wire pull question.

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cmreschke

Senior Member
Here's the scenario: I ordered 4 cuts of 1/0 thhn compact aluminum and 1 cut #2 same for ground per specs on my prints. Run is 420' long 2" emt.
It is feeding a 100 amp mlo 208/120 3 phase with neutral panel from switch gear.
Boss sends out 1 cut 2/0 thhn al, 2 cuts 2/0 xhhw al, and 1 cut 1/0 xhhw al.
Question I have is I believe this to be a violation but have no book here to look it up I am sure you can't mix insulations like that correct?
Would you make the 1/0 your neutral as I think that's a violation as well correct?
Boss says pull it so pull it but how would you mark them?
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
You can mix insulation types (as long as they're not paralleled on the same phase or neutral) and the neutral must be sized for the connected load.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
You could have had all aluminum conductors and one copper, as long as each one was properly sized for the ampacity required - no problem. Only thing is like Infinity mentioned if you have parallel conductors - the sets of each paralleled conductor must be identical in about every way you can think of - if they are not they will not necessarily carry equal amounts of current.
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Here's the scenario: I ordered 4 cuts of 1/0 thhn compact aluminum and 1 cut #2 same for ground per specs on my prints. Run is 420' long 2" emt.
It is feeding a 100 amp mlo 208/120 3 phase with neutral panel from switch gear.
Boss sends out 1 cut 2/0 thhn al, 2 cuts 2/0 xhhw al, and 1 cut 1/0 xhhw al.
Question I have is I believe this to be a violation but have no book here to look it up I am sure you can't mix insulations like that correct?
Would you make the 1/0 your neutral as I think that's a violation as well correct?
Boss says pull it so pull it but how would you mark them?

Does the customer know that the specs aren't going to be followed? There is more to this stuff than just the NEC.
 

acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
Does the customer know that the specs aren't going to be followed? There is more to this stuff than just the NEC.

It seems like his boss did the right thing, upsizing the wire from 1/0 to 2/0 al, based on the length of the run.

(added) asuming a load of 80% on a 100amps you will have a 4.56% voltage drop at 420 feet with 2/0 al, his wire should actually be bigger.
 
Last edited:

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
One note on the parallel conductors I mentioned, they only have to have the same characteristic per phase or neutral not all of the parallel conductors. You could have #3/0's on Phase A and 250 kcmil on phase B, etc.
 
Last edited:

acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
Here's the scenario: I ordered 4 cuts of 1/0 thhn compact aluminum and 1 cut #2 same for ground per specs on my prints. Run is 420' long 2" emt.
It is feeding a 100 amp mlo 208/120 3 phase with neutral panel from switch gear.
Boss sends out 1 cut 2/0 thhn al, 2 cuts 2/0 xhhw al, and 1 cut 1/0 xhhw al.
Question I have is I believe this to be a violation but have no book here to look it up I am sure you can't mix insulations like that correct?
Would you make the 1/0 your neutral as I think that's a violation as well correct?
Boss says pull it so pull it but how would you mark them?

Is this in the same building or a separate structure? If a separate structure or in some cases a tenant's unit, you will need a main shut off at the panel.
 

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
Here's the scenario: I ordered 4 cuts of 1/0 thhn compact aluminum and 1 cut #2 same for ground per specs on my prints. Run is 420' long 2" emt.
It is feeding a 100 amp mlo 208/120 3 phase with neutral panel from switch gear.
Boss sends out 1 cut 2/0 thhn al, 2 cuts 2/0 xhhw al, and 1 cut 1/0 xhhw al.
Question I have is I believe this to be a violation but have no book here to look it up I am sure you can't mix insulations like that correct?
Would you make the 1/0 your neutral as I think that's a violation as well correct?
Boss says pull it so pull it but how would you mark them?

It appears you were going to have an EGC (wire) thus 5 conductors. Your boss sent out only 4 conductors. Unless he is wanting to use the EMT as the EGC, you are one conductor short.
 

cmreschke

Senior Member
Same building not seperate.
He supplied a ground I just neglected to mention as it had no bearing on the o.p. he sent what I ordered in regards to the ground. Thanks for all the replies. I just questioned the different insulations, as I believed it to be a violation, one of those things I was taught when an apprentice but never bothered to challenge.
 
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