Smash
Senior Member
- Location
- Philadelphia suburbs, PA USA
Tried to help out in NYC now inherited a nightmare. Won’t even try to explain the problems found. Like 12/2 MC for a range, line voltage baseboard heat thermostats with no wall boxes just taped and tucked. Anyway it’s a three story building however four above grade so NYC says it’s a four story building. Row house in Brooklyn where the owner for some reason was talked into not fixing the oil heat or running gas to major appliances. The place is finished completed with high end floors tile and paint. I had to troubleshoot why lights were flickering that’s when the fun starts. Aside from the newly ran BX and cut off grounds the contractor installed 8position sub panels on each floor. Undersized and over fused that’s where I started correcting things. My problem now is a new service in the basement to try and disburse all this load. There are two meters that will be one meter for basement 1st and 2nd floors meter two for 3rd and 4th floors. Everything in the basement is trash except the underground feed and end box. There is now 2/3 MC to each floor with a 20pos load center per floor. My plan and my question is on the service wiring. I want to come out of the end box to a 200 amp fusible disconnect fused at 150 run 2/0 copper from end box to a disconnect from disconnect to two gang meter cabinet from each meter will be a 150Amp load center each with two sub panel mains per load center. Now to maintain the proper ground fault does the end box main neutral go right to the meter cabinet double lug then one to each load center. Building ground and rods would start at the disconnect to meters to load centers. Neutral separated and not bonded to meter cabinet carried to load centers. Or should this neutral be grounded and carried thru to the load centers since this would be the main service. Also with regards to the main disconnect should that be fusing everything or does the line side of meter stay hot and not fused by me. Start on load side of meter to line side of disconnect. I’m using a main disconnect so if ever there was to much load it would blow a 2/0 fed 150amp fuse and not simply melt the main feeders like it is currently set up. It’s a bad situation all around with no permits pulled or inspections obviously no load calculations sent for approval. Everything is in the basement underground service and meters it’s a mess. I’m trying to find the best way to properly upgrade all basement equipment and safely fuse four 100amp sub panels. Sorry for long confusing post just trying to paint a picture. The guy who did all the really bad work is gone can’t be gotten a hold of. I got a good number for the service a number that you throw out to get out of the nightmare never thought they would except well they did so now what. Again sorry to write a novel here.
