Electrical for a boat dock

[bushwc]

I built my house about 4 years ago knowing that I would eventually build a boat dock so I had a 100 amp sub panel mounted on a pole in the yard close to the river. I am in the process of building a dock and needed to install a 20 amp outlet on the pole in the yard for construction. I opened the box and discovered the the sub panel has only to hot wires and a neutral, no ground wire at all. The sub now has a 30 amp double pole breaker installed to power my sprinkler system pump that is in the river. The panel inside the house has a double pole 100A breaker to power the sub. This is not a GFCI breaker. The sprinker pump is on a double pole 30A non GFCI circuit breaker. First thing is I think the sprinkler circuit should be protected by a GFCI breaker either in the main panel or the sub panel. I cannot install a GFCI breaker in the sub since there is no ground installed in the panel. What do I do?

100 amp GFCI in the main panel?
Drive a ground rod at the sub panel and use GFCI breaker in the sub.
Run a ground from the main to the sub panel. Its about 80 ft. so that may be difficult to impossible without starting over.

I have to say I am surprised that the install was approved by the elec inspector during construction.

 

[bushwc]

Guess I overstepped my bounds.

Guess I overstepped my bounds.

I built my house about 4 years ago knowing that I would eventually build a boat dock so I had a 100 amp sub panel mounted on a pole in the yard close to the river. I am in the process of building a dock and needed to install a 20 amp outlet on the pole in the yard for construction. I opened the box and discovered the the sub panel has only to hot wires and a neutral, no ground wire at all. The sub now has a 30 amp double pole breaker installed to power my sprinkler system pump that is in the river. The panel inside the house has a double pole 100A breaker to power the sub. This is not a GFCI breaker. The sprinker pump is on a double pole 30A non GFCI circuit breaker. First thing is I think the sprinkler circuit should be protected by a GFCI breaker either in the main panel or the sub panel. I cannot install a GFCI breaker in the sub since there is no ground installed in the panel. What do I do?

100 amp GFCI in the main panel?
Drive a ground rod at the sub panel and use GFCI breaker in the sub.
Run a ground from the main to the sub panel. Its about 80 ft. so that may be difficult to impossible without starting over.

I have to say I am surprised that the install was approved by the elec inspector during construction.

I haven't received any response so far. I may not get any since I am not a licensed contractor. I have discussed this issued with a EE friend of mine who had one opinion and two licensed contractors who had different opinions. All I want is to make sure the dock install is installed correctly. The last thing I want is for someone to be injured or killed because of improper electrical on my dock. If you can't answer would you please let me know where I can go to get an answer to my questions. There are a lot of people out there who claim to be electricans who really aren't.

 

[George Stolz]

I am closing this thread, in accordance with the Forum Rules.

This site is designed for:

• Contractors
• Electricians
• Engineers
• Inspectors
• Instructors
• Other electrically related individuals

* This NEC? Forum is for those in the electrical and related industries. Questions of a "How-To" nature by persons not involved in the electrical industry will be removed without notice.

We run into headaches suggesting other sites to go to. The reason for the policy is best summed up as, "It's not the questions you ask that trouble us, but what you may not know to ask due to a lack of experience in the trade." By endorsing another site, we could be walking into the liability issue that the policy is designed to avoid.

That said, I would strongly recommend talking to the building department that signed off on the installation to both call them onto the carpet for what sounds like a non-compliant installation that was apparently signed off sight unseen, and to also seek their advice while their eyes are on the problem.

I agree that boat docks are nothing to make a mistake on, people die every year from electrified docks.