Open box in Crawlspace

[Paul Dickerson]

I snapped this pic a couple of weeks ago and recommended the open j-box have a cover installed. The seller's response is "there are no splices, so it does not need a cover. The wires pass through the box into the conduit."

The red and white THHN/THWN wires need to be protected, right? So if there are no splices, than the box needs a cover, AND there needs to be conduit extended from the box to where the red and white wire terminate. Is that correct?

[rromoser]

The box is a 4-11/16" square j-box. A blank cover might cost $1. The wires in question do need protection by a raceway of some sort.

[Marc D. Shunk]

You are correct. Any box or conduit body that contains individual conductors, splices or not, must have a cover. I can dig you up the code citation if you want that.

[Paul Dickerson]

Thanks guys,

I knew that I was right, but it is nice to get confirmation. Why the heck anyone would dicker over this is beyond me.

[Marc D. Shunk]

Originally Posted by pdickerson

Why the heck anyone would dicker over this is beyond me.

Maybe because it appears that at least one cable enters the open front of the box, and it might not be as simple as slapping on a cover.

[Speedy Petey]

Originally Posted by Marc D. Shunk

Maybe because it appears that at least one cable enters the open front of the box, and it might not be as simple as slapping on a cover.

That's what I see.
Someone added what looks like an 8/3NM cable to a conduit with TW(?) conductors already in it. Likely overfilling the conduit to boot.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Here is just one that marc was refering to:

(C) Covers.

All pull boxes, junction boxes, and conduit
bodies shall be provided with covers compatible with the
box or conduit body construction and suitable for the conditions
of use. Where metal covers are used, they shall
comply with the grounding requirements of 250.110. An
extension from the cover of an exposed box shall comply
with 314.22, Exception.

[Jae Williams]

I find open j-boxes all the time. I have a standard blurb for it (I think it came from RR's great collection).

Junction boxes with missing cover plates were observed ( ). Open junction boxes can be a fire hazard and could be lethal to small creatures (and large creatures, too) that may come in contact with the wiring.

[Michael D. Thomas]

BTW, could you establish the source of the moisture that's corroding that box? --- looks like it might be entering the box via the conduit.