electric in my barn.....need help

[Inspector507]

Some inside pictures.....

Somebody knows how to use a pipe bender.

 

[Maxcustody]

Somebody knows how to use a pipe bender.

Absolutely, his attention to detail is awesome.....it helps with my OCD too. LOL.

 

[radioman]

eddie - around here - almost every electrical i have done for a garage add on or 6 ft or closer to water-
code says needs to be gfci .

 

[ultrarunner]

On the Ranch anything romex has been a problem... rodents love to gnaw the stuff.

Metal whether conduit or flex stops them.

 

[Maxcustody]

On the Ranch anything on romex has been a problem... rodents love to gnaw the stuff.

Metal whether conduit or flex stops them.

Good to know......I don't need issues with mice chewing my wiring

 

[EddieWalker]

Mice love romex, and covered up you can't see the problem. A house is usually more mouse proof, and if there is a mouse problem, you are more motivated to fix it, so not as big an issue. I have found it difficult to mouse proof an overhead door. Conduit makes it easier to add on or make changes in the future. This may be a 'here" thing too, but if it has a vehicle door in it, the outlets have to be ground fault.I expect it is due to vehicles tracking in snow or rain water making it a potential wet location. That was code "here" all the way back in 2002 when I built my shop, as is the disconnect on incoming power, even if another disconnect is in view. I learned of both of those on initial inspection. I had to add the disconnect but had only one outlet installed at the time so that was easy to fix and then I knew how to proceed.

Got my curiosity up and had to Google code on GFCIs in garages. It's been NEC code since at least 2008, maybe since 1978. Exceptions for dedicated appliances such as freezers.

Thanks. I've seen where squirrels eat up the romex in attics, but never though of mice doing it. Squirrels are the devil!!!! I've never seen any romex that was ever eaten up inside a wall cavity, but I'm sure my experiences are limited and having your wires protected by conduit sure couldn't hurt anything.

I like to leave a few junction boxes with one or two dedicated lines in them for future use. You never know what the future will surprise you with, or more importantly, what your wife will want.

I don't know about snow, or water inside a shop. I guess that makes sense to have a GFCI outlet where water on the floor is a problem. I kind of think slipping and breaking a bone is more likely then an electrical shock, but again, it's not something I've ever dealt with.

My only building experience with GFCI requirements are with sinks and tubs. They are cheap and easy to install, so why not. But just as interesting is your comment that they are not required for dedicated appliances, like a freezer. I was on two different jobs where the freezer of the client stopped working in their garages. In both cases, it turned out the be a very sensitive GFCI outlet that was installed when the house was built. I was doing sheetrock work on both of those jobs, and something I did tripped those outlets. In both cases, my clients freaked out about losing what they had in their freezers, but fortunately I figured out in time that they where GFCI protected and I just reset them.

For my own use, I would never want GFCI outlets in my work shop. They trip too often, too easily.

 

[ultrarunner]

GFCI have caused a lot of service calls for me... especially the when they are daisy chained.

One was in a Townhome at Harbor Bay in Alameda... the GFCI was located in the upstairs Master Bath and the circuit also covered the garage freezer location... how or why I have no idea???

Some GFCI are better than others and of course the better ones cost more and often not at the big box stores... never had a bad Hubel Hospital Grade GFCI... but they are expensive.

I have no choice for the rentals... in my own garage and workshop I don't have any...

Did some updates to the ranch house and romex in the crawl space and in the walls had been chewed on... the wire and pipe runs through the studs/sills used oversized holes... kind of like a superhighway for critters and the cutouts like tunnels.

The worst was for the range... the #6 romex had totally bare copper showing.

Rodents and squirrels had free run of the grounds before we took over the place.... now not so much would be an understatement.

 

[aczlan]

GFCI have caused a lot of service calls for me... especially the when they are daisy chained.
One was in a Townhome at Harbor Bay in Alameda... the GFCI was located in the upstairs Master Bath and the circuit also covered the garage freezer location... how or why I have no idea???

Around here, code says that a GFCI can only protect outlets in that room. To cover multiple rooms, you have to use a GFCI breaker.

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

Sure does make sense...

Although I put individuals where required in the homes I rewired... also with the indicator lamp... so much easier to troubleshoot over the phone...

A co-worker had all his outside outlets on a single GFCI... on the front stoop... so anything in the backyard would require a trip to the front door to check.

 

[prichard]

According to National Electrical Code all outlets in the shop must be gfci protected. There is an exception for "not readily accessible" like ceiling mounted ones like for garage door opener. This is the same as garages.

Concrete or dirt floors are a good ground so say you're kneeling on the ground/slab and a tool shorts to the case you will get zapped. Please use gfci outlets.

By the way NEC is enforced in all states. Some areas have additional stricter standards but I haven't seen any that have lower standards.


Edit: National Electrical Code is free to access online here NFPA 7: National Electrical Code(R)