John's Blog

After Dead Poets I took a power nap and then sat down at the computer to order electrical fittings. I soon found out it's not going to work. Here's why:

I chose a very large company that makes electrical fittings and searched their on-line catalog for the fitting I'm looking for:


As you can see, Hubbel\Raco's part number is 1941. Punching “raco 1941” into ebay returns just one vendor selling them for $10.98 each. At Amazon you'll see this same vendor selling the same fitting for the same price.

I found other on-line sellers that offer 1941s at anywhere from $11 to $28 EACH – IF they only had 'em 'in stock:



Whatever.

Another large company that makes electrical fittings is Halex, their part number (91530) is all over ebay. But do your homework before you buy. Halex 91530 really truly looks like this:


… which isn't approved for use with flexible metal conduit. It's for NM (plastic covered cable). What e-bay vendors are doing is putting 91530 in the product description next to a picture of… anything they want. Buy one and you'll get a 91530… and be disappointed. I already have a bunch of 91530s and I don't want any more.

So I talked with an electrical inspector. I described what I was doing and how I can't find the fitting I want at a reasonable price. He's heard this story before. Yes, Code says that all boxes must remain uncovered. He doesn't allow boxes within walls, ceilings, or floors but would have no problem with my installation. It's similar to a box for a ceiling fan. The box is in the ceiling and covered - by the ceiling fan! In my case the box is in a wall and covered – by a space heater!

My installation is fine as is. I'm continuing with the project.