To answer the topic " Does electrical equipment have to be inspected for safety" my answer is "NO."
It is up to each inspector to "approve" equipment. 99.99999...% of inspectors rely on the NRTL label/listing for guidance to make that approval. But as far as I can tell, there is no requiement for testing/inspection. If an inspector had infinite resources, he could mandate equipment standards & there isn't much you could do about it.
There are areas where there is no standard & my example is wood supports. When I inspect a pole mounted mobile home service, if it is mounted to wood that is not pressure treated, I turn down the installation because I know that eventually, the wood will rot out & the equipment will be hanging by its wires. (durability.. 110-3(a)(2))
As Bill pointed out, just because there are a bunch of listed components, it doesn't mean that the entire assembly is listed.
I encourage everyone to purchase a copy of the UL White Book (aka "General Information for Electrical Equipment"). The information provided is well worth the money you will pay. The book will give you a better understanding of what "listing" and all the marks mean. If you are an inspector, the book can be obtained for free.
I've probably wandered a bit from the topic, but I couldn't help myself.
[This message has been edited by Tom (edited 05-11-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Tom (edited 05-11-2001).]
