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Im getting a new light fixture installed and the electrician has decided to use wire nuts from the fixture box on the roof, to the ground (with the cord dangling in the center of the room)to power work lights on the ground. Im located in Canada, I was wondering if someone could tell me about the legality of such a setup? It seems rather dangerous to me as the weight of the cable is hanging off the wire nuts and if they come loose it may short.

If not legal, pointing me to the appropriate electrical code/source of information would be appreciated

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    It's unclear whether this is intended to be a permanent installation or is this just a temporary setup while work is being done?
    – jwh20
    Jun 16, 2020 at 17:51
  • @jwh20 temporary while work is being done and the proper light fixture is delivered, could be weeks
    – Mohammad Ali
    Jun 16, 2020 at 17:52
  • Temporary like the electrician has cordoned off a work area and said "Stay out"? Or temporary like "you're living normal life in that room until the parts come in"?
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Jun 16, 2020 at 18:14
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica, temporary as in a cordoned off area
    – Mohammad Ali
    Jun 16, 2020 at 18:18
  • In the us a temp install can be used for 90 days but there should be a cord grip on the cord coming out of the box unless it is just hanging free I understand your concern Not sure about canada rules for temp wiring this is quite common in the construction industry to tap a circuit.
    – Ed Beal
    Jun 16, 2020 at 19:09

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The weight of the fixture is not allowed to be applied to the electrical cable no matter what, so how it is connected is irrelevant so long as it is legal, and wire nuts are legal. "What if" scenarios are too numerous to be practical in covering them all. But if the fixture IS hanging only by the wirenutted electrical connections (no chain or steel cable to bear the weight), then yes, that would be illegal.

That said, I'm having a hard time envisioning the setup you describe; work lights on the ground powered from a ceiling mounted light fixture? There are no wall receptacles anywhere? THAT (no wall receptacles in a room) is more likely a violation in and of itself. If this is all just temporary power during construction, most inspectors are fairly lenient that way, but if it's something permanent, it sounds like a serious problem for reasons having nothing to do with wire nuts.

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    Its temporary, I was wondering if the code includes something about not having the weight of the wires hanging off a wire nut? seems to me like it could cause it to become undone with the weight of the 8 ft of cable.
    – Mohammad Ali
    Jun 16, 2020 at 17:57
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    I think they tapped the fixture wires for a power source the light is on the ground we used to do that all the time with halogens for light while working. Never was written up for it and we had inspectors in all the time.
    – Ed Beal
    Jun 16, 2020 at 19:12
  • Like I said, most inspectors are lenient when it comes to temporary site power on small projects.
    – JRaef
    Jun 17, 2020 at 22:36

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