Richardh247
Member
- Location
- Paris, TX
The other day a customer contacted me to install a receptacle to plug their pool motor into (their words). This is a brand new above ground pool with no light and a simple 120v single-phase pump.
I walked the lady and her husband through the job in order to give them a price, explaining that pools that hold more than 42" of water are considered permanent, not storable, and as such we would have to bond the water itself, the frame, the deck, etc. This took them by a bit of surprise since the pool installer himself told them that all they needed was a simple GFI with a continual-use cover on a dedicated circuit.
And looking at the pool itself left me a bit baffled - there was no approved j-box anywhere for a bond, just the motor lug. I called the pool installer and expressed my concerns.
In the end, I had to drill the metal deck to hit the pool ladder for my water bond, install a lug under the deck, then hit the frame ribs on the continuous ground loop back to the pump motor lug and onto the ground rod. This left the pool installer questioning things. He said he had been setting up pools for over 25 years in this area and never had he seen an electrician do anything but put in a ground rod and bond the pump motor.
I'm curious why the pool industry isn't on board with the "permanent" pool classification change?
In reality, every metal part on that pool, which is everything but the liner itself, is adequately bonded via the through-bolted skeleton. Unfortunately for us, the NEC does not agree with that "adequately" statement and it is tough bidding against guys who aren't doing the same scope of work I am. In the end I did get the job, thanks in part to me printing out Article 680 and showing the homeowner the bonding requirements.
It seems to me that these "erector set" above ground pool companies should have at least some built-in NEC compliance.
For example, if this pool would have been equipped with a light on the graded side (it wasn't), there would have been zero way for me to bond the ring. None. Not without excavating under the deck, at any rate. And drilling a brand-new steel deck is ludicrous - we did a clean install, but still...
Am I misreading 680 here? It seems that I am in a crowd of electricians in this area saying that the motor bond is all this is needed - I disagree, but being the only one in the room is a lonely place.
Any discussion or opinions?
I walked the lady and her husband through the job in order to give them a price, explaining that pools that hold more than 42" of water are considered permanent, not storable, and as such we would have to bond the water itself, the frame, the deck, etc. This took them by a bit of surprise since the pool installer himself told them that all they needed was a simple GFI with a continual-use cover on a dedicated circuit.
And looking at the pool itself left me a bit baffled - there was no approved j-box anywhere for a bond, just the motor lug. I called the pool installer and expressed my concerns.
In the end, I had to drill the metal deck to hit the pool ladder for my water bond, install a lug under the deck, then hit the frame ribs on the continuous ground loop back to the pump motor lug and onto the ground rod. This left the pool installer questioning things. He said he had been setting up pools for over 25 years in this area and never had he seen an electrician do anything but put in a ground rod and bond the pump motor.
I'm curious why the pool industry isn't on board with the "permanent" pool classification change?
In reality, every metal part on that pool, which is everything but the liner itself, is adequately bonded via the through-bolted skeleton. Unfortunately for us, the NEC does not agree with that "adequately" statement and it is tough bidding against guys who aren't doing the same scope of work I am. In the end I did get the job, thanks in part to me printing out Article 680 and showing the homeowner the bonding requirements.
It seems to me that these "erector set" above ground pool companies should have at least some built-in NEC compliance.
For example, if this pool would have been equipped with a light on the graded side (it wasn't), there would have been zero way for me to bond the ring. None. Not without excavating under the deck, at any rate. And drilling a brand-new steel deck is ludicrous - we did a clean install, but still...
Am I misreading 680 here? It seems that I am in a crowd of electricians in this area saying that the motor bond is all this is needed - I disagree, but being the only one in the room is a lonely place.
Any discussion or opinions?