The marking of outlets and j-boxes.

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kda3310

kda3310

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Dry Prong, Louisiana
I work in a wood manufacturing plant. I was telling our safety personnel that all our receptacles should be marked with their circuit numbers. She told me she has never heard of that. When I worked construction we use to have to label all the receptacle cover plates and label all j-box covers with the circuit numbers. Is this just good practice or is there a code or OSHA standard for doing this?
 
Not required by any published code or standard I'm aware of. Local jurisdictions may require it. I do it in my house whenever I have to work on a fixture or outlet. I write the circuit number with a Sharpie on the backside of the fixture or cover plate.
 
ActionDave said:
I wouldn't even call it good practice. I go into buildings that have circuit numbers marked on the cover plates and they don't match reality all the time.
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I would have to disagree with you there. I know in the marking of things there will always be the human error factor but working in the maintenance department at my plant it is hard to almost impossible to find a circuit when you have numerous panels feeding circuits to and around that area. I can not tell you how many panels I have looked at that were labeled wrong and most of the labels only give you the main item on that line and not all the little extras they pick up on the way back. The NFPA70E does not let us work on these things live unless we have paper work telling why we have to work it live. Getting that paper work to work on a receptacle is just about impossible. So, if they were labeled right it saves a lot of time. In my experience I have found the the labeling of the panels to be more in error then what is marked on the j-boxes and outlet, although neither are foul proof.
 
I wouldn't call it a good practice, I'd call it a great practice. Of course, some things will be mis-marked, but when you've got, say, 20 2p breakers for cube furniture, at least the labels give you a fighting chance of getting the right one on the first or second try.

This is more of a rhetorical question, and maybe it's a mark of "professionalism"- do you update the labels when making a change? Do you use sensible marks on the panel like "Liebert a/c #2 6fl comp room" or just say "A/C"?
 
I actually prefer to mark the conduit right next to the box with the panel and ckt #'s, also mark conductors inside box with #'s. Covers tend to fall, get lost, or swapped if more than one is taken off. If the conduit is exposed, mark the box on the inside .
 
zbang said:
...Do you use sensible marks on the panel like "Liebert a/c #2 6fl comp room" or just say "A/C"?
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Of course not! I always write "NEW A/C".

And then there is the ordeal with the painters rearranging the meticulously traced recept's trim plates...

But like others have said, we all use the 'breadcrumbs" to trace these things. I don't even throw away old panel schedules with the obsolete room numbers because by using logic and maybe an educated guess combined with the new panel schedule and some scribbling on the deadfront, it can actually steer you in the right direction.

Thankfully, local ordinance here requires marking circuit numbers on j-boxes which is a real help for us service techs.
 
jeremysterling said:
Thankfully, local ordinance here requires marking circuit numbers on j-boxes which is a real help for us service techs.
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I got my start in the electrical field in Dallas, TX. That is where I was taught to mark all j-boxes. Most of the time we would mark the wires too. We would even mark the neutral with all 3 circuit numbers when there was more than one boat pulled in that j-box. That's how I was taught to do things so I just stuck with it. I am guessing that Dallas must have local codes for this. I have found that Dallas has above and beyond codes because we did things there that other places do not do.
 
kda3310 said:
Does this one work on 277 volt circuits too. I was referring to outlets as being more than just receptacles. I did not word it that way but that is what I meant. We have 277 volt emergency lights and exit lights that are unmarked that we have to work on.
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Features
Numeric value and audible signal provide quick and easy-to-understand tracing feedback
Identifies breakers and fuses
Traces wires behind walls
Can be used on de-energized/energized circuits 0-600V AC/DC
 
I mark all J-box covers with the circuit numbers, wire color and wire type (solid or stranded). During rough-in, I'll mark the back of the receptacle or switch box with the circuit number. Most of the time, the writing in the box survives the painter, LOL!
 
sparkyrick said:
I mark all J-box covers with the circuit numbers, wire color and wire type (solid or stranded). During rough-in, I'll mark the back of the receptacle or switch box with the circuit number. Most of the time, the writing in the box survives the painter, LOL!
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I mark all j-box covers with the panel, circuit number(s), a basic description (usually "Rec" or "Lgt"), and voltage.

Ya know what I hate? Being on a commercial job, let's say some offices, and needing a receptacle in a certain position for something like a TV with a low current draw. Then you open the ceiling tile in that office to find a nice j-box up on the deck with a blank cover. You can't see where the cables are going, so you are not sure if it's the 277V lighting circuit. Or is it 120V feeding general receptacles? Or a dedicated circuit for the copier. Even if you know that it's a receptacle circuit that you can use, you still have to figure out which circuit it is to shut it off without shutting off the other receptacle circuits that feed computers or servers.

I always have a sharpie in my pocket so I always write a quick description out.
 
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