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Wafer lights

N

nizak

Senior Member
Curious as to how many inspectors are requiring that the remote junction box/ driver be attached to the structure and not just placed above the ceiling.

Many times I won’t use a mounting plate just cut the hole and place the fixture.

I’ve used several different brands and some say in the install info to attach the box and others say to simply put the box through the opening and install the fixture.

Is there any NEC code reference that specifically deals with this situation?

Thanks
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
I don't think that the NEC has caught up with these installations yet. Technically floating boxes are not code compliant but if it's part of a listed fixture who knows. I try and mount them when possible.
 
PaulMmn

PaulMmn

Senior Member
Location
Union, KY, USA
Occupation
EIT - Engineer in Training, Lafayette College
What's in the box? I assume the equivalent of a wall-wart to power the LEDs in the light wafer/puck. With 'certified' cord between the box and the light.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
PaulMmn said:
What's in the box? I assume the equivalent of a wall-wart to power the LEDs in the light wafer/puck. With 'certified' cord between the box and the light.
Click to expand...
Yes it has a mini LED driver with a low voltage cord to feed the light. If they're 4" or larger they can be mounted if you really want to. 4" below:

Wafer Box Mount.jpg
 
James L

James L

Senior Member
Location
Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
Occupation
Electrician
I started out mounting the boxes, because I was wiring new construction and installing the drivers on the rough-in.

I only had to get as far as the first finish to realize If I mount the driver on the rough-in, the little cords won't reach the hole a lot of times.

Then trying to unmount the driver was a complete fiasco. And I didn't bother mounting them back if I had to take them off.

After that, no more mounting the boxes
 
Little Bill

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
James L said:
I started out mounting the boxes, because I was wiring new construction and installing the drivers on the rough-in.

I only had to get as far as the first finish to realize If I mount the driver on the rough-in, the little cords won't reach the hole a lot of times.

Then trying to unmount the driver was a complete fiasco. And I didn't bother mounting them back if I had to take them off.

After that, no more mounting the boxes
Click to expand...
I don't see a need in mounting them.

But they do make extension jumpers to reach the box, but they are expensive if you have to do a bunch of lights
 
Seven-Delta-FortyOne

Seven-Delta-FortyOne

Goin’ Down In Flames........
Location
Humboldt
Occupation
EC and GC
I’ve done it both ways, not that that makes it right. 😲🙄🤣

Ive run into the issue where if I mount it then the wafer doesn’t reach the hole.

Sometimes I’ll need the flexibility of being able to adjust it a few inches either way drywall and everything is up.
 
tortuga

tortuga

Code Historian
Location
Oregon
Occupation
Electrical Design
They are actually 2 products sold together a junction box/led driver and a low voltage led light (the wafer).

They are connected via a class 2 cable (which you can extend 20 feet if needed)
For the LED / driver junction box to be considered part of the 'luminaire' it would have to meet
paragraph 11.3.2 of UL1598
“The wiring compartment (junction box) where the branch circuit connections to the luminaire are made shall be integral to the luminaire or securely fastened to its enclosure or frame. ”.
The junction box/ Led driver falls under 314.23.

They sell a variety of mounting options to help mount the box and an extension cable:

1709826510493.png
 
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