Line/load separated in conduit

[jujitsu_masta]

At what point do you have to separate the line and the load conductors from being in the same conduit? I'm thinking in regards to service conductors and/or feeders.

 

[tom baker]

Your POCO will have requirements on metered and non metered service conductors in the same raceway. When considering line and load conductors those are not NEC terms. In general service conductors can not be in same raceway with non service conductors.

 

[Eddie702]

We had one city here when changing an underground service that came into a duct box with an indoor meter and we changed to an outdoor meter we were allowed to go out to the meter and back in to the panel with one pipe.

 

[kwired]

Service and non service conductors can be in same cabinet or junction box but can not be in same raceway/wireway.

Line/load conductors to a meter socket (no service disconnect within) is all service conductors if meter is ahead of the service disconnect.

 

[ptonsparky]

Our area POCO is no longer allowing overhead meter loops in the same raceway. The load side must be separate. IDK if it relates to an old meter loop I found where pulling the meter did not drop power to the house. One of the line side conductors had melted into the load side. I had to tell the customer his electric bill was most likely going to go up, not down, after that service update.

 

[infinity]

At what point do you have to separate the line and the load conductors from being in the same conduit? I'm thinking in regards to service conductors and/or feeders.

For feeders or branch circuits they can be within the same raceway. For something like a circuit with a VFD the manufacturer might recommend that they not be within the same raceway.

 

[Eddie702]

For feeders or branch circuits they can be within the same raceway. For something like a circuit with a VFD the manufacturer might recommend that they not be within the same raceway.

Seen a lot of VFDs withe line and load in the same pipe. Not supposed to be that way though.

 

[infinity]

What about service equipment?

Permitted within service equipment just not in the same raceway.

 

[jap]

I've always thought the possibility of a conductor getting hot enough to melt through it's own insulation, not short out to the surrounding grounded raceway it may be contained in, melting through another conductor's insulation, making contact with that conductor, which would have to be the same phase of the conductor that melted in the first place, and go on to bypass the overload protection by doing so would be nothing short of a small miracle.

JAP>

 

[ptonsparky]

I've always thought the possibility of a conductor getting hot enough to melt through it's own insulation, not short out to the surrounding grounded raceway it may be contained in, melting through another conductor's insulation, making contact with that conductor, which would have to be the same phase of the conductor that melted in the first place, and go on to bypass the overload protection by doing so would be nothing short of a small miracle.

JAP>

I was on the same page, until we found it.
Rural area with bare 6 cu overhead going to buildings. No fusing after POCO transformer primary. Enough slack in the overhead that they could blow in the wind and short to one another. They will on occasion weld in place. Seen it more than once. First time I had ever seen it melt conductor insulation in the riser. I suspect it had blown the transformer fuses in the past but POCO techs would open the shorted conductors out of curtesy , replace the fuses and go on about their day.