Can I use a male plug on romex (NM-B) cable......legally?
Thanks for your information.
No. I believe cord caps are only listed for flexible temporary cords.
Thankyou so much for your help on this. I'm by no means an electrician......but I've seen this dozens and dozens of times, even in my old job (OSHA), and I know I cited this, but I had a client give me a fit today, and I just couldn't remember how I had cited this!!!! Any NEC to go with this would be GREATLY appreciated.
First time posted on this board......This is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen on the internet!!!!
Again, thankyou sooo much
See ya'
Brian
This would be a rating/listing issue, however i would like to know if there is a male cord cap that is applicable to 527.4(C) ex. out there?
It’s likely that wire terminations in cord caps are intended/listed for solid conductors.
Bjarney
I was in a lighting section of a department store last year here in New York's Chinatown and noticed that the receptacle bar (those Wiremold raceway things) that all the table lamps were plugged into was terminated in a length of AC ending with an armored heavy-duty cap (you know the ones with the grounded metal husk on them).
Needless to say it gave me the willies...especially if the end of the AC going into the plug didn't have a little "Red Devil" to protect the wires. Scrape...scrape....KA-POOF!!
Passing by some construction sites, I've seen Romex hooked up to cord caps, usually the square yellow plastic ones.
What makes me say "no" to this is common sense.
I mean...stop and think about it for a second:
The terminal screws inside a plug are small and there's not enough space to properly bend a stiff solid wire around them, so what you might have is a little stump of conductor clamped under a screw. I guess that could lead to overheating....
Also, since the insulation on AC or NM is so stiff, the cap's strain relief (if it has one) doesn't have anything to "bite" on. There's practically no "give" so the wire can also break inside the plug's housing, dance around eventually short something out in there.
Please note that these are not scientific observations, just common sense from what I've seen.
Disclaimer: I am NOT an electrician, so I tend to err on the side of caution. Also, the instruction sheets packed with some heavy-duty plugs and connectors I've used say it is to be used only with flexible cord - type X and wire gauge size Y.
[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 03-26-2003).]
There was a recent photo posted at E-C.net picturing {3?} NM cables with cord caps—that may have been found above a suspended ceiling, ostensibly powering lay-in fluorescent fixtures.
UL gives little information about conductors for 'attachment plugs' - category AXGV in their Green Book - however, as there are so many different types of plugs it seems to indicate the mfr. would give specific information about the types of conductors/cords acceptable for use with a particular plug.
STILL LOOKING-- but for now you purchase a cord cap not romex cap GEO
must be approved for the use
ul white book states FLEXIBLE cords or cable
romex protected, supported,
etc.etc etc---- WILL NOT ACCEPT and it looks ulgy too
[This message has been edited by GEO (edited 03-26-2003).]
When UL tests a cord cap, they test it using the sizes and types of cord intended by the manufacturer. One of the major tests is for strain relief- the cord has a weight pulling on it for a specified period (70# for 10 min., I THINK). This, by the way, is about double the test performed on Romex connectors, if I remember right.
So- there is no way of knowing if a cord cap would successfully hold onto romex. Therefore, using a cord cap on romex violates the listing of the cord cap. 110.3B would be the NEC cite.
That said, there ARE mc/romex connectors out there that are also listed for flexible cord use; this is printed on the box. (Bridgeport comes to mind).
I can't say I've never done this, but if your connection is subject to being flexed at all, romex being made of solid conductors will eventually break.
Romex is designed to be put in place and not moved around, hence all the code rules on staples, etc. Cords, on the other hand, being stranded wire, are designed to be moved to a certain extent, depending on design.