toller wrote:
based on what "I-zheet M'drurz" said above, I'm coming to realize that
the electrician's fixed work is probably perfectly legal, and it would
be my friend's actions, not his, which might be illegal or actionable if
he fried a lineman. I forgot to mention that the electrician installed a
double 30 amp breaker in the feed to/from that receptical he installed
in the garage, to match the 30 amp full load rating of the genny my
friend bought. That should make that outlet perfectly legal.
Yes, assuming they got it inspected, it was legal. All they did was install
a dryer outlet.
Your friend would be the criminal if he ever used it.
I suppose if someone got fried by that double male plug cord, and it
could be proved without question that it was the electrician who made it
up and sold it to my friend the electrician might be in difficulty
legally, but proving who made it up would likely be near impossible
several years from now, 'eh?
He has a receipt for the project, doesn't he?
I suppose, but I wonder if it gets as specific as mentioning that double
male cord...And if it does, describes it in enough detail.
I guess it's like a hiring a contractor to add on a second story porch
for you, with a code height railing. He can't be held responsible if you
decide to stand a potted plant on the corner of the railing which then
gets blown off and causes brain damage to the electric company's meter
reader who happens to be below at the time, not expecting things to fall
on him.
Your analogy does not hold up.
The electrician installed it specifically for the generator, and provided
instruction and the suicide cord.
I assume he did not get it inspected, for any inspector is going to ask why
they want the outlet in the garage. Most people in better neighborhoods
don't have any legitimate use for a 30a/240a outlet in their garage.
Not that I disagree with you, but I happen to have just that sort of
outlet in my garage (And, not to brag, it IS in a "better neighborhood")
'Course it's probably the only one in a hundred or so houses nearby. I
needed 230 volts for my old "buzz box stick welder which I occassionally
use for hobby projects.
Fortuitously, the 50 amp fused disconnect for the air handler's
auxillary heaters of one of our heat pump HVAC systems was in a closet
on the other side of the garage rear wall. You can guess the rest. I
just have to make sure not to let the auxillary heat come on while I'm
sparking away. G
I am not a lawyer, but I would be willing to bet the electrician would be
held liable for any unfortunate results from the installation. It has to be
fit for the purpose intended, and it isn't.
However, the whole thing couldn't have been very expensive and your friend
can always use the wiring to install a proper hook up.
Just out of curiosity, what gauge wire was used? He did everything else
wrong, why not use undersized wire?
That much detail (wire size) I haven't heard yet, but I'd expect it was
adequate to carry the 30 amp genny output. I had another chat with my
friend and he said he'd found his next door neighbor and another guy
down the street had almost identical genny hookups, also without idiot
proof transfer switches.
I'm guessing that the labor costs to properly install a typical transfer
switch system, which requires getting at and cutting into each of the
six to ten branch circuits the user elects to power up with the genny is
what would run the electrician's bill through the roof and kill their
deal on selling the homeowner a generator. In homes of that quality the
breaker panels are often sitting in finished walls, which pretty much
says that cutting into branch circuits will require the services of
another trade or two to close things up again.
I think the installers must just take the easy route of "adding a
breaker and a dryer outlet" as near the service panel as they can get,
and don't spend too much time thinking about the downstream liability.
My friend has no recolection of an inspector showing up to look at the
work, but one may have come and gone without their noticing it. Again,
my ignorance of the way things work in Florida leaves me wondering if
that kind of simple "adding a breaker and an 230 volt outlet" job even
requires a post inspection. Maybe someone here will tell us.
Jeff
--
My name is Jeff Wisnia and I approved this message....
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"
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