Meter to main panel question.

[wyliesdiesels]

Ask Wylie to ship you some heat. Or I could ship you some snow if you're feeling left out.

yeah damn heat wave in march...

Well, I mentioned Canada and then posted a link. If you don't follow it, maybe you'll never know...

Aww ok

I was on my phone at work and didnt bother to open the link...

regardless, no prohibition on surface mounted NM-b in the US

 

[brewchief]

4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 SER cable could be used instead of trying to fit conduit, if you come out of the back of the meter panel a short piece of conduit could be used where it passes through the block.

 

[acer66]

4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 SER cable could be used instead of trying to fit conduit, if you come out of the back of the meter panel a short piece of conduit could be used where it passes through the block.

I think I like that more than conduit and since the installation like bczygan posted is legal I will just get a full sheet of ply and cover the whole part of that wall.

Someone, I think, asked about the additional ground bars, the reason for that is that I am under NEC2014 and it is afci everywhere in the house except for 240V circuits.

So having a neutral bar on both sides makes it for a cleaner installation and the second grounding bar is also added for easier/cleaner installation.

 

[AntonLargiader]

... I am under NEC2014 and it is afci everywhere in the house except for 240V circuits.
So having a neutral bar on both sides makes it for a cleaner installation ....

This is where the plug-on neutral design cleans things up! No pigtails on AFCI/GFCI. I thought it was just a Square D thing but I see Eaton has it also.

 

[brewchief01]

You will need to add ground bars anyways as this panel will be considered a sub panel, the neutral bars need to be unbonded from the panel.

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[acer66]

This is where the plug-on neutral design cleans things up! No pigtails on AFCI/GFCI. I thought it was just a Square D thing but I see Eaton has it also.

Dang, I wish I knew that before but a quick search showed a 200A 42 space Eaton panel CH42BPN200K for under $150 shipped so I might do that and just move this one into the garage, way to big for the garage but it would not hurt.

 

[acer66]

You will need to add ground bars anyways as this panel will be considered a sub panel, the neutral bars need to be unbonded from the panel.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

I thought you do that by removing the bonding screw and the connecting bar between the neutral and grounding bar.

 

[brewchief01]

In some panels you can do it like that but then you have to get all your grounds to one side and the neutrals to the other, if you add a ground bar on each side it can make it much neater in the panel.

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[Wirepuller]

Here in NC where I live they let the home owner take an electrical test and if you pass you can do your own electric.

At least they make you take a test. In mass any home owner can pull a permit and do any work the like except plumbing.



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[AntonLargiader]

Here in VA a homeowner just pulls a permit same way a contractor can. Commercial is different.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I thought you do that by removing the bonding screw and the connecting bar between the neutral and grounding bar.

Yes u have to remove the bonding screw but u also need to run a 4th wire to the panel unlessnits fed by metal conduit.

Simply removing the bonding screw only isolates the neutral bar. It doesnt establish the fault current path which is what the 4th wire is needed for.

Also, removing the tie between neutral bars is not how the manufacturer designed it to work. If u did so, u would still have to bond the neutral bar, that is now being used as a ground bar, to the panel enclosure since its sitting on plastic insulators.

In some panels you can do it like that but then you have to get all your grounds to one side and the neutrals to the other, if you add a ground bar on each side it can make it much neater in the panel.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Adding ground bars is easier...

 

[acer66]

Yes u have to remove the bonding screw but u also need to run a 4th wire to the panel unlessnits fed by metal conduit.

Simply removing the bonding screw only isolates the neutral bar. It doesnt establish the fault current path which is what the 4th wire is needed for.

Also, removing the tie between neutral bars is not how the manufacturer designed it to work. If u did so, u would still have to bond the neutral bar, that is now being used as a ground bar, to the panel enclosure since its sitting on plastic insulators.

Yes, I worded it wrong and that is not was I was planning to do.
I am leaving the tie in since I want to use them both for the neutral because of the afci breakers and add a grounding lug to the panel for the fourth wire.

I hope this makes sense.

This is how it looks now, I moved the panel further to the right to have more room on both sides.

View media item 69089
Thank you.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Didn't you say you wanted the branches to enter at the top? Seems it would be easier to staple them if the ply was up against the joists. Or are they going to go up and through drilled holes?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Is this an existing house or new?

If new u may get dinged on the panel clearance above the panel...

 

[acer66]

Didn't you say you wanted the branches to enter at the top? Seems it would be easier to staple them if the ply was up against the joists. Or are they going to go up and through drilled holes?

Yes, they go up and thru drilled holes into the ledger and joists,
no wire will go straight up thru the ceiling since there is no wall above the floor.

 

[acer66]

Is this an existing house or new?

If new u may get dinged on the panel clearance above the panel...

It is an old house build in 1901 with a new addition and the panel sits in an old basement with a new ceiling.

Even if the exception for the working height does not apply here,
now it is at least 6', I can dig out the dirt to get the 6'6" if necessary.

 

[acer66]

Getting closer to finish this and I would like run 4/0-4/0-4/0-2/0 SER from the meter to the panel protected by 2" schedule 40 pvc pipe only when it goes thru the cinderblocks behind the meter and enter the panel from the bottom.

I will try run do a mhf home run to the detached garage from the main panel if I can if I can manage it.

Do I read the Table 300.5 right when I say under a residential building the conduit does not have to be buried?

I have to dig a trench for the garage feeder which crosses two driveways,
I going to dig 24" deep and lay a 2" schedule 80 pipe in it since the run is only 37'
or is schedule 80 overkill and besides is 80 still big enough for mhf?

Would come out to a lb at the garage and go straight into the crawl space with the pvc
since trench and crawl space are at the same depth.

Sounds good?

Thank you