Kopper
Member
- Location
- Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I am installing the electrical system in a small commercial project. I used a 400 amp meter base with a 3" hub and a 3" rigid mast. Of course the mast threaded into the hub. When we put the 3 - 500 MCM through the mast it scuffed the outside plastic coating of the wires. One of the ares that was scuffed was right where the wires exited the hub. The inspector was there today and said things looked good but he wanted me to put a bushing around the wires and into the hub to protect the wires. He put the sticker on but said i would need to email to him a picture of the bushing in place before he would issue the cut-in card. I had never heard of the likes but asked three different suppliers who all said they never heard of a bushing that large. I checked online and found nothing but i did find that Arlington makes a 2 1/2" anti-short bushing. I emailed the inspector and told him i had run into a dead end and asked if he could help me. I told him the largest i could find was 2 1/2". He told me to use the 2 1/2" and figure out a way to make it stay there and then it would meet the intention of the code. I do so very few overhead services that i thought at first that i had missed something but it seems more and more like a very unnecessary thing. I haven't pulled my code book out yet to check things out but i was almost concerned that an ill-fitting bushing not designed for that use might be worse than no bushing at all. I don't intend to argue with the inspector even if he is dead wrong but i would like to make sure of things myself for my own personal benefit.
