On Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:21:59 -0500, RBM wrote:

On 2/3/2012 5:38 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:04:31 -0500, wrote:

On 2/3/2012 4:34 PM, Horace Greeley wrote:
On 2/3/2012 7:22 AM, RBM wrote:
On 2/2/2012 11:05 PM, wrote:

I've seen furnaces connected with a twist-lock plug - it meets the
requirement for a disconnect within reach of the furnace.(takes the
place of a switch) and is also a foolproof way of connecting to a
genset.

That maybe true in Canada, but it doesn't meet 422.16 of the Nec, in the
U.S., at least not for your garden variety central heating system.


Check with your local electrical inspector.

If done properly, ours said it was legal and safe to do the plug and
cord setup.

His only recommendation was to use a 12 gauge appliance cord set, proper
strain relief (not romex clamp) and a high-quality 20 amp receptacle.

That really makes no sense. Typical oil burner/ furnace is fed with a 15
amp circuit. It's either code compliant or it's not, regardless of size
or ampacity of cord and receptacle.

20 amp twist locks are a lot more common than 15 amp twist locks.

... and that has what to do with anything code related?


Nothing - but it has an awfull lot to do with why one might use a 20
amp cord/plug. As far as the code:


422.16 Flexible Cords.
(A) General. Flexible cord shall be permitted (1) for the
connection of appliances to facilitate their frequent interchange
or to prevent the transmission of noise or vibration

If you have a "compliant coupling" on the ductwork to eliminate
vibration, the flexible cord is allowed under the code for the same
reason.. Immaterial that the rigid gas line passes vibration to the
house. No inspector can say FOR SURE that the cord is not there for
vibration reasons - and if it is allowed for that purpose there is no
SAFETY reason for denying it - hense the overlooking of the
"infraction" by so many inspectors.