Recent content by BlackJackJim

For the same reason you paint your house, comb your hair, trim your beard or mend your clothes -- all aesthetics.

For a typical 2 HP single phase motor @ 110V motor, full load running current is : (746W x 2)/(.85 pf x.7 eff x 110) = 22.79 A. Say 23A. The minimum breaker size is sized so the 23A is 80% of the breaker rating or 28.75A. It should be connected to a 30A circuit breaker with the branch...

Avoid Aluminum if at all possible -- why run 3/0 AL when you can run 1/0 copper THWN rated for 75 degree C and avoid termination temp questions altogether?

Electrolytics are anywhere from 10 to 25% off. I would just parallel another 100 ufd cap across your 640-715 ufd. The critical parameter is the voltage rating - you can always go higher wrt voltage rating.

For 150 A, you can use 1/0 THWN if the cable is rated with a 75 degree C temperature rise rating. Because you may have other options, you would do best to consult a cable ampacity chart on the web - such as http://www.usawire-cable.com/pdfs/NEC%20AMPACITIES.pdf Good luck

Most all the gate controller boxes I have seen include internal battery provisions just for such cases. In fact, many of the agriculture devices include small solar panel chargers to power a local battery because it may be a real long way to run AC service. You may want to double check what...

A 15A breaker is fine, as well as 14 AWG size conductors. You could argue that the cable involves a damp or wet space, and you would be safe using something like THWN in conduit. I like PVC conduit since it is simple to cut and use. Those are nice heaters and I have been thinking of getting one.

I'm also in Fairfax County - and had the same issue years ago when I built my detached garage. Randy Bowman was my inspector and a knowledgeable, helpful sort. While, they do not require a ground rod/UFER gnd for a sub panel fed with a 4-wire system, if you install one, its OK. In my case, I...

Same goes for you buddy -- here .....have a banana.

Yes - self-certifying knowledgeable people..and there are many. Pulling a code cite in itself and then wrapping it with your own salad dressing, and absent any precedence or past rulings from either AHJs or even the code-making bodies is a simple opinion with no more weight than if written by a...

You are not reading your own cite, in particular the part that provides isolation via lockable means. In this case, a simple disconnect with a padlock feature satisfies the requirement. Therefore, the code does say something about switch gear, et al. In that regard, someone opening the main CB...

We are all entitled to our own interpretations, and I am comfortable reading that simply opening the main disconnect satisfies the article. In which case there are no dangling conductors to reconnect. With the main cb open and utility restored, there is no path to "fry the generator" etc...

Even NFPA 70 will stumble if asked what constitutes a "Qualified Person" -- simply and eventually declaring "someone who knows what they are doing" - similar to OSHA definition. Legal questions such as you pose are amorphous - especially in the context that we are discussing that essentially...

Thanks for the code cite showing it is indeed permitted. Disconnection of the normal supply conductors is accomplished simply by opening the main disconnect. Whether a homeowner has written procedures or not is irrelevant to the homeowner, as long as he/she knows what to do.

Thanks for making my point. It states that it is permitted as long as the mains are disconnected. I don't understand how anyone can interpret that it is not permitted.