NEC400, UL1363, and UL1012

[barrusr]

NEC400 prohibits using cord as a substitute for fixed wiring. UL1363 Std for relocatable power taps (outlet strips) follows the same principal by requiring these devices to be non-permanent.

I bought an equipment bench with powered outlets option. Comes with (essentially) a raceway, recepts, CB, and pilot light, screwed into the countertop, with a cord/plug connection. UL listed IAW 1012 - Power Units other than Class 2.

UL 1012 1.2 These requirements cover general purpose power supplies and power supplies for uses such as to supply some household appliances, school laboratories, cathodic protection equipment; power supply-battery charger combinations; and industrial equipment, including inverters, divided into two classes - those rated 10 kilovolt-amperes or less and those rated more than 10 kilovolt-amperes.

Given the placement and usage of the semi-colon, I interpret the above to mean what I bought isn't a bench with outlets, but rather "industrial equipment" built to the same standards as a battery charger.

So which is - Is a bench with outlets and cord a piece of industrial equipment (subject to frequent interchange) or a substitute for fixed wiring ?


Russ

 

[roger]

Re: NEC400, UL1363, and UL1012

Simply unplug the bench every now and then, move it a hair and plug it back in. This way you can legitimately call it a frequently moved piece of equipment, furniture, or whatever regardless of worrying about the "is it a substitute for permanent wiring" issue.


Roger

 

[charlie b]

Re: NEC400, UL1363, and UL1012

Originally posted by barrusr:Given the placement and usage of the semi-colon, I interpret the above to mean what I bought isn't a bench with outlets, but rather "industrial equipment" built to the same standards as a battery charger.

First, I don?t like the way semicolons are used in this sentence - it's grammatically acceptable, but I just don?t care for it myself. So let me rearrange the UL quotation by using numbered paragraphs instead of the semicolons.

UL 1012 1.2 These requirements cover general purpose power supplies and power supplies for uses such as to supply:
(1) Some household appliances, school laboratories, (there should have been an ?AND? here - a grammar error) cathodic protection equipment,
(2) Power supply-battery charger combinations, and
(3) Industrial equipment?.

It seems to me that the UL statement covers many components, including certain unnamed household appliances, some types of laboratory equipment, and some industrial equipment. But it does not compel you to treat your bench as an industrial device. In fact, I would argue that this list of ?such as? examples does not include anything that matches your bench.

If your bench is UL listed, and if it comes with a power cord, then it must necessarily be acceptable to plug it into a wall outlet. People have been know to leave a refrigerator in the same spot for decades. That does not make the fridge a permanent component. I view your bench as being subjected to the same rules as a fridge.

 

[barrusr]

Re: NEC400, UL1363, and UL1012

I agree the bench doesn't match anything in the list. I can see if it were changing the voltage somehow, UPS, filter, etc but a raceway with a CB is a long stretch.

But I'm not concerned about the bench itself (at least not the legitimacy of plugging it in). The bench has receptacles. If I plug something into them (any device -fixed or not), doesn't that make the cord going to the bench a substitute for fixed wiring ?

what makes that OK - the switch, CB and pilot light ? Seems I could apply the same logic as an extension cord. If its OK to make one out of UL listed components, how about I build a industrial bench/power supply out of UL listed components ?

TIA for your time/input
Russ

 

[charlie b]

Re: NEC400, UL1363, and UL1012

Originally posted by barrusr: ? but a raceway with a CB is a long stretch?. What makes that OK - the switch, CB and pilot light ?

I haven?t seen the raceway, so I can?t comment on it. But let?s go back to my analogy of a six-outlet surge protector. I have seen them with switches and with overcurrent protection devices built in. These features do not cause anything plugged into any of the six outlets to have violated the ?temporary cords can?t substitute for a permanent connection? rule. The cord that connects the surge protector strip to the wall is temporary, and is permitted to be so.

What makes it right (if I correctly understand your initial post) is that the manufacturer has attached a UL label to the completed bench.