Emergency Switch for Furnance
bacchus
inspection, I'm told I need an emergency shutoff switch for the furnace
since a wall now exist between it and the breaker box.
Does this just mean I need to add a switch on the line that goes from the
furnace to the breaker box? I know it would have to be by the furnace.
Thanks.
John
Kevin Ricks
For a gas 120v fan only, then you just need a switch. You may be able to
mount a conduit box and switch right to the furnace or in-line near
where the existing wire goes into the box. I would use a heavy duty 20
Amp switch mounted on a metal cover plate and in metal box.
For 240 I would use a 'knife' cutoff switch rated for the same (or more)
as the 240 breaker.
Kevin
Terry S
Don't know if this applies in your area. Check your regulations.
What I have seen here is a simple switch box (often painted red) outside
the furnace room. I guess the idea is that you can shut off all
electricity to the furnace without going into the flames around it if it
misoperates?
On the other hand you indicate switch must be by (or near) the furnace?
Maybe the 'rule' where you are is that a cut-off switch must NOT be in
another room. Perhaps the idea being that if the switch is in another
room people might be tempted to work on the furnace electricals without
turning off the power. A nearby switch thereby being electrically safer?
You'd better check your local Safety Code requirement concerning where
and why the switch is required.
Good luck.
db...@sprynet.com
fairly close, thats so you can cut power to it if its giving trouble.
its a safety thing. cost of swith, (just like a plain on/off light
switch) and box with cover should not cost more than $5.00 total, you
dont need any more wiring as you probably have enough slack in the lines
to pull the wire a few inches to get the switch in place.
hope this helps.
bacchus
Thanks.
John
"Kevin Ricks" <k...@netschools.net> wrote in message
news:3AEA05DB...@netschools.net...
Edwin Pawlowski
> > After a recent
> > inspection, I'm told I need an emergency shutoff switch for the furnace
> > since a wall now exist between it and the breaker box.
> >
> > Does this just mean I need to add a switch on the line that goes from
the
> > furnace to the breaker box? I know it would have to be by the furnace.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > John
The inspector should have given you some idea of proper location. I have a
switch right on the heater, but I also have a switch upstairs, outside of
the bedrooms (raised ranch). Every house in this area with a basement has a
switch usually at the top of the basement steps so you would not even have
to go down in case of fire or malfunction.
Ed
e...@snet.net
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
Calvin Henry-Cotnam
Most likely - get clarification from the inspector, though.
Here in Canada, the Canadian Electrical Code is clear about shutoff
switch requirements. There is likely a similar rule under the NEC.
CEC Rule 26-806 (Heating Equipment Rated 400,000 Btuh or less) states
in subrules (4) and (5):
(4) Suitable disconnecting means shall be provided for the branch circuit.
(5) The disconnecting means may be a branch ciruit breaker at the
distribution panelboard, provided the panelboard is located between
the furnace and the point of entry to the area where the furnace
is located.
Applying this to your situation, I suspect that originally without the
wall, the "area where the furnace is located" included your breaker
box and thus the breaker was located between the entrance and the
furnace.
Now, with the furnace walled off, the "area where the furnace is located"
no longer has a means of disconnection. A switch must be added that
will be located between the furnace and the entrance to that area.
--
Calvin Henry-Cotnam | "Nothing quite livens up a suburban
DAXaCK associates | neighbourhood like a driveway boasting
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | plastic milk crates loaded with crap."
http://home.ica.net/~calvinhc | -- John Oakley, radio talk-show host
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Thomas D. Horne
"located within sight from" the furnace itself.
422-21. Disconnection of Permanently Connected Appliances.
(b) Appliances Rated Over 300 Volt-Amperes or 1/8 Horsepower. For
permanently connected appliances rated over 300 volt-amperes or 1/8
horsepower, the branch-circuit switch or circuit breaker shall be
permitted to serve as the disconnecting means where the switch or
circuit breaker is within sight from the appliance or is capable of
being locked in the open position.
422-27. Disconnecting Means for Motor-Driven Appliances.
If a switch or circuit breaker serves as the disconnecting means for a
permanently connected motor-driven appliance of more than 1/8
horsepower, it shall be located within sight from the motor controller
and shall comply with Part I of Article 430.
--
Tom of the sparks and arcs
"This alternating current thing is just a fad. It is much too dangerous
for general use." Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas D. Horne
the "emergency shutoff switch". The emergency switch, were required, is
located at the top of the basement stairs so that the furnace can be
shut down without approaching it. You had better be clear which one the
inspector wants. Since your furnace is gas fired, and a remote
emergency shut off switch is usually required only on oil fired
furnaces, I am betting on the disconnecting means required by the
national electric code for fixed appliances as I outlined in the
previous message.
--
Firefighter/Rescuer Thomas D. Horne speaking for myself and not the
Takoma Park Volunteer Fire Department a cooperating agency of the
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Maryland
Well, we Aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards
too.
Just working men and women most remarkable like you.
The.Central.Scru...@invalid.pobox.com
>The problem would appear to be that the circuit breaker is no longer
>"located within sight from" the furnace itself.
The best place for such a switch would be the hell away from the furnace. If
the thing were spewing flames, the only place I would want to kill it is with
the main breaker on the circuit breaker panel.
Edwin Pawlowski
Perhaps, but what if the heater is between you and the main panel? Thus the
emergency switch placed elsewhere.
Ed
e...@snet.net
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
The.Central.Scru...@invalid.pobox.com
I dunno. I've currently have the main breaker panel in the garage and the
heater in the basement. Last place had them both in the basement but with the
breaker panel one room closer. I guess things would be different if the
breaker panel were farther from the nearest exit than the furnace. In any
case, I'd prefer the emergency shutoff to be more accesable than the furnace.
Dan Lanciani
I think the problem is terminology drift. What they used to call an emergency
furnace shutoff switch really was placed away from the furnace. Typically if
the furnace was in a cellar the emergency shutoff switch was on the first
floor near the door to the cellar stairs so you could kill the furnace without
even entering the cellar at all. Nobody seems to bother with emergency furnace
shutoff switches anymore and I don't know if they were ever required.
What is currently being called an emergency shutoff is really just the means
of disconnect that we require near most any fixed electrical device. I think
it has more to do with being sure that the device is not turned on while you
are working on it than with shutting down a flame-spewing furnace from a
distance.
Dan Lanciani
ddl@danlan.*com
Dan Hicks
the switch is out of sight and not lockable then there is a danger that
someone will switch it on while he's working on the furnace.