Meter / Main combo and no EGC running to sub-panel?

[Fred B]

So 3 wire from a remote POCO pedestal's OCPD to a dwelling unit is now allowed with the grounding and bonding done at the structure,
Correct?

Jap

depending on your code cycle

 

[jaggedben]

So 3 wire from a remote POCO pedestal's OCPD to a dwelling unit is now allowed with the grounding and bonding done at the structure,
Correct?

I would also say yes.

It's a curious point that apparently this does not conflict with 250.32, as there is no requirement for grounding at a pedestal that has only an emergency disconnect, and 250.32 only applies to feeders and branch circuits.

 

[jap]

Don't want to pull 3 wire in and have the inspector gig me for not having an EGC in the conduit and keeping the Neutral and Ground separated at the structure if he considers the breaker at the POCO pedestal the Service Disconnect.

Also don't want to pull in an EGC and not have anywhere to land it if 3 wire is acceptable.

It changes everything depending on whether 3 wire or 4 wire is decided upon.

I mentioned earlier I though it was safer to call the 200a breaker at the pedestal the Service Disconnect and run 4 wire from there to the structure in case a Neutral was lost it wouldn't energize all the Non-Current carrying parts of the structure since the Neutral and Ground would not be bonded at the structure,
But,
Then got to thinking, loosing a #6 EGC in a 4 wire scenario from the pedestal to the structure would be just as bad since you would loose all fault clearing capability.

It seems to be 6 of one way or half a dozen of the other.

Jap>

 

[electrofelon]

I'm battling the whole 3 wire 4 wire thing.
On a new service if there is a 200 amp breaker in the Poco pedestal remote from a dwelling unit we can call that the Emergency Disconnect and pull 3 wire from it to the structure and do all our grounding and bonding there?
Or
Us it still 4 wire from the pedestal and Neutral and Ground separate at the structure?

I have always preferred 3 wire to the house. Even ignoring the emergency disco stuff, I was always puzzled how most people seemed to want to put a service disconnect at a pedestal, even when its hundreds of feet from the pedestal to the house. I thin a lot of people are either irrationally uncomfortable running service conductors hundreds of feet, or just plain dont know the code and think they need a disco at the ped. IMO its less equipment, less connetions, less conductors, and a better fault clearing path since the neutral is almost always larger than an EGC would be.

 

[jap]

I have always preferred 3 wire to the house. Even ignoring the emergency disco stuff, I was always puzzled how most people seemed to want to put a service disconnect at a pedestal, even when its hundreds of feet from the pedestal to the house. I thin a lot of people are either irrationally uncomfortable running service conductors hundreds of feet, or just plain dont know the code and think they need a disco at the ped. IMO its less equipment, less connetions, less conductors, and a better fault clearing path since the neutral is almost always larger than an EGC would be.

I completely agree.

We're smart guys, or at least I'd like to think so, this shouldn't be such a dilemma.

If we can consider the breaker at the pedestal an emergency disconnect, not have to pull 4 wire, we get the luxury of a larger return path for the fault current, and, if we disregard the the change that the breaker at the pedestal does to the Service Conductors, it actually puts OCP on the service conductors that we wouldn't have had before.

Jap>