Hello again, iwire. And to continue from my last post...

While I agree with you that the AHJ gets to determine what is "subject to physical damage" and what is not, 300.5(D(4) clearly states that "Where the enclosure or raceway is subject to physical damage [as determined by the AHJ, if you like ], the conductors SHALL be installed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, SCHEDULE 80 RIGID NONMETALLIC CONDUIT, or equivalent." I can't imagine that Sched. 40 would be considered "equivalent", or else they would not have specified Sched. 80.

What say ye now? I suppose you could still say that hey, if the AHJ says it's okay, then it's okay. True enough, as 90.4 does say "By special permission, the AHJ may waive specific requirements in this Code...." I, however, like to think of the Code as the MINIMUM for safety, and look to the AHJ to makes things maybe more strict, but not more lax. And I take seriously 90.5 "Mandatory Rules, Permissive Rules, and Explanatory Material" when it states that "Mandatory rules of this Code are those that identify actions that are specifically required or prohibited and are characterized by the use of the terms SHALL or SHALL NOT."

And that is my final answer......I think.
And I have stepped down from my soapbox....for now. [Linked Image]