What's Behind Curtain #1?

[K Robertson]

Ok, had to just laugh this. My first thought... hmm dee dummm sittin on the thrown reading my Guns and Ammo :rolleyes: and BAM :eek: TPRV Blows! OH, Wait, it's pointed at the SE Panel! Take a dump, get dumped on, and electrocuted all at the same time!

Ok, so game time... how many different things can you call out from this? And as a bonus, just to the right, not in the picture, there is a gas heater, below the tank there is no pan and it is sitting directly on the floor. Winner gets... well pat on the back for finding the most problems with these pictures... ;)

The foundation had moved so much there were 3" cracks in the walls throughout, the floor sloped so much I put on of my son's hot wheels on it and it sped down to the wall, the inside (looking through the 3" cracks) the walls were soaked from the multiple leaks in the roof and molded, the entire house was heated by propane heaters in each room with no ventilation... think I'm just going to tell the client to bring in a wrecking ball.

[Thom Walker]

Did you dare to pull the curtain back and look under the vanity?

You gotta' admit, the guys original. He took his sweetheart to a bathroom and wrote their initials on a water heater. At least he didn't carve up a tree, like some of us did. What? That's from the plumber? YOu mean the plumber took her to the bathroom and.......... That's cold.

[Gary Smith]

TPRV looks a little tricky
That romex is missing something @ the heater cabinet
That panel may be a little close to water...being over the potty
Say the w/h is on the floor? No Pan?


g

[Rick Cantrell]

I don't know for 100% fact but was told that; yellow NM cable is 12 guage and white nm is 14 guage. If so, that is wired with 14, and should'nt it be wired with 12?

[Jim Luttrall]

Colored jackets on NM are meaningless as an indicator of size. I think it is just a manufacturer's decision to use one color over another, not related to size.

[Jim Robinson]

Good drift. I think it is relatively new, but all of the wiring I've bought in the past two years has been color coded, from different manufacturer's. White - 14, yellow - 12, orange - 10. I haven't bought any 8 or larger. Anyone know for sure if that is a new industry standard for new construction? It should be if it isn't already.

[Rick Cantrell]

Jim
A quick search found that it is not a requrement for wire to be color coded, in fact color coding is fairly new. good artical at NEMA - Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cables (http://www.nema.org/prod/wire/build/nonmetal)
Thanks for the heads up, I would have been misinformed for no telling how long.

[Jerry McCarthy]

Jeesh, talk about a target-rich area, just how many code violations do you see in that series of K. Robertson's photos? :confused:

[Bob Mayer]

For a 30 ampere circuit, the conductors would have to be 10 AWG. That looks like 10-2 with ground to me, probably manufactured before the change to orange. Not only is a clamp missing, you cannot use NM in this application, THHN in flexible conduit would meet code.

- BOB

[Robert Koch]

Why can't NM cable be used for this application? A disconnect would be required if the appliance is not within eyesight of panel.

Bob

[Bob Mayer]

Why can't NM cable be used for this application? A disconnect would be required if the appliance is not within eyesight of panel.

Bob

NEC 334.15 (A) says that exposed NM "shall closely follow the surface of the building finish or of running boards."

- BOB

[Jerry Peck]

Jim
A quick search found that it is not a requrement for wire to be color coded, in fact color coding is fairly new. good artical at NEMA - Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cables (http://www.nema.org/prod/wire/build/nonmetal)
Thanks for the heads up, I would have been misinformed for no telling how long.

There is no requirements, however, once one manufacturer started it (Southwire with Romex), others have followed suit.

White is 14 AWG (all older stuff was white).
Yellow is 12 AWG.
Orange is 10 AWG.

The 'color' of yellow and orange vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the color/size is the same for all.

Helps inspectors (new inspections) quickly see the circuit conductor size, unless an off-beat brand is used which only makes white - then I'd really start looking for other problems related to cheap materials and cheap work.

[imported_John Smith]

Cut the guy some slack. The paper work (instruction manual) is clearly taped to the water heater for easy reference by the fire department.