Caves and the NEC

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Phil Graham

Honorary PhD
Mar 10, 2011
651
1
18
Atlanta, GA
Hey All,

Has anyone ever stumbled across anything in the NEC related to electrical requirements in caves. The code explicitly excludes mining applications, but I can't seem to find where something like Mammoth Cave, Ruby Falls, or other tourist-type caves come into play.

Any help pointers in the code are greatly appreciated.
 
Re: Caves and the NEC

TJ Cornish said:
Seems like the prudent course of action would be finding the AHJ and do what they want; NEC or not.
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There are different AHJ for various caves all over the US and beyond currently using an existing revision of this product. I'm trying to correct the "sins of the father" for the next revision.
 
Re: Caves and the NEC

Phil Graham said:
There are different AHJ for various caves all over the US and beyond currently using an existing revision of this product. I'm trying to correct the "sins of the father" for the next revision.
Click to expand...

If you're developing a product; then I suppose UL, ETL, NTRL, etc. would be worthy of consultation. If broader than that, you're going to end up with the various AHJs anyway. Might be worth a survey of a few.
 
Re: Caves and the NEC

TJ Cornish said:
If you're developing a product; then I suppose UL, ETL, NTRL, etc. would be worthy of consultation. If broader than that, you're going to end up with the various AHJs anyway. Might be worth a survey of a few.
Click to expand...

I reached out to the CSA, which is the standards body with the geographically closest office. I'll see where it leads from there. Thanks!
 
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Re: Caves and the NEC

Phil - One of my clients ships custom fabricated assemblies that have lots of electrical contained within, and thus need to be UL Listed. I believe (but could be wrong) that they use a local inspector to finalize custom built components so they can be UL listed before shipping.

If you like I can ask the name of that inspector and local contacts?

I suspect that you have stumbled into a bit of a grey area, however there most certainly will be an SOP.

Karl P
 
Re: Caves and the NEC

Karl Peterson said:
Phil - One of my clients ships custom fabricated assemblies that have lots of electrical contained within, and thus need to be UL Listed. I believe (but could be wrong) that they use a local inspector to finalize custom built components so they can be UL listed before shipping.

If you like I can ask the name of that inspector and local contacts?

I suspect that you have stumbled into a bit of a grey area, however there most certainly will be an SOP.

Karl P
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Karl,

Though we have established lab relationships, I'll always take the contacts. I know you know how to contact me :)

I'm primarily trying to insure that my design will comply with whatever grey corners of the code my end up in play at certification time.
 
Re: Caves and the NEC

Phil Graham said:
I'm primarily trying to insure that my design will comply with whatever grey corners of the code my end up in play at certification time.
Click to expand...

In this case, it's worth remembering that the NEC (like many other standards) is a *minimum* standard, and for the most part simply codifies industry best practices. If you're designing a product, I'd worry more about designing to meet the environmental conditions anticipated, eliminate hazards, and fail safely. Taking into account human factors such as installability and the consequences of stupidity is a definite plus.
 
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