Panelboard wire strapping code requirements.

Pinnie

Pinnie

Member
Location
Ohio
Occupation
Commercial Electrician
I stumbled across this panel that has bare copper securing the bundle of grounds together. Do you think this is a violation?
 

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infinity said:
No, what would it violate?
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I agree. The arguement against it was that it’s not a listed strap. My thoughts were since there is no strapping requirement for THHN in panel boards, this would not need to be listed since it’s not a code required strap. It would be a supplementary strap.
 
Pinnie said:
I agree. The arguement against it was that it’s not a listed strap. My thoughts were since there is no strapping requirement for THHN in panel boards, this would not need to be listed since it’s not a code required strap. It would be a supplementary strap.
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As you've stated there is no requirement to bundle the conductors together so nothing is required. Personally I would use a cable tie but to each his own.
 
infinity said:
As you've stated there is no requirement to bundle the conductors together so nothing is required. Personally I would use a cable tie but to each his own.
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Yes I agree. What about the copper and aluminum conductors touching?
 
infinity said:
Either. Copper and aluminum touch all of the time in panels without any issue. You can even use bare copper condcutors in aluminum raceways.
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Where do problems arise with two dissimilar metals touching and what does the code say if anything? Like diox on aluminum lugs.
 
Pinnie said:
Where do problems arise with two dissimilar metals touching and what does the code say if anything? Like diox on aluminum lugs.
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Anti-oxidation paste is not required on terminals listed for aluminum conductors. It might be a good practice to use it since it's cheap but it is not required. The dissimilar metal issues can arise in corrosive environments. We connect dissimilar metals together all of time without any issues. The most common connection is copper and Galvanized steel.
 
infinity said:
Anti-oxidation paste is not required on terminals listed for aluminum conductors. It might be a good practice to use it since it's cheap but it is not required. The dissimilar metal issues can arise in corrosive environments. We connect dissimilar metals together all of time without any issues. The most common connection is copper and Galvanized steel.
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any issues in damp environments?
 
I was always told the main issue with aluminum wire was exposure to small amounts of hydrogen chloride off gassed by hot plastic components in panels and electrical boxes then starts hard to spot runaway pitting.
 
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