes.

Rollie, which applies to the fake gutter?

 

[petersonra]

300.9 Raceways in Wet Locations. Above grade. Where raceways are installed in wet locations abovegrade, the interior of these raceways shall be considered to be a wet location. Insulated conductors and cables installed in raceways in wet locations abovegrade shall comply with 310.10(C).

While the OP called it a raceway, I suspect it is not really a raceway as the NEC defines it. If it was a raceway, it would violate the code to have the compressor lines in the raceway with the wiring.

 

[cowboyjwc]

i am wondering, and this probably something that seasoned electricians can answer. From your experience, lets talk theory, will the NM cable get damaged if it was installed outside of the building, in a conduit, under the eave. Besides it being a NEC violation is the manufacturer trying to sell us more stuff or the NM cable does get damaged.

Don't get me wrong i have seen some damaged NM cable that has been cooking on the roof for years, I am not talking abouyt extreme conditions. With the same token i have seen NM cable installed underground that has been there for 15 years and the jacket is still fine.

I am just wondering.

Here's my inspectors answer, I don't know and I don't care, it's what the code says.

So now to keep the tounge lashings to a minimum, it's like I tell guys all the time, whats the difference if you staple cable 8" from the box or 12" from the box? the cable doesn't know the difference, but that's not to code. What's the difference if you have 3' of clearance in front of a panel or 2' 11"? The difference is this and I told this to my boss when I got a talking to because I made someone move a transfromer that was only 5" from the wall instead of the minimum 6" like it said on the label. While that inch may not matter now, if something happened and someone got killed or hurt or the building burned, I'm sure that we would be having a whole different conversation.

It's what the code says, if you don't like it, there are ways to make changes and someone has, because you will notice that the section about the inside of a conduit being a wet location is a whole new section.

 

[iwire]

Here's my inspectors answer, I don't know and I don't care, it's what the code says.

It is what it is, deal with it.