ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area an extension cord?

Just saw this on another site.
http://powerbridgesolution.com/howtoinfo.html
Both ends do get terminated in boxes.NM or other approved method used.

1) this must be installed by an EC. -?-
2) would you consider this an extension cord?

Thoughts.

Telling a do-it-yourselfer to strip the outer sheath of romex with a utility knife? Genius! I hope they all have an arc-fault breaker on that ciruit and/or curent fire insurance!

I also noticed about 6"-8" of sheath in the box. Another genius move! Whay don't these guys consut an electrician before they produce an "educational" video?

That veido I did see IMO that not a super pratical to do that and we real electricians can do far much better than what the veido show it there.

Merci,Marc

The expose male connector is OK; it's not a double-ended male cord, and there is no chance of the terminals becoming energized.



I don't see references to any listing agency on their website, though. If it's not listed my an agency the AHJ recognizes, it's not legal.

I don't believe it's an extension cord, though, because extension cords are by definition temporary. This appears to be permanant building wiring. No different than a hardwired pass-through for a portable generator. Honestly, I was thinking about doing something along these lines in my own home because I didn't feel like tearing up the drywall to try to drill 2 studs over to hit the nearest box.

Edit: They claim UL and CSA approval:

There is nothing inherently wrong with using a 'power inlet.' Indeed, many appliances have these sorts of fittings.

I fail to see the advantage in theis system, though; you are still required to use the extension cord. I suppose that the job, as pictured, is a fraction of the effort that would be needed to open the wall across several studs, drill across for the cables, then repair.

I suppose if you went through the wall and hid all the cables coming out in a utility room it might make sense but simply moving that cludge down the wall a couple feet would not make my wife happy.
The rule here is she doesn't want to see any wires.

I've used clock receptacles for these types of installations for years. My mom is big-time into lights over picture frames, so I've used them in those applications many times at her house. I never thought about the use of an inlet, but I guess with the expense of nice HDTV equipment, one would want to have decent surge suppression for the power connection.

Feeding permanently-installed wiring with an extension cord might be a no-no, but does this 'really' fall into that category? That is the gray area for sure. Dropping down a wall a couple of feet is one thing, but I can imagine that these would be even more attractive in situations where the AV equipment is located further away, like in an enclosed cabinet off to the side.

I like their idea and would tend to think that it might fly if they can get an NEC exception. That's probably not going to happen. The devices themselves might be listed, but the installation isn't.

Unless someone plugs a suicide cord into the female outlet, although I don't see why anyone would do that... Other than general stupidity.

IMHO, if you're going to go through the trouble to put in some boxes and Romex, you should just do it (or have it done) right. Looks to me like you could get most of this stuff at the local Orange Box. Obviously, they're targeting suckers who don't know any better.

If I hired someone to install a TV, and the end product was as shown in the video....I would not be happy. That inlet extension cord stretched to reach a receptacle is brutal IMHO

Heck, a piece of Wiremold would look better.

Are all the audio/video/HDMI/whatever cables UL recognized for in-wall use?