Wet Location

[dab]

i recently installed subpanels with light switches and receptacles in the same location. the issue i am addressing is whether the location is a damp or wet environment. the door to the aircraft hanger opens in a scissor type way to the outside. at what angle from the outside to the panel would you want to go from nema 1 to nema 3. i opted for 3 just to be safe, but i can't find a specfic code for my install. maybe there's another code book that may address this situation.

 

[iwire]

Dab I have never seen anything official but IMO 45 degrees at least from the overhang / roof to the electrical equipment.

However at an airfield with it's large open spaces and perhaps the other end of this hanger also opens I would be even more conservative.

If the wind can blow off the open area and through the hanger, rain could be carried inside pretty far.

 

[dab]

the g.c. installed the controls for this even closer to the opening. it is not sealed for wet weather and it is 240 volts. maybe an accident waiting to happen. i can only make suggestions,but i will make it in writing.

 

[dab]

i also need to add that we avg. 86 in. of rain a year and the winter of 2005-2006 we had 123 in.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

Dab
Sounds like a wet location to me...I mean where you live.

 

[dab]

Gasquet, California. just below the Oregon border by a few miles.

 

[realolman]

It always was a mystery to me whether a location is wet, damp or what.

Once, I posted on this forum whether hanging a shower curtain in front of a panel took it out of a wet location. It seemed to me that the concensus of posters thought that with the addition of a shower curtain, it was not a wet location any more.

I was surprised by that, and I can't see it myself.

Shower curtains are much cheaper than enclosures. Why wouldn't everyone just hang a shower curtain?

What guage and type of material would qualify? Waxed paper? Saran Wrap? Are there listed shower curtains? Is it considered to be grounded for clearance purposes?

Is it no longer a wet location when everyone quits squirting hoses, or when it stops raining?

I guess my point is... how exactly does one determine whether a location is dry, damp, wet, hazardous or whatever?

 

[infinity]

I guess my point is... how exactly does one determine whether a location is dry, damp, wet, hazardous or whatever?

You could check with the AHJ since he will determine the suitability of the installation in the end. Or you could install for the worst case scenario. The code is the minimum required, exceeding it is certainly permitted.

 

[mdshunk]

I could accidentally leave my bedroom open too, but I'm not about to put a bubble cover on the bedroom receptacle that's below the window. Is it normal to leave the doors to an aircraft hanger open during a rain storm?

 

[iwire]

I could accidentally leave my bedroom open too, but I'm not about to put a bubble cover on the bedroom receptacle that's below the window. Is it normal to leave the doors to an aircraft hanger open during a rain storm?

I knew someone would have to say that.

This place is nothing if not predictable.

Considering many times they move aircraft in and out of hangers in all weather IMO the answer is yes they have the door open in the rain.

For 5 years I drove by a maintenance hanger at Warwick RIs airport and that door was open all the time when the weather was warm.

Of course each and every situation is different and each should be considered separately for the conditions involved.

That said comparing an aircraft hanger door to a bedroom window is a real stretch.

I bet neither your bedroom floor or walls are WP, but I bet the hangers floor and walls near the door are in fact WP.

 

[mdshunk]

That said comparing an aircraft hanger door to a bedroom window is a real stretch.

I know. I just don't know squat about aircraft hangers, so I didn't really know if it was normal or not to have the doors hanging open during a rain storm. I guess it might be. Stands to reason that you have to take planes in and out during the rain. I bring my car in and out of the garage during the rain, and the panel is about 1 foot inside from the edge of the garage door. Darnit. :grin:

 

[iwire]

I bring my car in and out of the garage during the rain, and the panel is about 1 foot inside from the edge of the garage door. Darnit. :grin:

Thats it, I am coming over and ripping that panel out and replacing it with a 3R.

 

[mdshunk]

Thats it, I am coming over and ripping that panel out and replacing it with a 3R.

Then I've got a lot of work lined up for you when you come. Here's a development that we've been poking around at off and on all summer. The panels are right inside the garage door:

 

[iwire]

OK but for that your gonna have to pay me and I get at least $12.75 per hr.

 

[stickboy1375]

Marc, just out of curiosity, what type of building finish is being applied? I notice the gargage door has a 3/4 trim board yet the meter is out 4"?

 

[mdshunk]

Marc, just out of curiosity, what type of building finish is being applied?

I suppose it's those big stacks of bricks sockpiled in the street. :grin:

 

[stickboy1375]

Just a wild guess here, but it's probably those big stacks of bricks sockpiled in the street. :grin:

Classic... absolute classic....

 

[George Stolz]

Hmm...looking at that SER run between the meter and the panel, I have to wonder: is SER permitted to be embedded in masonry?

Could the installer have installed PVC between the meter and panel, back-to-back, for a cleaner overall look?

 

[stickboy1375]

Hmm...looking at that SER run between the meter and the panel, I have to wonder: is SER permitted to be embedded in masonry?

Could the installer have installed PVC between the meter and panel, back-to-back, for a cleaner overall look?

George, that is SEU, not SER, and just my 2cents here, PVC does not always look better, But you do make a good point, is SEU rated for masonry???