Im getting a new light fixture installed and the electrician has decided to use wire nuts from the fixture box on the roof, to the ground (with the cord dangling in the center of the room)to power work lights on the ground. Im located in Canada, I was wondering if someone could tell me about the legality of such a setup? It seems rather dangerous to me as the weight of the cable is hanging off the wire nuts and if they come loose it may short.
If not legal, pointing me to the appropriate electrical code/source of information would be appreciated
Best Answer
The weight of the fixture is not allowed to be applied to the electrical cable no matter what, so how it is connected is irrelevant so long as it is legal, and wire nuts are legal. "What if" scenarios are too numerous to be practical in covering them all. But if the fixture IS hanging only by the wirenutted electrical connections (no chain or steel cable to bear the weight), then yes, that would be illegal.
That said, I'm having a hard time envisioning the setup you describe; work lights on the ground powered from a ceiling mounted light fixture? There are no wall receptacles anywhere? THAT (no wall receptacles in a room) is more likely a violation in and of itself. If this is all just temporary power during construction, most inspectors are fairly lenient that way, but if it's something permanent, it sounds like a serious problem for reasons having nothing to do with wire nuts.