Please make fun of this

molo said:

I'm in New York State, where can I find the code for this kind of work?

TIA,
Molo

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Free downloads for you:

http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/new_york/index.htm

Welcome to the wonderful world of trying to make sense of this stuff!

...you're about to discover that it's called "code", for a reason.



Everybody else - most state codes can be downloaded from the main page:

http://www.ecodes.biz/list_sub.cfm?m_cat_id=36

You don't absolutely have to register to download the codes, just hit "returning user" at the top of the registration page.



There is no statewide electrical code in NY. It's regulated at the local level. It'll usually be some version of the NEC, though... I have a link for that, too:

http://www.nfpa.org/freecodes/free_access_agreement.asp?id=7005SB&cookie_test=1

thanks to Joe T. for that one.



as long as I'm at it... most municipal codes can be found here:

http://www.generalcode.com/webcode2.html

i used to work for a company here in cali called "water heaters only."

1990-2005

my pet peeve...any sort of enclosure where i couldn't stand and swing my arms like a gorilla...

in other words, this partition you describe gives me the shakes. it's just one more pita to deal with in the event that an element or thermostat needs replacement...

if you had the space, materials, and inclination, it'd be good to build a shed and move that right outside...


most water heater manufacturers include plastic lined nipples...even though i'd still resist putting copper pipe directly on the nipples (i'm a water flex man) the plastic-lined are dielectric by default.

vmplumbing said:

if you had the space, materials, and inclination, it'd be good to build a shed and move that right outside...

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Maybe in Cali...

he's in Upstate NY! Talk about frozen pipes...

isolate it

molo said:

... unsafe in any way...

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Under those two rectangular panels on the heater are live circuits that can give you a big shock. Those panels are never a really tight seal; even their screws are cheap with coarse threads. Nobody should be able to sprinkle toothbrush water, or hang a facecloth to dry there. So, isolate it mechanically --well done-- in any way -- so that sink activities don't cause dangers (e.g. splashing water) and so that pressure-released water isn't a danger to bathroom occupants, and what you'll have then is an installation that looks ugly, but isn't unsafe in any significant way compared to what is installed already in ten million other homes. Btw, shielding the wire is not done in many houses.

Molo, have you seen the big round HW insulation sleeves they sell in big box stores? That alone is a way to prevent physical contact with the heater. Btw, did you know that is is legal to install electrical water heaters in bedroom closets, in NY? Anyway, check out the idea of one big sheet of soft insulation that has an air barrier too.

David

--> frenchie: yep...mine was a very cali-centric post. i apologize.


i suppose if the said shed were insulated, and the pipes as well, then all would be good??

vmplumbing said:

even though i'd still resist putting copper pipe directly on the nipples

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What is wrong with copper pipe on a dielectric nipple? Does the copper pipe do something a brass flex wouldn't, other than (obviously) flexibility?

I can't recall seeing or installing a water heater installed with anything other than a copper female adapter right on the nipple. I've seen some get corroded but those were fifteen or more years old and weren't any worse then some of the other sweat joints.

Well we are a very old State as far as doing things. I'm sure most of the rules and reg's we need to follow is because if that one in a million chance happens nobody wants to get suede.

The Mass code is probably the strictest code in the country, but it does help to make people to bring in the new and toss out the old junk.

hj said:

Have a code article on that? or is that what your used to seeing?

It is what the inspectors in ALL the cities around here REQUIRE. Romex in "free fall" is not protected from damage.

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It's not free fall, it is strapped to to wall... which is allowed for exposed work...
and it only needs protection from physical damage where necessary, and IMO I don't see a problem, except for the missing disconnect... BUT, I don't know where this picture is taken and if there are any local amendments for this type of install...

Mike Swearingen said:

Molo,
That wire IS 10/2+g isn't it?

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All new NM wire is color coded to the AWG now...

12 Awg is Yellow
10 Awg is Orange

The two hardest cables to tell apart #8 awg and 6 awg are both still black... go figure...

marlin and northman--- excellent points.

i think i was committing another cali-centric post when i said what i said about the copper pipe. one of the issues here on the left coast is that of seismic activity, which is why we go for waterflex on residential water heaters.

another argument would be that the zinc in brass makes it resistant to electrolysis, whereas copper is not. i'd personally rather see a brass nut on such a nipple rather than just copper.