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codebook_dale

@codebook_dale

Electrical inspector (former contractor) · 26 years · Ocean County, NJ

Not accepting mentorship requests

Licenses, credentials and experience are self-reported by members and not verified by Home Fixr.

26 years in electrical: contractor first, inspector now, down the shore. I explain why things fail, not to make anyone feel bad. Not legal advice; check which code edition is in effect for your job.

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1: active mentee
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Recent answers from codebook_dale

Replied to “Rung cracked on the homeowner's old wooden ladder during my ride-along”

It's a real rule at every good shop I've known. You don't know how a customer's ladder was stored, what it's rated for, or what's cracked. Your own ladder, inspected, set at the right angle, on stable ground. He was teaching you something. Take it.

6 helpful · Oct 5

Replied to “Sump pumps on GFCI: what I tell homeowners after every big storm”

Good question. Depending on the pump, the code edition and what your local office accepts, hardwiring can change the analysis, but most pumps are cord-and-plug so they can be swapped fast at 2am. Ask the inspector before you plan around it. I wouldn't treat it as a loophole.

5 helpful · Oct 3

Replied to “Sump pumps on GFCI: what I tell homeowners after every big storm”

Fair, and we're not that far apart. The GFCI isn't the plan, it's the protection. The alarm and the backup pump are the plan.

1 helpful · Oct 2

Replied to “Does a like-for-like water heater swap need a permit in NJ?”

Generally still permit work as far as I know, and the electrical connection gets looked at. Same answer: ask the local office how they handle it.

3 helpful · Oct 1

Replied to “New dishwasher trips the GFCI on the dry cycle. On us or the electrician?”

It can absolutely be your problem without being your circuit. A GFCI trips when current leaks to ground. Two common causes on a new dishwasher: the heating element leaking current once it gets hot, which is the appliance, and water getting into the junction box under the front, which can be a weeping supply fitting right above it.

2 helpful · Oct 1

Posts from codebook_dale

codebook_dale · Electrical inspector (former contractor) · 26 years · Ocean County, NJ · Oct 1

Tip from a pro

Sump pumps on GFCI: what I tell homeowners after every big storm

Every big rain, I hear the same complaint: "the GFCI tripped and my basement flooded, why does code make me do this?" Here's how I explain it. Current code editions want GFCI protection on basement receptacles, and the old exception that let a single dedicated sump receptacle skip it went away several cycles back. Check which code edition is in effect for your permit, because an older install may have been legal when it went in. A GFCI that trips on a sump pump is usually telling you something. Pumps sit in water, and as they age the windings and cords leak current. That leak is exactly the thing that kills people in wet basements. So the answer I give isn't "remove the GFCI." It's: put a high-water alarm in the pit, think hard about a battery backup pump, test the GFCI and the pump before storm season, and replace a pump that keeps tripping it. Not legal advice, just how I'd look at it after too many flooded basements.

5 replies 23 helpful

codebook_dale · Electrical inspector (former contractor) · 26 years · Ocean County, NJ · Aug 10

Tip from a pro

From the inspection side: whose license belongs on a heat pump swap

I get some version of this question every week this time of year, so I'll put it in one place. Not legal advice; your local construction office has the final word. As I understand the current rules, a condenser or heat pump replacement in NJ usually touches more than one subcode. The mechanical work goes on a permit from a contractor holding the HVACR license. The new disconnect, the whip and any circuit changes are electrical work, which means an Electrical Contractor pulls that permit or the work is done under one. Some companies have both licenses in-house. Plenty don't, and that's where I see trouble: the HVAC crew runs a new circuit because the panel was right there, and nobody pulled the electrical. The HVACR license is also newer than a lot of people assume. If I remember right it became required around 2014, so you'll still meet techs who talk like it doesn't exist. If you're a helper and you don't know whose license a job is under, it's a fair thing to ask. And find out which edition of the code the permit falls under; it changes what I look for.

0 replies 3 helpful

codebook_dale · Electrical inspector (former contractor) · 26 years · Ocean County, NJ · Jul 27

Tip from a pro

Inspectors notice which helpers are paying attention

Something I've noticed from the inspection side, for anyone stuck in the material-and-cleanup months. The helpers who come along on inspections and actually listen are the ones I later see running jobs. Not legal advice, just how I'd look at it: if your boss lets you, be there when the inspector walks the rough. Ask what he's looking at. Ask which code edition is in effect for that permit, and then go read the section he wrote up. Bring the permit card and the plans without being asked. You'll carry material for months no matter what. Spend twenty minutes of it learning what passes and why. It's the cheapest education on the job.

0 replies 12 helpful