Mike Holt speed test (review 8)

The speed test setup

Three questions, three tools, a stopwatch. No cherry picking. These are the kinds of calls I make on real jobs, not contrived gotchas. I ran the same prompts through Mike Holt's search, a PDF of the 2023 NEC, and Ask BONBON on my phone.

The goal was simple: from the moment I started typing to the moment I had an article number and a usable answer in hand, how long did it take? I counted the PDF as a baseline because that is what half the crews I know still do when the foreman yells a question down the trench.

The three prompts:

• "Do I need GFCI on a 240V pool pump receptacle?"
• "Minimum burial depth for PVC under a driveway at a residence, 120V circuit."
• "Ampacity of 3/0 copper THHN in a raceway with four current carrying conductors."

Prompt one: pool pump GFCI

Mike Holt's site has a search bar and a massive library of articles, videos, and training content. I typed "240V pool pump GFCI" and got a list of forum threads, a 2020 article, and a video clip. Useful if you have twenty minutes. I needed the answer, not a lecture. Time to usable citation: 1 minute 48 seconds, and I still had to verify against 680.21(C).

The PDF took 2 minutes 10 seconds because I had to remember the article number was in 680, then scroll. Ask BONBON returned NEC 680.21(C) and 680.22(B) in 9 seconds with the plain English summary that outlets supplying pool pump motors require GFCI protection regardless of voltage. Confirmed against the book after, matched.

Tip: 680.21(C) catches a lot of guys because they assume GFCI rules stop at 125V. They do not for pool equipment. Read the whole 680.

Prompt two: PVC burial depth

This one is where Mike Holt actually shines on the training side. He has a whole video on Table 300.5 with diagrams. But training is not the same as reference. I watched 40 seconds of a video before I gave up and opened the table manually on his site. Total time: 2 minutes 31 seconds.

The PDF won this round over Holt's search at 1 minute 15 seconds because Table 300.5 is easy to bookmark. Ask BONBON returned the answer in 11 seconds: 18 inches for PVC under a residential driveway on a 120V branch circuit, pulling Table 300.5(A) column directly and flagging the driveway exception. No scroll, no video, no forum thread from 2014.

Accuracy was a tie across all three. Speed was not close.

Prompt three: ampacity with adjustments

This is where most reference tools fall on their face. Ampacity with four current carrying conductors means you need Table 310.16, then 310.15(C)(1) for adjustment, then verify the terminal temperature rating. It is a multi step lookup. Mike Holt's search returned a 90 minute training video and a calculator that wanted me to log in. Time wasted: 3 minutes 22 seconds before I bailed and went to the PDF.

PDF time was 2 minutes 45 seconds because I had to flip between 310.16 and 310.15(C)(1) twice. Ask BONBON did it in 14 seconds: 3/0 THHN at 75C is 200A, 80 percent adjustment for four CCCs gives 160A, and it flagged the 110.14(C) terminal check. That is the answer a journeyman actually needs to pull a permit.

1. Base ampacity from 310.16
2. Adjustment factor from 310.15(C)(1)
3. Terminal rating per 110.14(C)

Where Mike Holt still wins

I want to be fair. Mike Holt is not trying to be a pocket reference. He builds training content, continuing education, and exam prep. If you are studying for your masters or prepping for a code update class, his material is some of the best in the trade. The forum has decades of real electricians arguing real installs, and that context is worth something.

But on the truck, at 2pm, with an inspector waiting and the super asking why you are not done yet, training videos do not help. You need the article number, the rule, and the exception in under 20 seconds.

Tip: Keep Mike Holt bookmarked for Saturday morning study. Keep a fast reference on your phone for Monday through Friday.

The numbers, totaled

Across three prompts, total time to usable answer:

• Mike Holt site: 7 minutes 41 seconds
• NEC PDF: 6 minutes 10 seconds
• Ask BONBON: 34 seconds

Accuracy was identical across all three when you gave them enough time. The difference is that on a live call, you do not have enough time. A tool that takes two minutes to answer a GFCI question is not a field tool, it is a classroom tool.

Mike Holt is the best teacher in the industry. That is a different job than being the fastest reference in your pocket. Use both, but know which one belongs on the ladder with you.