Code Corner With Tom Henry

With Tom Henry

Question:     Are duplex receptacles on a 20 amp 120 volt circuit looped from box to box in a room considered connected in series or parallel?
Tom's answer:    PARALLEL!

    Strange you would ask this question as we had a person claiming to be an instructor wanting to return a book that we sell because the book showed receptacles connected in parallel and he claimed it was in error, and what made it worse he wanted to argue!
    "What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on out there?" I'm not believing some of the questions that are sent to me from instructors? No wonder when a young person attends my seminar he seems lost. I even had an instructor from Indiana have his 16 students personally sign a letter that they all agreed on a mistake they felt was in a book. My reply was for the instructor to rent a bus and load the students and come to Indianapolis the next time I teach there!
    Instructor or de-structor? Who is teaching the instructor? I've read about the lack of qualified electricians, what about the lack of qualified instructors?
    Friends, when I receive mail from instructors who don't understand the definition of a neutral, multi-wire circuit, split-wired circuit, series or parallel circuits, pigtailing, etc. I think it's time to take a closer look at our instructors. What's going on out there?
    For the instructor who wants to argue the looped duplex receptacles are in series rather than parallel I'll draw you a picture as I try to do in the books I write and I'll ask you to take your class on this field trip and maybe, just maybe one of them will be able to help you understand since I couldn't.
    First plug in several table lamps, trouble lights, what ever you have. Let's suppose we have three boxes each with a duplex receptacle with a light plugged into each one. Now with the circuit shut off (the breaker) remove the middle duplex receptacle completely from the circuit. Now energize the circuit (turn breaker on), the last light went off, but isn't the first light still on? If not write to me and I'll see if I can find a seat on the bus for you! Nuff said!

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Electrical Code
1897 Code Book

The first Code book Adopted August 31, 1897 had 54 total pages in this 4" x 6 1/2" book. Today the 2008 NEC is 8 1/2" x 11" in size and has 822 pages.

Some rules never change:
1897 •Section 16 Table of Carry Capacity of Wires - THE QUESTION OF DROP IS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN THE ABOVE TABLES.
•Section 25. Switches - b. Knife switches must be so placed that gravity will tend to open rather than close the switch.
•Section 27 Wires - b. must never be fastened with staples.
•Section 29 Conduits - a. Must be continuous from one junction box to another or to fixtures, and the conduit tube must properly enter all fittings.
b. Must first be installed as a complete conduit system, without the conductors.
o. Must have not more than the equivalent of four quarter bends from outlet to outlet.

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