AFCI breakers in the shop?

[Jim Becker]

Wouldn't that kinda force hard-wiring with a physical disconnect to remove an "outlet" from the picture if the 2020 NEC permits dedicated, hard-wired devices to evade the AFCI requirement?

[Mike King]

Wouldn't that kinda force hard-wiring with a physical disconnect to remove an "outlet" from the picture if the 2020 NEC permits dedicated, hard-wired devices to evade the AFCI requirement?

The NEC requires a breaker whether the circuit is hardwired or not.

[Frank Pratt]

The NEC requires a breaker whether the circuit is hardwired or not.

Can you provide a reference for that? I'm not arguing, just curious from a Canadian point of view. The CEC & NEC are increasingly harmonized with each code edition & at present are not that far apart. The CEC requires AFCI protection only for receptacle circuits, not for lighting or hardwired equipment. The whole reason for implementing AFCIs is because of the fire hazard due to defective cords & extension cords. Fires started by arcing in the building wiring is extremely rare. Any point of connection in the building wiring must be in an approved enclosure so that if there's a connection failure the resulting arcing will be contained. But cords exist 'in the wild' and are run under carpets, pinched behind furniture legs, subject to foot traffic and worse. That's where the protection is needed.

[Charlie Velasquez]

Can you provide a reference for that? I'm not arguing, just curious from a Canadian point of view. The CEC & NEC are increasingly harmonized with each code edition & at present are not that far apart. The CEC requires AFCI protection only for receptacle circuits, not for lighting or hardwired equipment. The whole reason for implementing AFCIs is because of the fire hazard due to defective cords & extension cords. Fires started by arcing in the building wiring is extremely rare. Any point of connection in the building wiring must be in an approved enclosure so that if there's a connection failure the resulting arcing will be contained. But cords exist 'in the wild' and are run under carpets, pinched behind furniture legs, subject to foot traffic and worse. That's where the protection is needed.

The arcing is also the basis for horsepower rating for disconnects on motors, has little to do with the size of the wiring. Motors are just generators backwards and can continue to produce a charge as it spins down.
The disconnect must be able to contain a possible arc: snap switch, arc shield, pin and sleeve... something.

[Jim Becker]

The NEC requires a breaker whether the circuit is hardwired or not.

Yes, a breaker. But does it have to be an AFCI breaker like being discussed for a hardwired machine in the 2020 NEC? That clarifies my question, hopefully.

[Frank Pratt]

The NEC requires a breaker whether the circuit is hardwired or not.

Mike, my post above assumed that you were referring to an AFCI breaker. If not, ignore the post.

[Mike King]

Frank, I was referring to GFCI breakers, not AFCI's. Jim, I went back to the material sent to me by the inspector and you might be right: you might get away with hardwiring the machine, although that really depends on what the inspector would allow. Here's the pages of the 2020 NEC he sent to me:

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[Jim Becker]

Frank, I was referring to GFCI breakers, not AFCI's. Jim, I went back to the material sent to me by the inspector and you might be right: you might get away with hardwiring the machine, although that really depends on what the inspector would allow. Here's the pages of the 2020 NEC he sent to me:

GFCI is understood (and I generally use them), but the situation in this thread is about AFCIs which are a different animal. They can be problematic with some machinery as the OP and others have indicated.

[Mike King]

GFCI is understood (and I generally use them), but the situation in this thread is about AFCIs which are a different animal. They can be problematic with some machinery as the OP and others have indicated.

Understood, yet GFCI's also are problematic with machinery with electronics, such as sliding table saws, shapers, etc. Not sure about Sawstop.

AFCI's are not required in garages, but GFCI's are.

[Jim Becker]

Understood, yet GFCI's also are problematic with machinery with electronics, such as sliding table saws, shapers, etc. Not sure about Sawstop.

Yes, that's very true.