scrypps
Member
- Location
- United States
2020 NEC, Article 210.8(A)(6) and (7) require GFCI protection in kitchens where (6) "...receptacles are installed to serve countertops" and (7) ".... where receptacles are installed within 6 ft of a sink".
The jurisdiction I work in will follow this to mean that only only if the kitchen range receptacle is within 6 ft of the sink, measured according to 210.8, will it need to be GFCI. If the NEC wanted it for the edge of the range within 6' of the sink, then it should have worded it that way. However, reading through various literature, like the IAEI "Analysis of Changes", Schneider Electric's website, and a class I took given by NFPA, they all say if the range is within 6' of the sink.
So I want to know. This code only really makes sense if the range is within 6' of the sink. Because the receptacle is always going to be behind the range, so no one is going to walk up and stick their fingers in it, ever (unless they're changing it out), and the worry is if there is a ground fault on the appliance, its the frame of the range that will be energized. So if you're at the sink and you reach over to grab a pan, you could be electrocuted (even though I've never heard of this happening).
How do you interpret it? Do you measure from the range or the receptacle? The code clearly says "receptacle", though it doesn't make sense to implement the rule and measure from the receptacle, as far as I can tell.
The jurisdiction I work in will follow this to mean that only only if the kitchen range receptacle is within 6 ft of the sink, measured according to 210.8, will it need to be GFCI. If the NEC wanted it for the edge of the range within 6' of the sink, then it should have worded it that way. However, reading through various literature, like the IAEI "Analysis of Changes", Schneider Electric's website, and a class I took given by NFPA, they all say if the range is within 6' of the sink.
So I want to know. This code only really makes sense if the range is within 6' of the sink. Because the receptacle is always going to be behind the range, so no one is going to walk up and stick their fingers in it, ever (unless they're changing it out), and the worry is if there is a ground fault on the appliance, its the frame of the range that will be energized. So if you're at the sink and you reach over to grab a pan, you could be electrocuted (even though I've never heard of this happening).
How do you interpret it? Do you measure from the range or the receptacle? The code clearly says "receptacle", though it doesn't make sense to implement the rule and measure from the receptacle, as far as I can tell.
