straping

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nj6768

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Can MC, BX or RX be fastened (cable tie) to the gas pipe on a boiler or furnace. If this is a violation of N.E.C. what article explains this?

[ September 23, 2003, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: nj6768 ]
 

ceb

Senior Member
Location
raeford,nc
Re: straping

300.4 But, why in the name of good sense would you want to tie wrap an elect. line to a gas pipe?
 

pierre

Senior Member
Re: straping

I am not sure of when the practice of being 'unprofessional', lazy or whatever one calls it started, but it seems to be an accepted practice and by some not looked at as a bad thing.
Such as securing electrical wiring to some other trades work.
It is unknown to me why the plumber can secure his pipe and the electrician cannot seem to find a method other than the plumbers to secure the wiring.
The hangers for the gas, plumbing or whatever are listed, designed for that purpose and not to support however many electrical wires and even sometimes I have seen Emt secured to it. One job we could not even see the gas pipe, we were called in to remove the cables, because the gas pipe hangers pulled out of the ceiling from the weight of the electric cables.

I am convinced that this is a result of uneducated and lazy practice, and there is no other way of saying this!!!
Staple it, stap it, hang it and show some pride! The ones that say to me it is too expensive or the job can't cover the expense of doing it correctly get NO sympathy from me.

For those who use just the NEC for installation guidance, remember there are other documents that can help in the installation process. One is the UL White Book. One thing you can bet on is that plumbing pipe and hangers are not listed for electrical support. ;)

Pierre
 
G

Guest

Guest
Re: straping

It's been said here before so I don't take credit for this: A good way to rationalize the extra electrical strapping needed to do it right is that by doing it right and keeping the support systems separate, the electrical support will not be compromised when the plumbing system needs to be serviced or otherwise unsecured.

One good support method is to use Uni-strut type channel and then you can hang the electrical on its own clamp, and the plumbing on its own clamp, but they are still not supported on each other and they are each easily removable without interfering with the support of the other.

[deduct two points for run-on sentence].
 

roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
Re: straping

awwt,
One good support method is to use Uni-strut type channel and then you can hang the electrical on its own clamp, and the plumbing on its own clamp, but they are still not supported on each other and they are each easily removable without interfering with the support of the other.
this is not a good idea.

Many plumbing installations dealing with hot water or steam can "walk" quite a distance, moving the unistrut plenty enough to pull conduit fittings apart or stretching cable assemblies enough to do damage.

Roger

[ September 27, 2003, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: roger ]
 

bennie

Esteemed Member
Re: straping

All piping systems, for fluids under pressure, will expand, contract, vibrate, and hammer during normal use.

For this reason, electrical conduit and raceways should be isolated on supporting members. Most job specs will reflect this condition.

[ September 27, 2003, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: bennie ]
 
G

Guest

Guest
Re: straping

Good point. It's best practice to avoid mixing your media. I think the Uni-strut method might work with this gas-line/electrical marriage. Good catch. Thanks for taking this one to the next level in regards to Uni-strut in more critical situations.

../Wayne C.

[ September 27, 2003, 05:26 PM: Message edited by: awwt ]
 

ctroyp

Senior Member
Re: straping

I agree that the gas and electric runs would marry pretty well on uni-strut, but I would not do it.

My question is:
Why would you run flexible conduit when you can run emt, etc.? If you have the room to install uni-strut, there should be plenty of room to install pipe. :confused:

[ September 30, 2003, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: ctroyp ]
 
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