Is BX or MC cable allowed in a rural medical clinic with patient exam rooms and xray? wood structure single story

If I remeber correctly it is NOT.

thanks for any reply

517-2 def. of a health care facilities.it includes a clinic. 517-13(a) lists MC as an acceptable wiring method, as long as it's outer metal sheath is identified as a grounding path. the MC cable has to have an insulated ground in it. It is usually called Hospital grade, and has a green paint on it.

[This message has been edited by trekkie76 (edited 08-26-2004).]

Very unlikely you will get MC with a sheath that is an acceptable grounding conductor, I use MC all the time and have never seen the type of MC that has the right kind of armor for grounding.

What you need is hospital grade AC cable.

The outer armor is a listed grounding conductor along with the added green grounding conductor.

Would there be any difference between hospital grade AC and hospital grade MC...other than the 'red hat' requirement

-Jon

Jon, there is no such thing as HG MC.

Also remember that HCFC can not be used for Emergency Branch wiring.

Roger

Jon look at 250.118 (9) and 250.118 (11). That will explain the difference between AC & MC. Hospital grade Mc I'm told is custom order. Probably explains why I and iwire have not seen it.

Capt al, once again there is no such thing as hospital grade MC. There is MC with a sheath that is recognized as a ground per 250.118, and it is allowed for redundant grounding per 517.13, but that is not a Health Care Facility Cable.

Type HCFC is a true Armored Cable.

Go here for more info

Roger



[This message has been edited by Roger (edited 08-27-2004).]

well then, someone should start making Hospital grade MC becuase it is listed as a wiring method in 517-13a. Just because you have never seen it doesn't mean it can't be used or doesn't exist.

Trekkie, did you check the link I posted?

As far as MC meeting the requirements of 517-13 (99 NEC reference) some types can meet this requirement and the smooth type is one of these, but this still is not a "Hospital Grade" cable.

Yes, I have seen the smooth type MC, and you have too most likely. Some appliances have it installed from the factory, but as Iwire says it is not common in our field.

And I will say again, Hospital Grade MC does not exist, HCFC is an AC hybrid.

Roger

the original post asked if mc was acceptable as a wiring method in a hospital. it is

Just to add a bit of confusion:
http://www.ecmweb.com/nec/code_qa_052104/

The above suggests that _in general_ MC cable is not suitable for health care facilities, because the armor is not suitable as a ground path...but it goes on to reference a product called 'MC SMART' made by ALFLEX. This product is supposed to be MC cable with the necessary bonding strip.

However when I go to http://www.alflex.com/ I can find no reference to this 'MC SMART' stuff. ALFLEX does show an HFC cable, and they clearly describe it as AC cable.

-Jon

In general, MC isn't used, but technically, MC is a viable option. Sure, you probably would pay through the nose for it, but the question was is it allowed.

hi,
thanks for all the great replies and discussion. as i understand it MC is not allowed for use in a medical facility. there are SPECIAL TYPES of ARMORED CLAD OR ALUMINUM SHEATH cables that will meet the requirent of 517. plain old MC or BX would get shot down if you ask me. ENT is not even an option at all.

i am glad to be in the know about this subject it could pay off..

as far as i can tell, you need an approved sheath or jacket for the cable and it has to be metallic. this part of the cable assembly has to be approved for use as EGC to meet the requiremnts.

it is easy to identify this type cable.

thanks again for the discussion

sincerely

mustang



[This message has been edited by mustangelectric (edited 08-31-2004).]