ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Violation Photo Forum An "Electrition" ad on Craiglist

His spelling, not mine
He claims he's licensed

Look 'Ma, no ground wires

Is it only my limited familiarity with US wiring devices or does anyone else hear cracking noises of the conduit crumbling away in the last picture as it's stepped on or hit with a wheedwacker?

The UV stabilized RNC is pretty tough but it is still not supposed to be installed where it is subject to physical damage.
Schedule 80 is a bit tougher but still no match for vehicular traffic or aggressive power tools. I doubt a string trimmer would hurt it right away but I have seen 4x4 mail box posts rounded off over time. The landscape guys seem to be ambivalent to what their trimmer is "trimming". Eventually they will eat a hole in it.

No grounds,
No mechanical support,
Is this guys brother a plumbing supply house owner?, I mean how many fittings do you need to effect a "riser" like that?

If it were me, that would be a single bend of conduit, (bent by hand I might add), same goes for that rediculous looking thing in the bottom picture.

Is that a glass of water or vodka next to the sawz-all?
With this quality of install, I'm suspecting the latter.

-5/10, would never employ or recommend to my worst enemy.

I wonder now if this professional posted these pics of his work because of the quality??

I guess he did not see a PVC 'T' condulet on the shelf next to the 'C'??

Just from the assortment of parts, he built the top one with parts he had, not the parts he needed.

Couple of questions from an "out of towner".
In the top pic, there is what looks like we would call an "inspection through box" although ours have a round body.
Over here, these sorts of things are only allowed to be installed on walls and open to sight.
If this work gets covered later on with soil or worse, concrete, does that box still comply with the NEC or local Codes?

In the 2nd pic, is this some sort of an isolator?, if so, why is it mounted so low?
I also note that the top KO has been removed, meaning that this isolator is going to be fed from somewhere else?

Is it my eyesight or is that wall on an angle or is that box and conduit run "on the piss"?
Maybe the guy built that wall as well.....
What sort of material is that?

Trumpy:
The box in pic 1 is commonly called a 'bell box', or 'FS' box. They are used for installing a device, with a cover.
Commonly installed outdoors, and surface mounted. Available in single and multi gang, with various hub sizes and locations.

We also have round ones, usually used for lighting fixtures. A good place to see all the variations would be www.mulberrymetal.com

The other item in the pic is a 'C' condulet fitting; used for pulling purposes. It must be installed in an accessable location.

The box mounted in the 2nd pic could be for mounting a device, or using the rear hub, connecting to an interior wiring method.

Please keep in mind the descriptions are for the usage of the items described by a professional. The intended usage by the person that did the work in the pics is unknown.

Perhaps a more detailed description is in order for the "out of towners."

Both pictures use PVC pipe and fittings. The white ones are plumbing (cold water) fittings, and the gray ones are intended for electrical use.

Common to both pics are exceptionally clean joints. Even clear PVC cement will smear printed marks on the pipes. I suspect that most of the connections have no glue on them at all.

The box in the first pic is probably made of zinc or aluminum, and intended for outdoor use. Such boxes typically have threaded openings machined into them. Our code requires boxes to be supported- it appears the intent is to simply stick the box atop the threaded vertical fitting; that would leave the box unsupported.

"Bell" is a brand name of such boxes. For similar applications, a much stouter box is used in industrial locations. The heavy cast boxed are generically called "FS" boxes. This link should show you some of the heavier industrial boxes: http://www.emersonindustrial.com/en...-device-box/fs-fd-box/Pages/default.aspx . Parts are not interchangeable.

The "C" body can also be used to make a splice. I suspect the "designer" planned to connect a photocell, but had to use a box when the tails on the photocell proved too short.

Use of plumbing fittings on electrical work is forbidden, as the fittings do not have the required bending radius for wires; nor can you pull wires through them. Such an installation would need to have the fittings slipped over the wires one at a time; we are required to assemble the conduit completely, and THEN pull the wires in. Naturally, there are no 'approvals' for the plumbing fittings either.

In the second pic, I believe the "slant" of the building is a creation of the camera lens.

The box in the second pic is made of PVC, and is designed to be glued directly to PVC conduit. The top is not open- it is designed to be used with either 1/2" or 3/4" conduit, with the necessary center parts knocked out with a hammer as needed.

We would require an additional strap on the vertical part of that conduit run.

Since you see three 90-degree bends in quick sequence, there are concerns about the run having more than the maximum 360 degrees of bends between pull points. A cleaner install would have replaced the third bend with an LB or LR conduit body. That would have provided a pull point, as well as let you run the pipe right next to the face of the step.

A better plan might have been to run the pipe on the face of the top step- eliminating two bends. Not knowing the rest of the run, I can only guess.