ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues Home Inspectors

Greg,

I think I got a 94 or so when I took the same test with a similar amount of experience with mechanical systems. But I have seen those heating things in a basement.

I have a miners light and a flashlight and a ladder too. Want to go into business? It would be a multi-state franchise. Look out East Coast he we come. Whoop Whoop.

This message has not be brought to by You know who. LOL

I often watch one of the HI sites, and there are three attitudes that I see with alarming frequency:

A) "I don't know anything about this, but it just can't be right;"

B) The corruption inherent in being absolutely without any check or restraint upon ones' "power;" and,

C) An almost gleeful desire to cross over into offering opinions about pure design issues - even as far as critiquing the paint scheme.

About all you can do is say "He's wrong. There is no problem. I have the license to offer an opinion on this subject. He does not."

Don't forget the attitude that Code compliant is not good enough.

Even if you say there is no problem the homeowners will have the work done just so it won't torpedo the sale.

George;

Ask "What is the Service Voltage at the time of the test".
(Voltage at the Service Equipment)

Then have the HI apply the math, to obtain the Voltage Drop Percentage.

Then ask for "Calibration Certification" for the Tester.

Then ask to have the test performed at the following loads:
* 5 amps,
* 10 amps,
* 15 Amps.
With the results from the above 3 tests, average out the Voltage Drop - as applied from the Service Voltage at the time of the tests.

Then point out the FPN is only suggestion, which says 5% total is "OK" for a "Suggestion".

Then ask for some legal documentation which points out the hazards to persons, where the Voltage Drop is concerned.

By this time, the HI should conceed, and stop pushing "Bandini Code*" as something enforcable.

Scott

BTW "Bandini Code*" = Code which has the value of Bandini Fertilizer:

1. Works best when spread across Lawns - as will cause the Grass to grow much greener,
2. Statements should be packaged under the name "Bandini", and sold in the Lawn & Garden section of Home Improvement stores,
3. Code article has a Male Bovine Fecal Matter level of > 99.999%

I concede, They meen well. I could tear a house apart.. But I will be very week on some items. No expert on the boilers,(plumber friends do them all different). Carpenters have their own way aswell.

But a general idea and a good base of resources (not DIY sites) You can do a good job.

"You are only as good as the people you suround yourself with" (Ronald Reagan:)

This is the closet light. (not cited)

http://esteroriverheights.com/electrical/closet_light.jpg

This is the water heater in that closet (not cited)

http://esteroriverheights.com/electrical/water_heater.jpg

This is the "missing trim" on the fan light

http://esteroriverheights.com/electrical/fan_light.jpg

I can't find the picture of the bootleg receptacle in the room with none but imagine a handybox screwed to the baseboard with that grey Romex punched through a wall and plugged into a receptacle in the next room.

Well, it's a good thing the HI has his priorities in order

Following the HI forums, it does seem these guys have a real love of expensive, fancy things with lots of blinking lights. Customers also get real impressed by such gadgets. I almost want to accuse some meter makers of deliberately exploiting this with their giga-dollar briefcases of weird and unusual test equipment.

The trouble with these things is that they provide not facts, but 'factoids.' That is, a fact that may or may not have any relevance.

"Voltage drop" is such a thing, that means nothing by itself.
If you have a gradual drop over the length of the circuit, there's no problem. If all the drop occurs at one point .... then there's likely a problem that needs fixing.
If you have 10% drop on a supply voltage of 128 (common in new tracts), you still have plenty of volts for any appliance. Knock even 5% off a 108v supply (not rare in older cities), and you're damaging things.

We've had a number of discussions about HI's; some have become so passionate that they had to be edited. I suppose that they're a necessary evil -having seen some of the crap 'upstanding citizens' try to foist on purchasers- but they can't walk on water (last I looked).

Ultimately, it comes down to 'who's the authority.' That's where you make clear that the HI is but a well-meaning amateur, and your opinion outranks his. You have the license, and he does not. It is, as George Bernard Shaw said, far easier to be critical than correct.

Examine things yourself, form your own opinions, and let them pound sand if they don't like what you say.

It took me 19 minutes to get an 85 on NACHI home inspector exam. TF