Above ground fuel tank

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ben44

Member
I hope this isn't a repeat, but here goes. I have a 500 gallon gasoline tank I have wired up. I have a seal-off out of the motor then to Rigid. The rigid goes underground, then I have another seal-off where it comes back up above. I then used conduit to the fused disconnect. Then about 70' of conduit to the panel. Can I get by with using a regular breaker being that I will have it fused on the outside? Also, what type of fuse would you recommend to use? The motor is 115v, FLA-5A and SF 1.0. Any recommendations and does this sound right the way I have wired it up? Thank you so much in advance!
 

hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
My 1st question is what is the purpose of the fused disconnect? Why is it fused instead of non-fused? The reason is you really need to break the neutral. A fused disconnect won't break the neutral and running it through a fuse on the fused disconnect would not be code compliant because if the neutral blew a fuse the hot would still be ..... hot.

My suggestion would be to use the switched neutral breaker and if you wanted a disconnect on the outside, why not use a 2-pole 20-amp switch instead of a fused disconnect? If you don't like the switch, use a NF disconnect (2-pole) and run the neutral through one of the blades on the NF disconnect.

On the conduit system, the sealoff needs to be the 1st fitting out of the ground. You also need to have a sealoff within 18" of the pump. There is a chance you will need 3 sealoffs. Please remember to put an explosion proof union between the sealoff and the pump. I've seen people not experienced in wiring these things install a nipple, sealoff, then union to attach their conduit system to the sealoff. That's backwards, the union needs to be between the sealoff and the pump so you can disconnect the pump and change if if necessary (in the future).
 

ben44

Member
I was wondering about the breaker. The panel is a Square D Homline. I looked at Grainger and a few other places, but can't find it. Do you know if I can use a different breaker such as Cutler BR or some other? Also, I will be replacing the fused with non-fused disconnect on the outside.

I have a union right out of the motor, then to a seal-off. It then 90's down into the ground. I have another seal-off right where it comes back up before the disconnect. I sounds as if I at least have this right.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your previous reply hard working stiff.
 

hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
Ben,

I've gotten by with installing a 2-pole contactor (usually adjacent to the panel) to break the grounded and ungrounded conductors and feeding it with a 1-pole standard (non switched neutral) breaker. The coil is fed from the breaker, and the hot and neutral from the panel go on the line side plus the coil, and the load side of the contactor goes to the classified area. So anytime the breaker is off, the neutral is isolated since the contactor drops out.

It's also easy to install an E-Stop, just break the coil voltage with a NC push button.
 

ben44

Member
Hey fella's, thanks again for your posts'. I am still trying to find a Homline switched neutral breaker for that panel. ITE and GE don't fit, without custom fab. I don't want to do that, so I am asking if anyone knows if there is a breaker out there that is compatible with the Homline series or if there might be something else I could do that would be easily acheived. Any help would be muc appreciated! Thank you so much!!!
 
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