400 amp service correct?

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Chopper143

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Tyler, Texas USA
I am contractor on building my own home. I had electrician install a 400 amp service that goes from meter base/shutoff to house that has 2 200 panels. The shutoff at meter base has 2 ground rods 5-6ft apart and 2 ground rods at house panels 5-6ft as well. The bonding strap to neutral
is hooked up in panels is this correct?



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This is not correct. Does the meter have 2- 200 amp breakers or 1- 400 amp breaker. I assume 2-200 amp breakers which would not be compliant. How many conductors are run from the meter/main to the house. There should be an equipment grounding conductor run with the feeders.

The meter/main should have the neutral and grounds tied together but not at the house.
 
Does the "meter/shutoff" have overcurrent protection? If not it is not the service disconnecting means and your house panels are the service disconnecting means.

If it does have overcurrent protection, it still may not be considered the service disconnecting means in some areas, especially if it is POCO provided.

More details along with knowing what any local rules may be are critical to answering OP's question here.
 
You cannot have 2 runs from a single 400 amp breaker going to 2 different panels unless they are joined together and tapped properly.
 
I think you need to get your electrician on here because we are not really allowed to go far with this as you are not the ec.
 
Chopper143 said:
There is a meter can with a 400 amp safety switch fused at pole location then runs to
house that has 2-200 amp panels with 200 amp breakers
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Without local rules stating this 400 amp fuse is not the service disconecting means - you would need to run separate neutral and EGC to the house and not bond them together at the house.

You also need those runs to be "in parallel" to effectively create one feeder to the house, as you can't legally run two feeders to the house. You can make taps off that one feeder to as many as six disconnecting means grouped in same location though.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I think you need to get your electrician on here because we are not really allowed to go far with this as you are not the ec.
Click to expand...

I agree with Dennis; from your description there are some things which are potential code violations, depending on which version of code you are on, local amendments, and local interpretations.

At the same time, the pictures show a neat and workman like install with good equipment. If there are code violations they strike me as the sort that do not have a huge safety impact.

For example, it is a code violation to have two separate feeders to a structure, with exceptions for things such as different characteristics. You would be allowed to have a 120/240V feeder and a separate 208/120V three phase feeder, for example. I don't see a huge safety impact from having two 120/240V feeders as long as the disconnects are side by side so that both can be turned off quickly together.

We would need the details of the situation, and even then we'd probably debate if there were a code violation. But from the description and what I see, I think you as a customer can sleep soundly.

-Jon
 
I am closing the thread. The op has enough info to know it needs to be looked at. That is as much help as we can do here.
 
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