New answers tagged electrical-panel
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Hot wire is BLACK in A.C. and Ground in D.C, Neutral is White in A.C., and Red for positive, or "hot" in D.C..
The problem is trying to find an analogy with A.C. and D.C., which most are familiar with D.C. because they erroneously use the analogy of water flow for current in D.C..
Stick with A.C. and only A.C. unless you can think of A.C. as D.C. ...
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Without nameplate data it's hard to give you an accurate answer. But 100 amps is enough to power most average size households so I'm guessing you'll be fine adding the additional circuit.
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The feeder needs to be correctly breakered at the supply end.
That is 2 AWG (33.6 mm2) aluminum AA-8000 feeder. It is only good for 90 amps.* If the supply breaker is 100A, that's a common blunder due to misreading NEC. Change the breaker to 90A.
Determining whether you have the amps to spare
And adding a 20A to this subpanel is fine given that it's ...
2
The datasheet for your panel says it is a 6 slot, 12 circuit panel, which means it should be compatible with tandem breakers. A tandem breaker is two small breakers that take up the same slot as one full sized breaker.
But you have all double-pole breakers... Well, they make a solution for that too which is two tandem breakers joined together. The middle ...
3
First of all, a dryer receptacle is rated 30 amps, not 40, so if it's on a 40 amp breaker, you're already in violation.
If you truly have a 40 amp circuit (#8 copper wire minimum) the you're ok for the wires being on a 40 amp breaker but not the receptacle. If you have #10 copper on a 40 amp breaker then you are overfused.
Either way, there is nothing wrong ...
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I think the OP is considering adding additional circuits to the panel via Romex. If so, yes you can just add a ground bar to the sub panel and you don't need to run a ground wire back to the main panel as the conduit serves as the equipment ground conductor.
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Everything the inspector told you is correct and consistent with the national electrical code. The door must be so wide to allow an electrician unencumbered egress in an emergency. Also to provide sufficient working space.
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Done.
Main shutoff plus
Generator input with interlock plus
Whole house SPD. First Surge is rated Nema 3 I think, but even instructions say if weather an issue, to enclose. So the clear box is nema 4
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A feeder is breaker and wiring that supplies a subpanel.
A branch circuit is breaker and wiring that supplies various outlets, including receptacle outlets.
"Outlets" does include hardwired loads, or as they like to call them, "utilization equipment".
Wiring can be one or the other, not both. You cannot have outlets on a feeder.
So no.
...
answered Sep 17 at 20:32
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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4
Install it properly with clean metal-metal contact.
Don't just hand-spin the conduit nuts, get a screwdriver and hammer and tighten them by putting the screwdriver on the serrations made for that purpose and tapping.
On the conduit compression fittings, tighten those with a wrench.
On setscrew fittings, tighten the setscrews with a tool.
Since metallic ...
answered Sep 17 at 20:27
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If wired the way you suggest the breaker would have to protect the outlet and the entire subpanel. The breaker and the outlet would have to match.
There is no useful combination of breaker/outlet/subpanel that could work this way.
You can't run say a 60A subpanel off a 60A breaker and put a 20A outlet on the feeder cable.
If you use a 15A breaker and a 15A ...
1
If metal conduit is installed properly then it serves as the equipment grounding conductor, and an additional wire is not required. If you choose to run one it needs to be sized per NEC Table 250.122.
Since you have no ground bar I would take a moment and verify that the panels were installed correctly and the bonding screws or straps are NOT installed in ...
2
Electrical panels are something that you have to design around for a basement. Would you have the main stack running through the middle of your bedroom... No.
Why? Because it is common sense.
It is also common sense to not have an electrical panel in a closet for various reasons. So if you are going to build a room for your panel inside the closet you ...
1
A lot will depend on how serious of a plasma cutter we're talking. There are a number of cutters that work below 50 amps. The super serious ones push 80-90 amps. Since even 4-gauge copper THHN caps at 95 amps, that won't work.
Three 6-gauge copper THHN-2 wires should be able to easily fit inside your 1" conduit and that's rated for 75 amps (RMC is your ...
1
You don't need any ground bars or ground wires at all.
All of your wiring is being done in metal conduit. The metal conduit successfully carries the grounding for you.
Simply extend the metal conduit to your new receptacle locations, fit metal boxes, and fish individual black and white THHN wires through the conduits.
If your notion is to do the additional ...
answered Sep 16 at 3:05
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2
The meter is not a circuit breaker. So if you came straight off the meter, this wire would be "always-live" and totally unprotected by a circuit breaker. It could burn and burn, and nothing on earth would stop it!
So you need to run from the main panel, as you need to fit a circuit breaker, and that is where one will fit.
If you swapped out your ...
answered Sep 16 at 2:58
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0
By code you can have another 100a panel at the garage.
however with the recent code changes the main disconnect outside at the meter location usually a larger service is installed and each of the panels at the house and garage are sub panels
you can use a main breaker panel and pull the bonding screw or jumper.
Feeding it from the outside service panel but ...
6
You're thinking about it upside-down.
Your logic is start with a 400A panel, and then what can you put on it? Actually it works the other way round.
You start with the characteristics of your house, and major appliances... and punch that into a residential load calculation. The load calculation takes into account continuous use, equipment's ability to ...
answered Sep 15 at 23:24
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The part of the question about rated vs continuous and about getting more than 320A continuous is answered well in the other answers.
To answer the part of your question about whether the rated 400 amps could be divided other than 50/50, I've seen 225A and 175A residential main breakers available. There are ways you could split the service between those, ...
2
Residential services are listed as 100-400 amp see 310.12.A , Don’t want to read see table 310.12.
There are true 400 amp services but you will find these usually require CT cabinets and metering as 400 continuous falls into commercial.
This is the reason you don’t find larger than 400 amp residential service panels.
They do make commercial panels in 450, ...
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Don't try to redefine standard terms! If you want 400 A continuous output, then calculate what that is 80% of, i.e. 500 A and buy a panel rated thusly.
This is similar to board measurements, where a "2 by 4" is understood to be (varies a bit by region or country) 1.5 by 3.5 , and if you want a board that's 2 inches by 4 inches, you specify "...
2
Will the 125Amp panel suffice?
(I didn’t go with a 200amp panel because of the cost of the feeder breaker)
The subpanel rating is a redline, a maximum - like your car's 112 mph rated tires. There is no need to match the subpanel redline rating to the supply breaker.
So feel free to use a 225A-bussed subpanel downline of a 125A, 100A, 90A or even 60A ...
answered Sep 13 at 19:26
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5
This is easy to diagnose. If you are comfortable working in a live panel, take off the cover plate and remove the black wire from the troublesome breaker, to be doubly safe, you might want to turn off the main breaker first. Once you've removed the wire, turn the main breaker back on and try to reset the breaker, if it trips or won't reset it's dead. If it ...
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Those hangers will stick out and potentially catch on clothing.
I would use saddles.
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For EMT (anyway) the spacing is pretty clear - I can't recall if it's the same or different for other types, but it might well be the same.
Within 12" of each box. 10 feet maximum spacing (1 clamp per stick of conduit, minimum.) You can do more than the minimums without an issue. You can't do less than that. So a typical 20 foot run would need at least ...
1
There are scenarios where you can put 120 and 240v receptacles on the same multiwire branch circuit, but the catch here is that it is not Code legal to put a 15 or 20A receptacle on a 30A circuit.
Imagine a 120v/1500w dryer element goes short drawing triple the current putting out triple the heat. 4500w/120v = 37.5A. Looking at a breaker trip curve a 20A ...
3
I'd just add an extra outlet to the 120V circuit that's already required in the laundry area
Instead of jumping thru hoops to try to wedge a subpanel into the laundry area (which is what you'd have to do to make your proposal Code-legal), I'd simply run a short length of Wiremold from the existing washing machine outlet to a surface box behind the dryer and ...
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It's most likely to be an induction motor. Its speed depends on the frequency of the AC supply, not the voltage. To reduce its speed you'll need a lower frequency. A variable frequency drive is the "normal" way of achieving that, but you might be able to hack it by, for example, adjusting the governor on a portable electric generator to reduce ...
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An EV charger is a box with internal electronics that communicates with the car about how much current it is allowed to draw. A hardwired wall unit with appropriate circuit lets the car charge more quickly than with the measly 1.5KW that the portable charger plugged into a standard 15A outlet is capped at.
From the electrical box you would have another ...
6
The moment you put any wires in that pipe, you must put a lid on the box. This is mandatory!
The lid can either be a blank (they're like 20 cents), or can have a cutout for a socket aka receptacle.
For instance if you are connecting the EVSE with a cord and plug, you would choose a lid that has a cutout for the socket that you need.
Or, if you are ...
answered Sep 9 at 1:41
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6
You don’t use any strain relief. Wires are supposed to be able to slide completely freely through conduit.
You terminate the wires inside the junction boxes, of course, and they don’t move around when you’re not working on the wiring. Any strain happens to the device cord, which is designed for movement.
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I'm a big fan of that type of interlock, since it is economical and it lets you power any load in the panel, without complex wiring or the need to choose 6 circuits in advance.
"Remove the jumper and un-bond your generator's neutral"
Correct.
"Do NOT un-bond your generator and leave it as is, it will be fine with both bonded neutrals ...
answered Sep 8 at 6:52
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0
You need to keep the cable intact until it passes through the clamp as it enters the panel, or a junction box, so you can't split out the individual conductors. Conduit bodies are not junction boxes. You can't hide an LB behind drywall
If there's room, make a hole in the top of the panel and enter there.
If you have to go in through the back use a junction ...
34
Could be an unmarked Multi-Wire Branch Circuit
We often look at people's panels for other reasons, and we often say "hey, see the red+black wires from the same cable, going to 2 independent breakers? Those need a handle-tie. So when you shut one off for maintenance, they both shut off". And people say "thanks" but think "why ...
answered Sep 7 at 20:34
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0
The Code says you can simply replace the receptacles with GFCI's, but you can't connect to a ground or interconnect the grounds:
406.4(D) Replacements (2) Non–Grounding-Type Receptacles. Where attachment to an equipment grounding conductor does not exist in the receptacle
enclosure, the installation shall comply with (D)(2)(a), (D)(2)(b), or
(D)(2)(c).
(a) ...
53
After writing out the question, I realized I had forgotten to check something. I went back to the panel to see if any other breakers besides the dryer circuit had flipped off, and sure enough, the "garage light" breaker had been tripped. After testing more, I determined that the smoke detectors are actually on the "garage light" circuit ...
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NO, YOU CANNOT. In plain words... A home can only have ONE switch to disconnect ALL power. Now you have a bunch of switches which would all have to be switched off in order to disconnect all power. This is a serious code violation. The fireman, which is an ordinary person, needs to be able to easily disconnect ALL power with the throw of ONE switch labeled ...
0
It's basically a remote thermometer which sends the room temperature to a 'heat computer', which in turn turns the heat (or a/c) on or off based on settings comparing it with the other units in the building. Turning the screws will do nothing. They are used to attach another temperature sensor for transmission. The receiver/'heat computer' will detect and ...
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To add onto what Three-Phase and Harper said, here's why they probably missed it
It's hard to see, but there's a piece of metal stuck between the breakers. I used Harper's colored version so it's easier to spot the phases. The metal runs between the handles so both phases trip if one goes. You have not one, but two 20A 240v setups using half-size breakers.
...
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Allow me to color in ThreePhaseEel's superb answer.
First, you need to understand how panel busing works. Check that link for the basics, however, the tandem/quadplex concept does not apply to GE -- the water heater breaker is NOT a tandem (note the handles are not independent!) Effectively, GE gives you 1/2" wide breakers and you "build your own&...
answered Sep 5 at 6:34
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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13
Oh boy...whoever did that work really botched it up good
You need to call whoever rearranged those breakers back and tell them to fix their messed-up work on their dime, or better yet, pay someone competent of your choice to fix their errors. What they did took a perfectly fine panel configuration with spare slots in it and likely damaged it, atop ...
1
Your plans are pushing the limits of Class 320(!!!!)
Your problem is that you have a lot going on -- even:
disregarding the pool heat pump,
using gas for the tankless heater in the garage,
presuming that only one of the welder/cutters is running at any given time,
leaving no room for an ADU or extra shop tools,
assuming that the shop tools won't be running ...
7
You need 3/0 not 2/0 for running this in copper
Since this is a garage you're feeding and not a house, you can't use the "83% rule" (aka Table 310.12 in the current Code), as that rerate only applies to feeders or services serving entire dwelling units. As a result of that, and the fact that a 2/0 copper wire is rated for 175A (a standard breaker ...
1
I realize this doesn't directly answer your question, but I'd consider swapping your meter base to a class 320 service. That way you can run 2 200 amp panels at full capacity. Class 320 meter bases aren't cheap, but since you said you weren't worried about cost, that would give you the most robust solution. You'll need to involve the power company to make ...
3
Yes, that's fine. If the panel manufacturer supports double-lugs for the output lugs you could use those. Otherwise, use 3-port Polaris splices to fork the wires. Note this all needs to happen inside the enclosure, and the enclosure needs to be big enough.
You would need 4/0 Al wire for the feeder. (Normally you would need 250 kcmil, the next size up; ...
answered Sep 1 at 19:33
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6
No way!
That panel won't pass any competent electrical inspection, mostly because the NEC 110.26(A) clear working space has clearly been infringed by the washer/dryer combination. Not your fault, I know, but as long as that trash? can to the left can find another home, it should be possible to move it one stud bay to the left with the aid of some junction ...
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The clearance requirement is almost definitely going to be an issue. (And not an unusual issue - I will have the same problem if/when I ever upgrade my panel and get it inspected.) The shelves should be OK because you have room to the left. But the washer/dryer (whichever one is closer to the panel) is a definite problem. If there is any way to move it (but ...
answered Sep 1 at 1:13
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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3
The question is different but the answer is exactly the same. This breaker does not provide any location to attach the wires from the SPD.
The only difference is this is a discrete main breaker, not a meter-main, so it will be a great deal easier exchanging this unit for one that does what you want.
That being a main-breaker service panel with thru lugs (...
answered Aug 31 at 7:40
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5
What you're looking for is called a "ranch panel"
Here is how a "Class 320" 400A ranch panel is laid out internally.
The major features are:
Meter
200A breaker that goes straight to thru-lugs. The units are sold with this breaker location unpopulated, so different breakers can be fitted for 300 vs 400A service.
200A breaker that goes to:...
answered Aug 31 at 7:31
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I suspect PG&E will only allow you one drop in and one metered input, and from that meter you will feed all the subs including the house. They will either upsize the existing feed to the garage to support 200A, or run a new main to the closest place convenient for them, and you will be responsible for back feeding all the panels including the house.
...
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