# Dishwasher cord



## daverk87 (Apr 6, 2009)

When I first started as an Electrician yrs ago we would install a receptacle under the kitchen sink for the Dishwasher cord. Then I was told a few yrs later you can not run the Dishwasher cord through the kitchen sink cabinet and plug it into the receptacle under the sink. So then I started hardwiring the Dishwasher and installed a disconnect switch under the sink. A few days ago I told someone we can not run the Dishwasher cord through the kitchen cabinet anymore. They looked at me like I was nuts. I looked at article 422 and it does state you can plug the Dishwasher into a receptacle in an adjacent cabinet.

So where did I get this idea yrs ago not being able to run a cord through a cabinet? Was it code in 99 or 2002 and then changed back?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

daverk87 said:


> When I first started as an Electrician yrs ago we would install a receptacle under the kitchen sink for the Dishwasher cord. Then I was told a few yrs later you can not run the Dishwasher cord through the kitchen sink cabinet and plug it into the receptacle under the sink. So then I started hardwiring the Dishwasher and installed a disconnect switch under the sink. A few days ago I told someone we can not run the Dishwasher cord through the kitchen cabinet anymore. They looked at me like I was nuts. I looked at article 422 and it does state you can plug the Dishwasher into a receptacle in an adjacent cabinet.
> 
> So where did I get this idea yrs ago not being able to run a cord through a cabinet? Was it code in 99 or 2002 and then changed back?


Nope, the nec has been stable on allowing the cord of a given length for a number of cycles. Maybe a local amendment to the code for your area perhaps. Might be a renegade inspector giving a personal opinion as well.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

macmikeman said:


> Nope, the nec has been stable on allowing the cord of a given length for a number of cycles. Maybe a local amendment to the code for your area perhaps. Might be a renegade inspector giving a personal opinion as well.





Exactly that is how we have been doing it..


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

HARRY304E said:


> Exactly that is how we have been doing it..


I don't really like the cord / plug method myself for dishwashers, I prefer the switch disco under the sink cabinet and then hardwire out to the dw. It's just me, hard to teach an old dog a new (well it was new twenty five years ago....) trick. :whistling2:


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

macmikeman said:


> I don't really like the cord / plug method myself for dishwashers, I prefer the switch disco under the sink cabinet and then hardwire out to the dw. It's just me, hard to teach an old dog a new (well it was new twenty five years ago....) trick. :whistling2:



I have done it that way as well.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I agree the NEC has allowed this however how many follow the instructions.



> 422.16(B)(2) Built-in Dishwashers and Trash Compactors. Built-in dishwashers and trash compactors shall be permitted to be *cord-and-plug-connected with a flexible cord identified as suitable for the purpose in the installation instructions of the appliance manufacturer* where all of the following conditions are met:
> (1) The flexible cord shall be terminated with a grounding-type attachment plug.
> Exception: A listed dishwasher or trash compactor distinctly marked to identify it as protected by a system of double insulation, or its equivalent, shall not be required to be terminated with a grounding-type attachment plug.
> (2) The length of the cord shall be 0.9 m to 1.2 m (3 ft to 4 ft) measured from the face of the attachment plug to the plane of the rear of the appliance.
> ...


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> Nope, the nec has been stable on allowing the cord of a given length for a number of cycles. Maybe a local amendment to the code for your area perhaps. Might be a renegade inspector giving a personal opinion as well.


Or maybe it's because no one bothered to take the time to look it up all those years. :whistling2:


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## AFOREMA1 (Nov 23, 2009)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I agree the NEC has allowed this however how many follow the instructions.


I have always followed the instructions, I'm sure the majority have. It's not like its nuclear engineering, but I have a degree in that just in case.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

AFOREMA1 said:


> I have always followed the instructions, I'm sure the majority have. It's not like its nuclear engineering, but I have a degree in that just in case.


I used to be a *rocket surgeon*. Gave that up long time ago.:laughing:


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I used to be a rocket surgeon. Gave that up long time ago.:laughing:


A rocket surgeon?
And I thought I had a silly job. LoL


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

Wirenuting said:


> A rocket surgeon?
> And I thought I had a silly job. LoL


Yeah, I have a friend who is a stone mason and on his T-shirts it says- Stone Mason--- It's not rocket surgery. :laughing:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I used to be a *rocket surgeon*. Gave that up long time ago.:laughing:



Now you're a brain scientist?


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## gnxtc2 (Feb 21, 2011)

A local inspector told me that I can hardwire the DW but I have to install a breaker lock on the breaker feeding the DW.

Billy T.
[email protected]


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

Dishwashers have traditionally been hardwired in my area, without breaker lock. Inspectors are just now beginning to catch up to requiring some kind of disconnect. 

In fact, I had never even seen a cord connected dishwasher until I visited my friends in Calif. What was even weirder was seeing their furnace cord and plug connected. :blink:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Man, those drugs must really be trippin' me out.... I would swear Peter D is back.


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## Al Lamke (Sep 15, 2010)

*dishwasher plug*

I have always installed a cord with plug on dishwasher. What is wrong with that??


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## thegoldenboy (Aug 15, 2010)

Al Lamke said:


> I have always installed a cord with plug on dishwasher. What is wrong with that??


Nothing at all, but as Dennis pointed out the Code states that it has to be the one recommended by the manufacturer and not just some random cord you throw on the end of it.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

480sparky said:


> Man, those drugs must really be trippin' me out.... I would swear Peter D is back.


Now that was quite good. Should I hit the thanks button or just do this:laughing:


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

Peter D said:


> In fact, I had never even seen a cord connected dishwasher until I visited my friends in Calif. What was even weirder was seeing their furnace cord and plug connected. :blink:


:laughing: That's not a bad idea for those people who have a generator, but don't want the expense of a normal Genny panel:laughing:. Not at my house though.:no:


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

480sparky said:


> Man, those drugs must really be trippin' me out.... I would swear Peter D is back.


No, this is just the Photoshopped version of Peter D. :whistling2:


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## raider1 (Jan 22, 2007)

gnxtc2 said:


> A local inspector told me that I can hardwire the DW but I have to install a breaker lock on the breaker feeding the DW.
> 
> Billy T.
> [email protected]


The breaker would have to be in sight of the dishwasher to count for the disconnecting means.

A dishwasher is a motor driven appliance and 422.32 requires the switch or circuit breaker used as a disconnecting means to be located within sight of the appliance.

Chris


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Peter D said:


> No, this is just the Photoshopped version of Peter D. :whistling2:



Where's my DELETE button? :laughing:


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

raider1 said:


> The breaker would have to be in sight of the dishwasher to count for the disconnecting means.
> 
> A dishwasher is a motor driven appliance and 422.32 requires the switch or circuit breaker used as a disconnecting means to be located within sight of the appliance.
> 
> Chris


Only if it's over 1/8th horsepower.


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

If it doesnt already come with a cord on it I hardwire it and install a breaker lock. By far the easiest, cheapest and most code complient way to do it.


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## raider1 (Jan 22, 2007)

nitro71 said:


> Only if it's over 1/8th horsepower.


Correct.

Chris


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## raider1 (Jan 22, 2007)

captkirk said:


> If it doesnt already come with a cord on it I hardwire it and install a breaker lock. By far the easiest, cheapest and most code complient way to do it.


The breaker lock is not code compliant if the breaker is not within sight of the dishwasher and the dishwasher has a motor that is more than 1/8th HP.

See 422.32 (2008 NEC) or 422.31(C) (2011 NEC).

Chris


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