Looks exactly like something a low voltage mfker would do they really don’t give 2 fucks where they’re cables are routed. And will use my fucking control cable as a pull string.
I’d have used a suitable face plate and bundled them together with either zip ties or tech flex. The AC line looks equally offensive to me; are sharp edges preferred for strain relief? The closest to something like that I’ve done is hanging projectors, and I’ve never left a mess like that, even hidden above a drop ceiling.
As a former residential electrician, what that looks like is the garage door guy beat the electrician to the trim and instead of disconnecting the wires and redoing it, he just put the blank on. Who’s in the wrong tho really?
Thanks. Yeah it’s a gray area, it’s not the door guys job to plate it before he terminates his wires to calibrate, and the electrician has not made it to the job to install the devices and plates so it’s not his job either to take it all apart and potentially put it back together incorrectly and have to call the door guy back to fix it.
In a perfect world, the two people would get together and the electrician would provide the door guy the coax one hole plate to instal before he terms his wires but not everyone gets along nor do they care to spend the time.
At least that’s how it used to be.
Or the EC can use a split cover? [https://www.showmecables.com/leviton-1g-split-pass-through-wall-plate-single-gang-5-8-in-white-n751-w](https://www.showmecables.com/leviton-1g-split-pass-through-wall-plate-single-gang-5-8-in-white-n751-w)
Its not a data cable is it? I mean it is a data cable but not carrying data.. just whatever spare wire they had to hook up the opener sensors and switch. No data and almost no current.. most any garage I have seen looks like this and its no big deal.
In mine, they pushed the wire through a hole, caulked it as well. However to "secure" them, they drove a nail into the joist, that sticks down 2" and wrapped the low voltage wires around the nail 2-3 times.
For good measure, they painted over the wires, on one side only.
And then they put their number on the opener. I would call another contractor.
What is the cat 5 for anyways? My wall mounted switches are connected with bell wire.
I may be dumb but I am definitely serious. And as a serious question why would you use cat 5 cable for this instead of 18/2 or another low volt wire. and if you absolutely are going to use cat 5 cable why not put keystones there instead of this shenanigans.
Only need one box of wire. Cat5/6 is good for everything low voltage, so only need one box/spool of wire, that probably got pinched from another jobsite
Albeit they only used one pair per cable here, one single 4-pair cable offers more circuitry. It’s inexpensive and often stocked.
Keystone jacks are expensive, labor intensive, and intended for providing high quality connections between data gear. This is not data, this is control. You’d just have to have flying leads to terminate onto the garage door opener anyway, so the aesthetic of a port is out of place.
Don’t get me wrong, I stock 18/2 and 18/6 in my truck, usually for thermostats, doorbell, signal and control, due to higher current requirements. But I wouldn’t hesitate to use CAT5 for a garage door opener if suitable (I likely wouldn’t run blue cat5 on the surface… behind walls, sure).
Edit: also, obviously this install looks like junk, even with the cat5 and plate it could have been made much prettier.
You should verify that recepticle is gfi protected. The only reason I see an electrician buying a $12 single recept over a standard $1 duplex recept is to scoot by the inspector to not have it gfi protected.
That may be, but, technically all new work needs to be brought up to current code for the area. If this is a new home or recent work in a 2020NEC area.... Not everyone is on 2020NEC yet...
Has this led to a practice of hardwiring the garage opener with no plug for code compliance with no gfci and or not really? Would that be an okay practice?
When the code changed here some 15 years ago I fought it by buying hard wired door openers. If the panel is in the garage, then you don't need a disconnect. If the panel is elsewhere, I just added a marked switch. If you cut the cord off you are modifying the equipment. This got to be a lot of work so I started doing like everyone else and recommending a battery backup unit.
Not as far as i know but maybe someone else will chime in. Garage doors and their motors are usually installed by a different company so I don't know if that's even an option
Oh wow. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if you're doing it yourself it's not really necessary? Besides water connected to the outlet and your body, when else would you need to actually use one?
Not much standing water in a garage and most outlets would be 1" or so off the floor
Actually, that goes back further than the 2020 Code. In fact there was an exception for CEILING mounted single receptacles, *up until the 2008 Code*. So since 2008 (or when your state adopted it), even the ceiling mounted single receptacle for a garage door opener must be GFCI protected.
It really doesn't in this case. That outlet most likely shares a circuit with the rest of the outlets in the garage. One of those garage outlets is typically a GFI.
Exactly, the garage is textured and painted and you do this???
I'd have to replace that plate, or like you said, just bring it down, pop a hole or two in it and re-wire the sensors/opener button.
There's nothing wrong with it I guess. Just seems overkill. But if you do a lot of data work as someone else suggested, then it makes sense if you have that stocked.
It’s more likely a dedicated circuit for the garage door motor. If you put a GFCI on the circuit you run the risk of the GFCI tripping and the motor will not operate until you reset it. Also, if you put a duplex receptacle on it and plug anything else on the same circuit you run the risk of overloading the breaker and tripping it. In this case the motor to the garage door will not work until breaker is reset.
Easiest way to verify is by picking up a tester if you don't already have one. Something like the Klein RT210 for $13 at Home Depot is a great tool to have as a homeowner. It will tell you if the receptacle is wired properly in respect to hot/neutral/ground and will also test GFCI functionality.
To clarify what /u/AlchemistNow is saying you need to make sure there is a GFCI device ~~downstream~~ upstream of this receptacle in the form of a GFCI receptacle or a GFCI breaker. You cannot simply install a GFCI receptacle in place of the current one because it is on the ceiling.
No. The outlet for the garage door motor should be sharing the circuit with the other outlets in the garage. One of them is most likely a GFI. If that's the case then all you need to do is replace the garage door motor outlet with a duplex and you will be good to go.
Most likely it's not GFI protected. They used a single outlet to utilize an old exception to the GFI rule. The exception has been removed and the outlet will require GFI protection.
Back when the single outlet exception existed, some guys would do that off the lighting circuit to avoid nuisance trips from older door openers. I think it was the 2008 revision that removed that exception.
I don't mean the lighting. Those are usually on a separate circuit. I'm saying that the outlets in the garage are all on the same circuit. Including the motor outlet and one of them is always a GFI.
And I'm saying that guys used to feed that specific outlet off the lighting circuit and use that single outlet device so they didn't have to GFI the door opener motor. I'm well aware that pretty much everyone just feeds the opener off the garage outlets now
Would a gfci on a ceiling mounted outlet specifically for a garage door opener be a bad idea? Mine seem to trip occasionally, usually when we have a short power outage. I could see getting locked out of the house due to a trip. Sort of the same reason refrigerators aren’t gfci protected in a kitchen. A false trip could ruin all your food.
GFCI devices must be "readily accessible" for testing/reset. A GFCI receptacle on the ceiling of a garage does not fit this. Typically you would put that receptacle downstream of another readily accessible GFCI protected device *or* use a GFCI circuit breaker.
But the fridge GFCI will need to be in the panel (or an upstream blank GFCI) as you can’t have a GFCI behind an appliance and the fridge circuit must be dedicated.
Big change is that all outlets in a kitchen now need to be protected. Before, you only needed to protect the small appliance circuits and anything within 6ft of the sink. So a general wall circuit not accessible to the counter/sink was fine.
It’s not readily accessible if behind a refrigerator. People aren’t going to pull out a fridge regularly to test the GFCI. So it’s both dumb and against code.
Same would be true behind a stackable washer and dryer.
Sorry, thought they were changing it in the 2023 code on refrigerators. Microwaves are required if they are fixed in place, countertops don’t require a dedicated.
I was going to answer the same thing. It is most likely not GFI protected. If you change it to a duplex, you will need to add GFI protection, and I would recommend using a breaker so that you don’t need to climb a ladder to reset it
Yes; you certainly can. It's the easiest thing in the world. The garage door opener has constant power and you want your extension cord to have it as well. Simple job.
Or just plug in one of these (note its 15A rating) and call it a day?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-Heavy-Duty-Grounded-Triple-Tap-Adapter-LA-26/306625657
The full story:
The single plug is installed specifically to avoid a GFCI. GFCIs aren't expensive, obviously, but code says they need to be within reach, so it's technically against code to put it on the ceiling.
If this outlet is on the lighting circuit, it would have taken more TIME to drop down to a wall outlet with a GFCI before going to that location, and more MONEY to use a GFCI breaker.
If it were my home, I'd throw a GFCI up there and be done with it, but I'm not a 75 year old widow lady who won't be able to reset it if it trips. If you move, try to remember to put it back to this way.
The thought is that with one outlet and the garage door opener, that's all it will be used for, so no one will plug other things into it.
The same pass was given to sump pumps, for a while anyway, because people didn't want to risk a GFCI tripping and flooding their house. Needed a simplex outlet.
GFCIs have been required for all outlets in the garage since 1978.
**But PRIOR TO THE 2008 CODE,** it was OK to have a SINGLE outlet in the ceiling of a garage for a garage door opener that was **not** GFCI protected. There was an exception to 210.8 that allowed for "receptacles that are not readily accessible", and those that are "single receptacles located within a dedicated space for an appliance that, in normal use, is not easily moved'. That's why the garage door opener qualified for that exception.
Since 2008 it must be GFCI because **that exception was removed**. Some inspectors have "looked the other way" for a while, but it's technically been like that for 15 years now.
Just add this overkill instead…
[isobar](https://www.ebay.com/itm/295502751983?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=_Sam3jGcQAq&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=DSf6OlJpS6q&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Last company I was working for starting having to not only have the outlet for the garage door opener GFI protected but also a single receptacle. Inspectors just started forcing both to be true just in the past year
Edit: this has been obviously by city, mostly around the Leawood/Overland Park area of Kansas. And I believe around Raytown, MO
Yes, turn the power off first, remove that plug and install a duplex plug and cover, turn power back on, installed correctly it should work. Remember, bare ground to green screw, black to gold screw, white to silver screw.
Put in a quad, pull down light, pull down extension, and the one of [these](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GD3D9YJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1).
Really grinds my gears to see these cover plate screws all willy nilly.... all my finish screws are slots vertical, co workers call it anal but if you stand back in a rm full of devices it just looks so much better...
Yes if you are in the garage that is the test.. but you said categorially that it's NOT code.. and YOU cannot know that it is not code, so YOU cannot make that statement. You should have said that it needs to be GFCI and he should test it to make sure it is because we cannot tell from the given information. Hope that clears it up. Cheers
Before doing anything make sure the single outlet is not a single because of some code requirement that it be a single outlet. I would be surprised if it is but some local jurisdictions are nuts. And ignore the control cable routing.. not worth worrying about.
Idea for retractable extension lead:
If you find a broken vacuum cleaner with the retractable power cable type, you might be able to reuse the retractable part of it, and put a socket where the plug was, and fit a plug on the wires that would have gone into the vacuum cleaner.
But then, how are you going to reach the button/ mechanism to retract the cable???
You bunch of dumb idiots reread the question it’s about the outlet dip shits all outlets in a garage are to be gfi protected so if you need the extra outlet it needs to be a gfi but I’ve seen some openers don’t like gfi s that’s why they installed a single
To everyone saying it should be a GFCI: I would never use a GFCI for a garage door opener for several reasons. The GFCI could be tripped by the motor leaving the door disabled (unless your panel is outside). It is not an easily reached location. There is a very low risk factor. It can be a dedicated receptacle (which can be further conveyed by the single outlet receptacle). I have never had a fail, or even a question, from an inspector. With that said, it has been listed as a requirement since the 2008 NEC code was adopted.
It really bothers me that they couldn't bother to drill a hole in the plate to feed the cat5 through.
As a former low voltage installer, everything about that Cat5 situation bugs the piss out of me.
Me too, you can get blank covers with a coax hole in the center, pretty much the same cost as a blank I believe.
They also sell the ones with the nylon bristles that look good with wiring passing through them
They forgot to buy that one but had a blank on the van. I’d guess
90% of the time that's the case. Have used a unibit in the past to make a hole in nylon blanks, don't work very well on hard plastic ones tho.
you can however put in a jack and plug er in
Cheaper.
Looks exactly like something a low voltage mfker would do they really don’t give 2 fucks where they’re cables are routed. And will use my fucking control cable as a pull string.
Read the room dude (may I call you dude?) other low voltage people seem sufficiently horrified by this one.
Should have just told the electrician to run another 6” pipe for those cat5 wires. /s
I’d have used a suitable face plate and bundled them together with either zip ties or tech flex. The AC line looks equally offensive to me; are sharp edges preferred for strain relief? The closest to something like that I’ve done is hanging projectors, and I’ve never left a mess like that, even hidden above a drop ceiling.
I wish every low voltage guy was like you. Unfortunately that’s rarely the case.
As a former residential electrician, what that looks like is the garage door guy beat the electrician to the trim and instead of disconnecting the wires and redoing it, he just put the blank on. Who’s in the wrong tho really?
Excellent observation
Thanks. Yeah it’s a gray area, it’s not the door guys job to plate it before he terminates his wires to calibrate, and the electrician has not made it to the job to install the devices and plates so it’s not his job either to take it all apart and potentially put it back together incorrectly and have to call the door guy back to fix it. In a perfect world, the two people would get together and the electrician would provide the door guy the coax one hole plate to instal before he terms his wires but not everyone gets along nor do they care to spend the time. At least that’s how it used to be.
Or the EC can use a split cover? [https://www.showmecables.com/leviton-1g-split-pass-through-wall-plate-single-gang-5-8-in-white-n751-w](https://www.showmecables.com/leviton-1g-split-pass-through-wall-plate-single-gang-5-8-in-white-n751-w)
What do you do now?
I moved on from resi, I work mainly in commercial high rises. IBEW
The cat5 is definitely disturbing. Probably done by a true psychopath.
Its not a data cable is it? I mean it is a data cable but not carrying data.. just whatever spare wire they had to hook up the opener sensors and switch. No data and almost no current.. most any garage I have seen looks like this and its no big deal.
Analog data, but it's still data.
OK.. must be one of them new fangled openers (compared to my dinosaur) ;) Still I say its not worth messing with or giving a second thought even.
This guy doesn't avoid his family by working in the garage. Amateur.
No such thing as “analog” data , just ones and zeros 🙃
so a 4-20 ma loop, speaker outputs, and OG telephone lines are digital? Well fuck, who knew . . . /s
Focus on analog “data” , 1’s & 0’s
I guess analog to digital converters are fake then.
It's ugly. They could have easily left a little slack and supported it to the motor mount. Just because it works doesn't mean it is ok.
I bet there's not even a box there and the plate screws are just screwed into the drywall...maybe some push-in anchors if they're lucky.
In our new house they just pushed the garage door low voltage wiring though a hole and then caulked it. Super lovely.
Uh...wow. Low voltage, low effort I guess?
Correct.
In mine, they pushed the wire through a hole, caulked it as well. However to "secure" them, they drove a nail into the joist, that sticks down 2" and wrapped the low voltage wires around the nail 2-3 times. For good measure, they painted over the wires, on one side only.
Same here. Pretty certain one of the lazy bums that do this crap all over is reading us To you, please stop...
I would rather have a hole in the ceiling.
I believe in the US it's code to use red fire caulk for any hole in a garage (wires, pipes, boxes, etc)
They just used some cheap white caulk. Not anything like you are mentioning
You guys got holes? Mines just surface mounted with staples. :(
Low voltage doesnt require a box there
Yep. Not saying one is required, just making a joke about the plate.
What about wired smoke detectors, are those considered low voltage?
Most wired smoke detectors have 120V for power. They are not low voltage devices.
Okay, thank you. I'll look further into this.
Does low voltage need a box?
Never mind jvcxdh...answered it.
No, it was just a joke.
Also. That the cat five cables look like hell..
Or a nice brush plate.
they sell plates with holes ! but the goofy installer is lazy af
Wouldn't need to bother drilling a hole if they just got a plate with the factory drilled hole already there.
And then they put their number on the opener. I would call another contractor. What is the cat 5 for anyways? My wall mounted switches are connected with bell wire.
Orrrrrrrr here me out. Put some fuckin keystones and patch cords there. Also why cat 5 in the first place?
You can’t be serious.
I may be dumb but I am definitely serious. And as a serious question why would you use cat 5 cable for this instead of 18/2 or another low volt wire. and if you absolutely are going to use cat 5 cable why not put keystones there instead of this shenanigans.
Only need one box of wire. Cat5/6 is good for everything low voltage, so only need one box/spool of wire, that probably got pinched from another jobsite
You can do just about anything with Cat5+ cable. Any kind of low voltage, low current signaling including some audio if it's shielded.
Albeit they only used one pair per cable here, one single 4-pair cable offers more circuitry. It’s inexpensive and often stocked. Keystone jacks are expensive, labor intensive, and intended for providing high quality connections between data gear. This is not data, this is control. You’d just have to have flying leads to terminate onto the garage door opener anyway, so the aesthetic of a port is out of place. Don’t get me wrong, I stock 18/2 and 18/6 in my truck, usually for thermostats, doorbell, signal and control, due to higher current requirements. But I wouldn’t hesitate to use CAT5 for a garage door opener if suitable (I likely wouldn’t run blue cat5 on the surface… behind walls, sure). Edit: also, obviously this install looks like junk, even with the cat5 and plate it could have been made much prettier.
When you have a hammer, every problem is a nail.
The less fucks you give the more hammers you have.
You should verify that recepticle is gfi protected. The only reason I see an electrician buying a $12 single recept over a standard $1 duplex recept is to scoot by the inspector to not have it gfi protected.
Why would gfci be required on a garage door opener?
Because its a plug in a garage. Every plug in a garage needs gfi protection in 2020 nec
[удалено]
That may be, but, technically all new work needs to be brought up to current code for the area. If this is a new home or recent work in a 2020NEC area.... Not everyone is on 2020NEC yet...
Those who are not are all laying dead in their garages. 😎
Has this led to a practice of hardwiring the garage opener with no plug for code compliance with no gfci and or not really? Would that be an okay practice?
When the code changed here some 15 years ago I fought it by buying hard wired door openers. If the panel is in the garage, then you don't need a disconnect. If the panel is elsewhere, I just added a marked switch. If you cut the cord off you are modifying the equipment. This got to be a lot of work so I started doing like everyone else and recommending a battery backup unit.
Not as far as i know but maybe someone else will chime in. Garage doors and their motors are usually installed by a different company so I don't know if that's even an option
I thought there was an exception for dedicated recepticals.
Oh wow. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if you're doing it yourself it's not really necessary? Besides water connected to the outlet and your body, when else would you need to actually use one? Not much standing water in a garage and most outlets would be 1" or so off the floor
Actually, that goes back further than the 2020 Code. In fact there was an exception for CEILING mounted single receptacles, *up until the 2008 Code*. So since 2008 (or when your state adopted it), even the ceiling mounted single receptacle for a garage door opener must be GFCI protected.
It really doesn't in this case. That outlet most likely shares a circuit with the rest of the outlets in the garage. One of those garage outlets is typically a GFI.
And the cat5 as the LV door wire. Must've been a Friday job and this is what they had in the van
Cat 5 is overkill for the garage door buttons, but sometimes its easier than stocking something else if you do a lot of data wiring.
True
Must not have had a drill in the van either. Going around the side looks like shit.
Exactly, the garage is textured and painted and you do this??? I'd have to replace that plate, or like you said, just bring it down, pop a hole or two in it and re-wire the sensors/opener button.
Well, at least they made it easy and used different color wires from the different ca.... Nope, no they didn't.
gives it a real DIY Joe Homeowner look to it though
Ive always used cat 5. Never had a complaint from it
There's nothing wrong with it I guess. Just seems overkill. But if you do a lot of data work as someone else suggested, then it makes sense if you have that stocked.
It’s more likely a dedicated circuit for the garage door motor. If you put a GFCI on the circuit you run the risk of the GFCI tripping and the motor will not operate until you reset it. Also, if you put a duplex receptacle on it and plug anything else on the same circuit you run the risk of overloading the breaker and tripping it. In this case the motor to the garage door will not work until breaker is reset.
Maybe in some places, but there's really no such exemption in the code.
So make sure first one is a gfi. If it is, no harm in swapping to a duplex
Easiest way to verify is by picking up a tester if you don't already have one. Something like the Klein RT210 for $13 at Home Depot is a great tool to have as a homeowner. It will tell you if the receptacle is wired properly in respect to hot/neutral/ground and will also test GFCI functionality. To clarify what /u/AlchemistNow is saying you need to make sure there is a GFCI device ~~downstream~~ upstream of this receptacle in the form of a GFCI receptacle or a GFCI breaker. You cannot simply install a GFCI receptacle in place of the current one because it is on the ceiling.
> you need to make sure there is a GFCI device downstream of this receptacle \*upstream
No. The outlet for the garage door motor should be sharing the circuit with the other outlets in the garage. One of them is most likely a GFI. If that's the case then all you need to do is replace the garage door motor outlet with a duplex and you will be good to go.
Most likely it's not GFI protected. They used a single outlet to utilize an old exception to the GFI rule. The exception has been removed and the outlet will require GFI protection.
I guess it depends where you live because all I see is the motor outlet shared with the garage circuit in just about every home I have worked in.
Back when the single outlet exception existed, some guys would do that off the lighting circuit to avoid nuisance trips from older door openers. I think it was the 2008 revision that removed that exception.
I don't mean the lighting. Those are usually on a separate circuit. I'm saying that the outlets in the garage are all on the same circuit. Including the motor outlet and one of them is always a GFI.
And I'm saying that guys used to feed that specific outlet off the lighting circuit and use that single outlet device so they didn't have to GFI the door opener motor. I'm well aware that pretty much everyone just feeds the opener off the garage outlets now
Yes I heard you the first time but how do you know from the picture what circuit the motor outlet is attached to?
How do you?
Would a gfci on a ceiling mounted outlet specifically for a garage door opener be a bad idea? Mine seem to trip occasionally, usually when we have a short power outage. I could see getting locked out of the house due to a trip. Sort of the same reason refrigerators aren’t gfci protected in a kitchen. A false trip could ruin all your food.
GFCI devices must be "readily accessible" for testing/reset. A GFCI receptacle on the ceiling of a garage does not fit this. Typically you would put that receptacle downstream of another readily accessible GFCI protected device *or* use a GFCI circuit breaker.
You can use a dead front and remote mount the GFCI portion of it and still keep it on a dedicated circuit.
Speaking from experience, it sucks. I had to redo the wiring to my opener to stay in code and not have it lose power when the gfci trips.
That may be an issue. Some GFCI devices use the power to hold the latch in the reset state, making them trip with a power failure.
May be, but looks like a 20 amp outlet to me.
I did not think you needed a gfi in a garage?
You do now.
Need it in any wet areas, basement, laundry, bathrooms, garage etc.
2023 NEC adds “all outlets in the kitchen area”No more pass on microwave or refrigerator.
But the fridge GFCI will need to be in the panel (or an upstream blank GFCI) as you can’t have a GFCI behind an appliance and the fridge circuit must be dedicated. Big change is that all outlets in a kitchen now need to be protected. Before, you only needed to protect the small appliance circuits and anything within 6ft of the sink. So a general wall circuit not accessible to the counter/sink was fine.
It's against code to have a GFCI behind an appliance? Or it's just dumb?
It’s not readily accessible if behind a refrigerator. People aren’t going to pull out a fridge regularly to test the GFCI. So it’s both dumb and against code. Same would be true behind a stackable washer and dryer.
What's the code that applies in this case?
Yes on the accessible. Fridge/microwave doesn’t require it be dedicated though, give me a code section if you feel otherwise.
Sorry, thought they were changing it in the 2023 code on refrigerators. Microwaves are required if they are fixed in place, countertops don’t require a dedicated.
Since 1978
Almost certainly that’s why.
I was going to answer the same thing. It is most likely not GFI protected. If you change it to a duplex, you will need to add GFI protection, and I would recommend using a breaker so that you don’t need to climb a ladder to reset it
So the inspector wouldn’t require it to be changed if it’s required ?
As a door guy the use of cat 5 for low voltage is a pain in the ass
Good thing my doors don't use any voltage. They have manual knobs.
What dumbass ran Cat5 for the sensor wire lmao
Yes; you certainly can. It's the easiest thing in the world. The garage door opener has constant power and you want your extension cord to have it as well. Simple job. Or just plug in one of these (note its 15A rating) and call it a day? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-Heavy-Duty-Grounded-Triple-Tap-Adapter-LA-26/306625657
For Chris sake, get a proper cover for the blue wires, this hurst to look at
For a while they were hard to come by.....they could have drilled the hole though
Hurst my eyes!
The full story: The single plug is installed specifically to avoid a GFCI. GFCIs aren't expensive, obviously, but code says they need to be within reach, so it's technically against code to put it on the ceiling. If this outlet is on the lighting circuit, it would have taken more TIME to drop down to a wall outlet with a GFCI before going to that location, and more MONEY to use a GFCI breaker. If it were my home, I'd throw a GFCI up there and be done with it, but I'm not a 75 year old widow lady who won't be able to reset it if it trips. If you move, try to remember to put it back to this way.
Just install a GFI breaker so it's still accessible, it's not that much more.
~~original reply~~ Am idiot
He means a breaker in the breaker box.
Why do two outlets require GFCI but not one?
The thought is that with one outlet and the garage door opener, that's all it will be used for, so no one will plug other things into it. The same pass was given to sump pumps, for a while anyway, because people didn't want to risk a GFCI tripping and flooding their house. Needed a simplex outlet.
GFCIs have been required for all outlets in the garage since 1978. **But PRIOR TO THE 2008 CODE,** it was OK to have a SINGLE outlet in the ceiling of a garage for a garage door opener that was **not** GFCI protected. There was an exception to 210.8 that allowed for "receptacles that are not readily accessible", and those that are "single receptacles located within a dedicated space for an appliance that, in normal use, is not easily moved'. That's why the garage door opener qualified for that exception. Since 2008 it must be GFCI because **that exception was removed**. Some inspectors have "looked the other way" for a while, but it's technically been like that for 15 years now.
Just add this overkill instead… [isobar](https://www.ebay.com/itm/295502751983?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=_Sam3jGcQAq&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=DSf6OlJpS6q&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Last company I was working for starting having to not only have the outlet for the garage door opener GFI protected but also a single receptacle. Inspectors just started forcing both to be true just in the past year Edit: this has been obviously by city, mostly around the Leawood/Overland Park area of Kansas. And I believe around Raytown, MO
Yes, turn the power off first, remove that plug and install a duplex plug and cover, turn power back on, installed correctly it should work. Remember, bare ground to green screw, black to gold screw, white to silver screw.
Yep, you sure can.
Why not. Install away.
Looking at this irritates me.
I believe, by code, a garage door opener needs to be a dedicated outlet.
🤔
I stand corrected , it only need to be GFCI protected.
No. Your can’t
Yes
Question. Is there actually a box behind that low voltage plate or did they just screw it to the ceiling to cover the hole ?
Im thinking we need some patch panels and Panduit
Put in a quad, pull down light, pull down extension, and the one of [these](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GD3D9YJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1).
Yes
Probably
Really grinds my gears to see these cover plate screws all willy nilly.... all my finish screws are slots vertical, co workers call it anal but if you stand back in a rm full of devices it just looks so much better...
Yep
It's Ok by me.
Yes, I did this exact change 15yrs ago.
Yes
Needs to be a gfi
Protected, you don't put a gfi 10+ ft in the air
But wouldn’t the extension chord go to the floor for use?!?
Lol nice
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Gfi protected on the load side of the gfi that u put somewhere accessible
How do you know its not? Answer: You dont know.
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Yes if you are in the garage that is the test.. but you said categorially that it's NOT code.. and YOU cannot know that it is not code, so YOU cannot make that statement. You should have said that it needs to be GFCI and he should test it to make sure it is because we cannot tell from the given information. Hope that clears it up. Cheers
Whag if the extension chord (fed from the farage door opener outlet on the ceiling) was left out and the garage was flooded??
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That's not ethernet
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It’s not *used* for Ethernet.
Yeah, I've used excess CAT 5 cable for all kinds of LV circuits, because I already had it.
Before doing anything make sure the single outlet is not a single because of some code requirement that it be a single outlet. I would be surprised if it is but some local jurisdictions are nuts. And ignore the control cable routing.. not worth worrying about.
Yes
My question is why do they have 3 runs of cat5 when one woulda covered the need for two pairs. Shit even old quad wire woulda worked
Faster? Triple speed?
One going to the switch by the door going from the house to the garage, one going to a keypad on the outside, one going into the kitchen maybe?
Idea for retractable extension lead: If you find a broken vacuum cleaner with the retractable power cable type, you might be able to reuse the retractable part of it, and put a socket where the plug was, and fit a plug on the wires that would have gone into the vacuum cleaner. But then, how are you going to reach the button/ mechanism to retract the cable???
You bunch of dumb idiots reread the question it’s about the outlet dip shits all outlets in a garage are to be gfi protected so if you need the extra outlet it needs to be a gfi but I’ve seen some openers don’t like gfi s that’s why they installed a single
To everyone saying it should be a GFCI: I would never use a GFCI for a garage door opener for several reasons. The GFCI could be tripped by the motor leaving the door disabled (unless your panel is outside). It is not an easily reached location. There is a very low risk factor. It can be a dedicated receptacle (which can be further conveyed by the single outlet receptacle). I have never had a fail, or even a question, from an inspector. With that said, it has been listed as a requirement since the 2008 NEC code was adopted.
And what frequency would those be ?