Mike Holt accuracy test (review 2)

Why a second accuracy test

The first round compared Ask BONBON to Mike Holt's material on basic questions. Surface stuff. Branch circuit ratings, GFCI locations, receptacle spacing. Both tools passed. That told me nothing useful, because any reference that fails those is not worth installing.

Round two is the one that matters. I pulled twenty questions from actual job site calls over the last six weeks. Service calcs, motor feeders, parallel conductor ampacity, grounding electrode sizing, PV interconnection. The kind of thing that makes you stop and think before you pull the permit.

The test setup

Same rules for both. I read the question, set a timer, and recorded the first answer each tool produced along with the citation. No follow ups, no rephrasing. If the answer needed three taps or three prompts to surface, I counted the full time.

Mike Holt was accessed through the paid subscription with the graphics library and illustrated code book. Ask BONBON was the current production build. Both had NEC 2023 loaded as the reference.

• 20 questions pulled from real calls
• Answer must include the article citation to count
• Wrong citation counts as wrong, even if the number is right
• Time measured from first tap to usable answer

Where Mike Holt wins

Depth on load calculations. When I asked about optional method for a dwelling with multiple HVAC units, Mike Holt's worked example walked through NEC 220.82 step by step with the actual arithmetic. That is hard to beat if you learn by watching someone solve it. The illustrated graphics for service entrance configurations are also cleaner than any app I have used.

Training context is the other win. If you are studying for the journeyman or master exam, his material is built for that. Practice questions, reasoning behind the code, why the 2020 cycle changed a specific rule. Ask BONBON does not try to compete there and should not.

Tip: if you are prepping for a license exam, buy Mike Holt's study package. If you are on a roof at 2pm trying to finish a rough in, that is not the tool you want open.

Where Ask BONBON wins

Speed to citation. Average time to a correct, cited answer was 11 seconds on Ask BONBON versus 47 seconds on Mike Holt. The difference is the interface. Ask BONBON is built to answer one question and get out of the way. Mike Holt is built to teach, which means you land on a page with context, video, and related articles before you find the number you need.

Edge cases were the bigger gap. Ask BONBON correctly handled parallel conductor ampacity under NEC 310.10(G) including the six conditions, and caught that I had forgotten the equipment grounding conductor sizing rule in NEC 250.122(F) for parallel sets. Mike Holt had the right information somewhere in the library, but I had to know where to look.

1. Parallel conductors, 310.10(G): both correct, Ask BONBON faster
2. EGC in parallel raceways, 250.122(F): Ask BONBON surfaced it unprompted
3. PV rapid shutdown, 690.12: both correct
4. Motor feeder, 430.24: Mike Holt's worked example was better, Ask BONBON was faster
5. Dwelling service, 220.82: Mike Holt clearly better for teaching

Where both got it wrong

Two questions tripped both tools. One was on 2023 changes to GFCI requirements in NEC 210.8(F) for outdoor outlets on dwelling units, where both gave the 2020 language. The other was a local amendment question, which is fair because neither claims to cover local code, but worth flagging for anyone who assumes NEC is the final word in their jurisdiction.

Ask BONBON also hedged on one grounding electrode question where Mike Holt gave a direct answer. I would rather have the hedge than a confident wrong answer, but it is worth saying out loud.

Tip: always verify local amendments with your AHJ before you bank on any reference tool, paid or free. The code book on your phone is the starting point, not the final word.

Final count

Out of 20 questions, Ask BONBON got 18 fully correct with citation, Mike Holt got 17. Both missed the same two. On speed, Ask BONBON was roughly 4x faster to a cited answer. On depth and teaching, Mike Holt was clearly ahead.

These are different tools for different jobs. If I am learning the code or prepping for an exam, Mike Holt. If I am on a job site and need the answer before the inspector comes back from lunch, Ask BONBON. I use both, and I am not going to pretend one replaces the other.

Next review will test both against the 2026 cycle once AHJs in my area start adopting it, which based on current schedules should be sometime in Q3. Same 20 question format, different code year.