Question on a circuit panel?

[Rich215]

I'm at the point where I'm wiring the garage. I have a 100 amp breaker panel that was given to me that was removed when a service upgrade was done. I was comparing it today to a new breaker panel and noticed that the neutral and ground connection points were the same on the older panel and on a new panel the neutral and ground connections were separated. Can I still use the older panel or has the code changed and I need to buy a new one?

Thanks

 

[TWX]

Is there a neutral wire running back to the main panel from the subpanel?

If so, I would think that would virtually guarantee a problem.

They sell neutral bus bars and ground bus bars at the home improvement stores; you could add one to it. I probably would anyway.

I have a subpanel out near my storage shed that I'll have to add one to- it was originally wired hot-hot-ground with no neutral, so that has to change to use it the way I plan to.

 

[Rich215]

Is there a neutral wire running back to the main panel from the subpanel?

If so, I would think that would virtually guarantee a problem.

They sell neutral bus bars and ground bus bars at the home improvement stores; you could add one to it. I probably would anyway.

I have a subpanel out near my storage shed that I'll have to add one to- it was originally wired hot-hot-ground with no neutral, so that has to change to use it the way I plan to.

This isn't a sub panel. It's the main panel fed directly from the meter box.

 

[TWX]

Ah.

My main panel has both neutral and ground bars, bridged together. I can't remember if one or the other is tied to the grounding rod and the other tied to the first, or if they're in a "Y" configuration.

 

[mrb]

first, use a new panel. they are very cheap, and for something that has a ~30 year lifespan its stupid to start off with something used.

that said, whether neutral and ground are tied together depends on whats ahead of the panel What is feeding this new panel, and where is the main bonding jumper (the first place where neutral and ground is tied together)

 

[vhol5]

The house panel should have the neutral and ground "bonded" or tied together. The neutral bar has a short piece of copper tying it to the ground bar or to the metal case.
The garage panel should just have a neutral bar and a separate ground bar, independent of each other...

 

[mrb]

The house panel should have the neutral and ground "bonded" or tied together. The neutral bar has a short piece of copper tying it to the ground bar or to the metal case.
The garage panel should just have a neutral bar and a separate ground bar, independent of each other...

its not always black and white like that. For example there could be a meter-main outside containing the MBJ and the 'house' panel is supplied with 4 wires. Or the service could be on a pole with a 4 wire feeder to the house.

 

[jake26]

I learned the same thing when I installed my service to my attached garage.

Being a sub panel, the ground and neutral bus bars cannot be attached because it would create some kind of electrical path where your ground would carry an electrical charge. In the sub panel, you must remove the grounding rod or screw from the neutral bus bar and have the ground bus bar separate.

Or something like that