ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area High Bay Metal Halide

Good Holidays to all,
There are metal halide open glass type hanging fixtures. The contractor wired them with rubber cord, outlet above fixture, and they are 480V. Are the fixtures allowed to be fed with rubber cord? I thought the flexible cord would need to be rated at 90C? I don't like the idea of 480V for a plug in style High Bay fixture. There were some fixtures that had the receptacle 2 feet away. We turned that down and said the outlet has to be directly above the fixture.
Thoughts on 90C rubber cord?
Thanks

I'm confused by your original post.

Are you an electrical inspector?

I don't have a problem with it, myself.
90C = 194F.
Rubber insulated cables tend to be treated like a poor cousin to PVC these days, however rubber was used prolifically before PVC hit the mainstream.

Slightly off-topic, rubber cables have good resistance to oil and other petroleum products, where as PVC has very little.

What sort of installation is this?
Is it a warehouse or something like that?

It's a common, and IMO, preferred way to do it. In deed, using the cord/plug/receptacle costs a fair bit more than directly mounting the fizture to a box.

I prefer this method as it is a much easier, safer way to repair a fixture with a bad ballast. No need to kill the entire circuit; unplug it and take it down to the floor- where you can work o n it in comfort.

SJT:

In addition to Renos views above (which I agree), the following info was not addressed:

Is the cord/plug assembly on the fixture a 'factory install' or 'factory option' ?
If the answer is yes, then there is no NEC Issues, other than the 2' seperation you mentioned.

If it's not a 'factory' item, then:

What type of 'cord'?
Voltage rating of the cord cap and receptacle?

Off the electrical spectrum, this type install allows some tenants to remove the lighting they installed when they vacate. Remember the NEC 'lighting outlet' definition, as those outlets in that hi-bay warehouse are all that are NEC required.

Telsa,
I work full time as a Planner/Estimator for a Research Facility. I do not have the tools on at this job. One of my duties is that I look at jobs that are on-going with an Electrical committee, to make sure things are being done to code.
I also have a Part-time business, mainly residential work.

Everything is legal except that which is prohibited.

Is there a 2 foot rule in your code or the contract? If not, the problem belongs to someone other than the installer.

I really like a 480 volt plug-in fixture, and the plug is better accessed if it isn't directly above the fixture. When I see a fixture hard-wired, I know the only consideration was the cost of the installation.

The NEC requires that electric discharge luminaires be located directly below the outlet or busway per NEC 410.62(C)(1)(1)

(The CEC must have differing rules on this)