service cable inside house

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bccodes

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I know its wrong but I have an inspection to do where the cable between meter and panel that is supposed to "immediatly" go to the panel board does so, however it travels throughan inside partition for about 2 or maybe 4 feet . I have no real issue with this distance but don't like it being in a wall.

What I need is the code reference that sez it needs to be exposed .

Being in a basement utility rm. I could tell them not to drywall it but its still running through the studs,and what happens a week after final inspection????
 
bccodes said:
I know its wrong but I have an inspection to do where the cable between meter and panel that is supposed to "immediatly" go to the panel board does so, however it travels throughan inside partition for about 2 or maybe 4 feet . I have no real issue with this distance but don't like it being in a wall.

What I need is the code reference that sez it needs to be exposed .

Being in a basement utility rm. I could tell them not to drywall it but its still running through the studs,and what happens a week after final inspection????
Click to expand...

There is no code that says that those conductors ned to stay exposed. They can be drywalled over like any other sheathed cable
 
NEC lets it up to the ahj as to how far is too far.
As said ,exsposed is not required.
I would want some protection . nail plate or rigid pipe as sleeve. With nothing some day it might get a nail and sparks will fly. So being your the ahj guess its your call.
 
service cable inside house

My call has been 6ft for the immediatly rule and sometimes a little further with a site visit to see the problem and then some conduit or suitable protection. The inspector before me used 6ft and alot of the guys think its the code and I felt it was reasonable. I will of course check for nail plates but thought for sure exposed was required. I spent alot of time in the book looking , so I guess its just not there....

Thanks for your input..bc
 
bccodes said:
My call has been 6ft for the immediatly rule and sometimes a little further with a site visit to see the problem and then some conduit or suitable protection. The inspector before me used 6ft and alot of the guys think its the code and I felt it was reasonable. I will of course check for nail plates but thought for sure exposed was required. I spent alot of time in the book looking , so I guess its just not there....

Thanks for your input..bc
Click to expand...

Around here the rule in some places is 5' and some 6',,,,but that's for new construction.

If you're upgrading from a 100 to a 200, and leave the meter location, and panel location, the same as they were, you can grandfather in. I've set them 15' deep in a house. I'm quite sure my competition bid it for service disco and SER, so I get the job:grin:
 
230.6 Conductors Considered Outside the Building.
Conductors shall be considered outside of a building or other structure under any of the following conditions:

(1) Where installed under not less than 50 mm (2 in.) of concrete beneath a building or other structure

(2) Where installed within a building or other structure in a raceway that is encased in concrete or brick not less than 50 mm (2 in.) thick

(3) Where installed in any vault that meets the construction requirements of Article 450, Part III

(4) Where installed in conduit and under not less than 450 mm (18 in.) of earth beneath a building or other structure
 
There once was language restricting service conductors from the hollow of buildings, but I believe it was deleted in 71 of maybe 75??

but as the others have mentioned there currently is no language restricting such an installation.
 
If you are an inspector, what is the structure of the agency you work for?

This is one area of the code where there is not a specified distance, and there are local amendments in a lot of places that do specify a distance.

It would be in your best interest to find out if your agency has a rule for this and if it does not you should look into trying to get a rule so that it is fair to all, and not have 2 feet allowed on one job and 6 feet on another and then here comes a situation where we will let you have 10.

People will complain no matter what number you decide on but being consistent is what is most important.
 
The guideline "shortest distance possible - determined by the AHJ" is the rule of thumb most inspectors use in my area. I would guess you'd have to look at the installation and determine whether the SE cable could be subject to damage or tampering and then make a call. For example, if it comes through the rim joist of a house for about 2' and directly into the top of the breaker panel I would presume that is probably the shortest distance possible. On the other hand, if it came down the inside wall for an additional 2'-3' and into the side of the panel then it's not the shortest distance possible. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
I posted this not long ago , I lost a nice service upgrade to 400 amps an additional work , problem was I figured a 200 amp disco next to the meter to feed new 200 amp panel because the distance would have been right at 7 feet ko to ko , well I find out in that city they aloud that distance an I have always been under the Impression it was 3 feet in which it is in another city close by and 5 ft at another city , so go figure that one out.
 
As mentioned earlier I am the AHJ and I generally allow up to 6 ft sometimes allowing further after an onsite visit to verify any unusual obstacles . I don't consider anything "grandfathered" on a new service or service upgrade but will allow people some slack to work around existing conditions found in an existing structure after a site visit Its been an interesting discussion and I appreciate everyones input ............bc
 
Jim W ...Whats the matter don't you like a good mystery????

I visited the site today and the electrician (on his own ) decided to put the wire in pvc pipe about 3 ft through an inside partition with good nailplating.

I passed it and the electrician was amused that I posted the question here

I was sure you couldn't run service cable in a wall but don't fail things without a code reference. It always a good day when you learn something new


bc
 
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