Product Description

The Number 1 Practical, Portable, Plain-English Guide to the 2005 National Electrical Code Whatever your role in designing or installing electrical systems, you need up-to-the-minute, easy-to-use information about the newest National Electrical Code. The Pocket Guide to the National Electrical Code(R), 2005 Edition, brings together all the topics, tables, and calculations you'll use most often in a pocket guide organized for rapid access and maximum usability. No other book is as convenient, or reflects as much feedback from working professionals. Writing in plain English, NFPA Committee Service Award honoree and Life Member Marvin J. Fischer, P.E., walks you through every key area of the code, highlighting crucial changes you need to know about. For more than twenty-two years the Pocket Guide has served as the quick, reliable source for Code answers. With even more up-to-date information--and a new lower price--this guide is a must-have for every practicing member in this field. *Essential information for every electrician, contractor, installer, designer, inspector, architect, consultant, manufacturer, and instructor.* Carry it anywhere--your shirt pocket, toolbox, glove compartment, briefcase...wherever you go! *Covers general code issues and concepts; wiring and protection; wiring methods and materials; equipment for general use; special occupancies, equipment, and conditions; and communications systems. *Also presents product safety standards, guidance on ampacity calculations, conduit and tubing fill tables, and administration/enforcement information. *Contains virtually all the tables you'll need to use, and every calculation example. *Organized to match the 2005 NEC itself, for easy reference and cross-checking. *Reflects every significant change in the 2005 NEC.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1934656 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

From the Inside Flap
PREFACE

The Pocket Guide to the National Electrical Code is intended for use as a convenient reference guide for architects, engineers, electrical designers, electrical contractors, electricians, manufacturers, inspectors, teachers, students, and all those who use the code in their work. The reader should have a basic knowledge of electricity and the National Electrical Code or be using this book together with other instructional material in the study of electricity, electrical design, and construction.

This book is not intended to replace the National Electrical Code but rather be used with it. It is intended to provide the user with a reference book of those topics in the NEC¨ that occur most frequently to the user in a form that can be carried at all times where it might prove inconvenient to carry a copy of the complete National Electrical Code.

The NEC is probably the most referenced and widely distributed single electrical code in use today. It is adapted into law in most jurisdictions in the United States: town, village, city, county, and state. Most federal and state agencies adapt this code in whole or in part or refer to specific pertinent sections and paragraphs. Naturally, there are some exceptions. It is safe to say that if your work or profession in any way touches the electrical field, a thorough knowledge of the National Electrical Code may be quite important, if not an absolute necessity.

Let us examine for a moment who might be using the NEC and for what purpose. The reader will note that it is not uncommon today to find one person falling into more than one category. Those people in the design profession/architects, engineers, and electrical designers must surely refer to the Code in their everyday work. Not only must the design conform to the Code theoretically, but practically the work must be capable of being installed in conformance with the Code so as to provide a safe installation. It should be noted that the National Electrical Code is not and should not be used as a design specification. This is noted in paragraph 90Ð1(c) of the Code and will be discussed later. It should be used as a guide for a minimum provision of an essentially safe installation. Adequate space must be provided, and proper wire size and insulation must be used for specific purposes. These are just a few of the many topics of concern for design professionals. All are aimed at providing safe installation. Once a project is designed, it must be built. This is accomplished primarily by electrical contractors, their licensed electricians, and helpers. The National Electrical Code includes provisions for the proper installation and construction of electrical work. How to pull wire through conduit, number of wires in a conduit, color coding to be used, and where, how, and under what circumstances the various types of wire and cable may be used are just an example of the many areas of concern.

The supplies and equipment used in an electrical installation must meet minimum requirements that are enumerated in the Code. They must also meet a minimum set of standards, such as color coding and markings on wire and cable, thickness and gauge of materials, and voltage ratings. Hence the manufacturers are constantly referring to the NEC to ensure that their products meet the minimum standards set forth and therefore are saleable.

When work is finished, before being used, it must be inspected by the enforcing authority of the Code. It is at this point that many differences in interpretation emerge. Naturally, it would be nice if we could all come up with one meaning or intent for a given set of rules. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The inspector must be as familiar with the Code as any other person using it and in some cases more so. He may become the final arbiter before a judge's decision.

Finally, let us not forget those who will take our place, the students and their teachers. The National Electrical Code becomes a useful instructional tool and therefore must be understood and used by the instructor and learned by the student.

It has been found that people using it need to refer to certain topics in the National Electrical Code more frequently than other topics. Some are of concern on a daily basis, whereas others may appear infrequently and then only when a special project is in progress. A copy of the complete National Electrical Code is a necessity and should always be available to the reader. However, a book containing a discussion of only those paragraphs or parts of paragraphs that occur most frequently, and one that is more convenient to carry than the entire Code, will obviously be an excellent aid for daily use. To add to the ease of use of this handy reference, it should be of a size that could easily be carried in a pocket and not take up space in a case. This Pocket Guide to the National Electrical Code was developed and written to fill that need and provide that convenience.

The topics and parts of articles, sections, and paragraphs of the NEC chosen for this book are those that the author felt would be most useful to the reader on a daily basis. Less frequently used parts of the NEC are noted by Article headings for reference purposes only. The material presented is not intended to appear as official interpretations or reproductions of the NEC by the author. Official or formal interpretations may be obtained only from the NFPA and through a definite procedure outlined in the Code. It is also recommended that the authorities having jurisdiction be consulted. This book refers to the 1999 edition of the National Electrical Code.

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Ruth, and children, Michael and Cheryl, Cathi and Marc, and Wendy and Brad, and grandchildren, Brian, Julia, Jessica, Sarah, Candis, Michael, and Lexis for their encouragement and patience during its writing.
Marvin J. Fischer

From the Back Cover

The Number 1 Practical, Portable, Plain-English Guide to the 2005 National Electrical Code

Whatever your role in designing or installing electrical systems, you need up-to-the-minute, easy-to-use information about the newest National Electrical Code. The Pocket Guide to the National Electrical Code®, 2005 Edition, brings together all the topics, tables, and calculations you'll use most often in a pocket guide organized for rapid access and maximum usability.

No other book is as convenient, or reflects as much feedback from working professionals. Writing in plain English, NFPA Committee Service Award honoree and Life Member Marvin J. Fischer, P.E., walks you through every key area of the code, highlighting crucial changes you need to know about. For more than twenty-two years the Pocket Guide has served as the quick, reliable source for Code answers. With even more up-to-date information--and a new lower price--this guide is a must-have for every practicing member in this field.

• Essential information for every electrician, contractor, installer, designer, inspector, architect, consultant, manufacturer, and instructor.
• Carry it anywhere--your shirt pocket, toolbox, glove compartment, briefcase...wherever you go!
• Covers general code issues and concepts; wiring and protection; wiring methods and materials; equipment for general use; special occupancies, equipment, and conditions; and communications systems.
• Also presents product safety standards, guidance on ampacity calculations, conduit and tubing fill tables, and administration/enforcement information.
• Contains virtually all the tables you'll need to use, and every calculation example.
• Organized to match the 2005 NEC itself, for easy reference and cross-checking.
• Reflects every significant change in the 2005 NEC.

About the Author

Marvin J. Fischer, P.E., is currently a private consultant and member of NFPA's Technical Correlating Committee for Health Care Facilities. A Life Member of the NFPA, he has served as its Chairman of the Technical Committee on Essential Electrical Systems, Chairman of the Technical Correlating Committee for Health Care Facilities, and Chairman of the Technical Committee on Emergency Power Supplies. In 1992, he received the NFPA Committee Service Award; and in 1985, he was honored as Engineer of the Year by The American Society for Healthcare Engineering.

Customer Reviews

Excellent guide to the NEC
As an electrical engineer I use the NEC code book everyday, but it it too big to carry around from site to site. This handbook is an excellent guide to the larger code book in a convenient small size. It can not replace the code book but when on the job and need to some of the more frequently used information, it is there or it directs you where to look in the code book. This book is not recommended as a stand alone resource, but is an excellent companion.

This Pocket Guide was no help at all.
My husband is building a garage. We had an inspector come out and he wanted some things corrected. Well, we thought this book might clarify a few things. It did not. The codes are all listed but they don't tell you what the specs. are on many things. Like code 300-5 Underground Installations. It tells you to refer to table 300-5. The table isn't in the book! I couldn't find it and neither could my husband. The tables are in numerical order, but it just skips over that one, and I suspect many others as there are numerical gaps. In my opinion, save your money and purchase something else.

Helpful & Handy
This is a great little reference book for anyone doing wiring work, either homeowner or electrician.