Article 680 allows pool circulation pump receptacles between 6-10 feet. It just has to be a twist lock and 20 amp. Yet you can have a general purpose receptacle between 6-20' as long as it is GFI. Right, so does that mean that you can have a pump motor with a regular straight blade 120 volt plug and cord? (As long as the cord is the proper style and 3' length.)

Here is another question, if you have an above ground pool and the motor receptacle is about 4' from the pool, BUT there is a fence all around the pool attached to the pool itself, would that allow the receptacle to be there because there is a permanent barrier? Would that be as per 680.22(5)? What if the fence has open slats?

Harold:
For your opening post above:
IMHO, I believe that ALL AG pool filters are equipped from the mfg with the required 3' cord, proper size, and a male twistlock plug.

I have seen pump motors with 'cord & plug' that was retrofitted with anything from 16Ga to 12ga cord, some 2 wire, with straight blade plugs. (Red Tage)

Keep in mind these are permanent AG pools, not the 'blow-up' type. That's another nightmare.

Harold:
Re: second post & question, again IMHO:

A slat fence is not considered a 'effective permanent barrier'.

4' is not 6', so the minimum distance is not compliant.

The fence mounted on the top rail of an AG pool as you describe, may protect the people in the pool, but offers no protection from someone outside the pool in the 4' zone.

The above is MHO, based on my take of your description.

I think the problem is that they did not rewrite 680(A)(1) when they changed the minimum distance in 680(A)(2) and (3) from 10' to 6'.
It really does not make any sense to require the pump to be plugged into a single twist lock if you can have a quad 6-15 on the same post.

Greg,


I see your point of view. There is no difference between the twist lock and the straight blade if the recpt. is between 6-15 feet away.

John,

OK all pool motors "should" have a twist lock. However if the cord is correct length and type what does it hurt if the blade is straight or twist lock?

IMHO when you were allowed to have a receptacle closer than 6' and it was for the pool motor, the twist lock made sense, but now since the NEC did away with the closer limit, does it matter?

I don't do a lot of pools, but always wondered why the NEC called for a twist-lock, yet the pump was listed with a straight blade. Do you cut the cord to satisfy the NEC and void the listing?

I understand life safety is more important than appearences, but it seems like the pool flexes do not allow the pump to be placed away from the pool IAW the NEC distance requirements. Also why can you have a receptacle just outside the footprint of a tub, but for a pool it needs to be 6'? Both places the body is immersed in water.

I am going to possibly disagree with John about the fence. Without seeing the fence, IMO a slat fence might be an effective barrier. I am seeing a board on board as an effective barrier. Heck I would have trouble fitting my hand through a chainlink fence.

Back before they relaxed the distance rule for the general use receptacles the thought was that if the pump used a twist lock you couldn't plug in a cube tap and a radio along with the pump. They didn't want you sitting in the pool and fooling with an old hot chassis radio.
The problem was they also had language saying if you couldn't maintain 10' to the general use receptacle it could be as close as 5'. Somebody said if this was really a safety issue, why have exceptions? It bounced around the sausage factory and came out in this contradictory form. The panel does not want to fix this



I guess they don't understand it is all 120v to ground.

It is frustrating to see someone present an idea for a change and it is not debated on the merits of the concept. Instead the committee shoot it down due to language issues or lack of adequate substantiation.

Makes you wonder how AFCIs were pushed thru without data to back up those claims.

Like I tell people, I didn't write the book, I only enforce it.

That said, there are many things that rub against my grain, but.....

Again, I blame things like his on the short code cycle. There is so much to digest between the release of the ROP and the end of the comment period we don't get a chance to read and challenge dumb things like the CMP 17 wrote in 17-111.
Perhaps if the original submitter had just suggested adding the text "other than 120v 15 or 20a" after "Receptacles" in the beginning of 608.22(A)(1) it might have worked.

Greg,

You talk about the short code cycle. Here in NJ most of my inspections were done under the '05 NEC and we have a "Rehab" code for older buildings, and the last date to use the'05 was in Oct. of '09. So now we are dealing strictly with the '08 NEC and yet the 2011 code is just being written up. So we are now finding the flaws in the '08 but we can't do anything about it till the next code starts up again.

OK, here is another question I was asked by a EC. The pool filter motors now have to be GFI protected if they are 120 or 240 if they are cord connected or hard wired. Correct so far? ( as per 680.22 (B))

What about a "Polaris" or a pool robot that cleans the pool? It has a motor on it. Does it need GFI protection?
What about an air pump for the spa section of an in-ground pool? How about a pump that runs a fountain or a water fall.

Harold:
My take on the items you mentioned above (all pool related) is GFI.

As to Article 680 specifics, I'll get back.

The Polaris works on 28VDC. I am not sure what protection is internal to that power supply but the instructions say it must be plugged into a GFCI receptacle and kept 5' from the pool.
As for the spa air blower, 680.44 does not parse the language for each part. It just says "the outlet(s) that supplies...<a spa>..." so the GFCI is at the source.

680.51(A) requires GFCI on fountains.

They pretty much have these things covered.

Greg:
Thanks for the Articles!

The Polaris unit that I see (and probably Harold) is another 240 volt pump that is adjacent to the filter pump. They are usually wired so the 'Polaris' only runs with the filter being 'on'. I don't recall a 28VDC unit around here.

I have seen those too but if this is a line voltage pump it has to be GFCI.
680.22(B) just says "pumps" with no other qualifications.

My Hayward Navigator (cleaner) runs of the regular suction line. It does a good job but it is a maintenance hog. You are replacing $$$ parts every year. It is running 6 hours a day tho.

Greg,

John is right, the "Polaris" that I see is 120/240 volt motor that works in conjunction with the pool filter. Most times they are both hard wired to a control panel with timers to turn them both on and off.