Meter & Main Panel Upgrade

[jbellino]

Hello all,

I have several questions regarding the upgrade of a meter & 200A Federal Pacific main disconnect in Titusville, FL. Just for context, I am a journeyman IBEW electrician who does mostly commercial/industrial work, as well as some residential on the side. This job is for a pipefitter that I'm acquainted with from work; he recently bought an old house in Titusville, FL, and wants to upgrade his meter and replace the old main disconnect with a new main panel. I haven't done a residential panel swap before, so this is a new experience for me.

1. The first topic is about grounding & bonding. The existing grounding electrode conductor is bonded to the meter rather than the main disconnect. Of course I would prefer to bond the GEC to the main panel instead. However, this is apparently how FPL (the utility company serving this house) requires the GEC to be bonded. FPL is practically impossible to get a hold of, but the quote below is taken from an email from the inspections department of the city of Titusville in response to my inquiry about this:

"Jesse,
It has been my experience that if the equipment is a meter/main combo (which has a solid buss between the meter section and the main breaker section) then FPL is OK with terminating the GEC in the main breaker section. If the enclosures are separate then FPL requires the GEC be terminated in the meter enclosure.

Dave"

Given the layout of the meter, wall penetration for the sub feeds, the general real estate on the wall, and the approved enclosures according to FPL, I don't believe I'll be able to get a meter/main combo that will work in this situation (at least one that will provide enough breaker spaces on the main disconnect side). My plan is to get a new meter box and a separate main panel to replace the existing main disconnect.

So my first question is, given these circumstances, am I clear to bond the GEC to the neutral bar on the meter, but derive the equipment grounding conductor & neutral bond in the main panel? Or does that need to happen in the meter box?

1. The second thing to address is the ground rod & GEC situation. You can see that there is pavement below the meter & main disconnect, and there is a 1/2" metal rigid pipe coming into the bottom of the meter box, which contains the GEC. Not only do I not want to use metal pipe around the GEC, but I cannot locate what electrode it is bonded to, and I don't have the very expensive tool required to test the resistance on it. All of that being said, I intend to install (2) 5/8" ground rods, each 10' in length, at least 6' apart, bonded both together and to the meter box. I have cadweld molds to use for bonding the GEC to the ground rods; I trust this method much more than using acorns, especially in a humid and corrosive environment like Titusville. I plan to drill into the concrete slab 10-12" off of the house to avoid the footer (also after 811 has come to scan underground).

My next question is, does anybody have any recommendations for doing this kind of ground rod install in a neat and workmanlike fashion? I would like to get some kind of ground wells to set into the concrete, and possibly run 1/2" carflex over the GEC to protect it, if that's feasible. I'm not sure what kind of inspection wells or boxes would be suitable for this application, so if any of you have a recommendation, please let me know. Something flush mounted or semi-flush mounted/tapered could be could.

1. With regards to the meter box and panel installation, the meter currently has 2/0 aluminum conductors from SER cable on the load side feeding the line side of the main disconnect through a small 2" nipple. I will be upsizing these accordingly. The sub feeds on the secondary side of the main disconnect are also 2/0 SER aluminum cable going into a 2" sleeve going through the wall, then up to the attic, and over to the sub panel in the garage. I plan to install a 150A breaker in the main panel to land those on. The sleeve with the sub feeds is just over 5' off of the ground on center, so I plan to knock out the hole somewhere in the top space of the main panel and run the wires down to the 150 breaker. The wires are more than likely going to be too short, so I plan to use polaris connectors to extend the sub feeds to the breaker. This layout will also leave the panel just shy of 3' off of the ground from the bottom, which is lower than I would like, but should still be code compliant.
   

Any additional thoughts or suggestions about this part of the plan would be appreciated.

I would upload pictures, but the ones I have are too large of a file size and I'm not savvy enough at the moment to shrink them to a small enough size.

Thank you,

-Jesse

 

[Little Bill]

As long as the POCO is good with the GEC in the meter base, that's the best place to land it. No further bonding is required when landing in the meter base.
When it lands in the meter base, the neutral is already bonded to the enclosure. There is usually a lug right beside the meter lug that is for the GEC.
You don't originate the EGC in the meter base, it starts at the main panel.

Ground rods only need to be 8', not 10'.
Acorns are fine for the connection, cad welding not needed. The acorns are rated for direct burial and they won't corrode.

As for the GEC from one rod to the other, cut a groove in the pavement and lay the GEC in it. You can buy ready to use pavement patch at the "Big Box" stores.

 

[Greentagger]

Not so fast………..
Main bonding jumper is required in service disconnect whether or not GEC is connected in meter base. 250.24(C).
If metal service raceway from meter base is connected between meter base and service disconnect, it is required to be bonded. 250.92.
Did I misunderstand the question or statement about no further bonding required?

 

[Little Bill]

Not so fast………..
Main bonding jumper is required in service disconnect whether or not GEC is connected in meter base. 250.24(C).
If metal service raceway from meter base is connected between meter base and service disconnect, it is required to be bonded. 250.92.
Did I misunderstand the question or statement about no further bonding required?

I think you did. I was meaning no further bonding of the GEC. Some think you have to have the GEC in the panel even though it is bonded to the grounded conductor in the meter. So no need in being redundant as far as a bonding jumper from the meter to a panel, or additional disconnect.
Also helps with a 400A/320A service with two disconnects, or panels. You don't have to take the GEC to anything past the meter base, if the GEC lands there.

Main bonding jumper bonds the grounded conductor to the EGC and enclosure, nothing really to do with the GEC.