Doc13067
Senior Member
- Location
- Bucks County/Philadelphia, PA USA
I am replacing five small panels that are currently containing two fuses each with breaker panels. The service conductors come in from the outside and go into a disconnect and out of the disconnect to five meters. Rigid metal conduit then comes out of each meter to a small fuse box. Each fuse box has two fuses and three circuits going up to each unit. Each unit has three circuits (none of them grounded) but in all five cases two of those circuits or fed by one fuse. A grounding electrodes and run doctor goes from the disconnect before the meters to a water pipe.
My job is putting in ground rods, running ground wire, replacing five fuse boxes, and installing dual function breakers.
My questions are:
1) Can I install 125 amp 4 space 8
circuit main lug panels that are usually used as shed or garage sub panels under each meter? If not what is a good Panel to install in a tight space with five panels that is rated for this purpose?
2) Is the main disconnect before the meters to be considered the main panel even though it comes before the meters or are each of the five panels under the meters that come after the meters to be considered all main panels? I am trying to determine if I should be sending a wire from the ground rods to the disconnect before the meters or to each of the five panels after the meters.
3) Can I run my grounding electrode conductor from the two ground rods directly to the water pipe and not connect to the panels or disconnect? The reason I ask is because the disconnect cannot be opened unless it is turned off and two of these units are currently occupied so I would prefer to only turn off the units that are vacant, the others will become vacant soon but I would start the job before they do.
sorry if I am complicating this I just I’ve only done single family dwellings and I am confused because the main is usually after the meter so I think there should be five mains but the disconnect is before the meters and usually the disconnect is the main, but after the meter lol. Help! This is my first multi family.
My job is putting in ground rods, running ground wire, replacing five fuse boxes, and installing dual function breakers.
My questions are:
1) Can I install 125 amp 4 space 8
circuit main lug panels that are usually used as shed or garage sub panels under each meter? If not what is a good Panel to install in a tight space with five panels that is rated for this purpose?
2) Is the main disconnect before the meters to be considered the main panel even though it comes before the meters or are each of the five panels under the meters that come after the meters to be considered all main panels? I am trying to determine if I should be sending a wire from the ground rods to the disconnect before the meters or to each of the five panels after the meters.
3) Can I run my grounding electrode conductor from the two ground rods directly to the water pipe and not connect to the panels or disconnect? The reason I ask is because the disconnect cannot be opened unless it is turned off and two of these units are currently occupied so I would prefer to only turn off the units that are vacant, the others will become vacant soon but I would start the job before they do.
sorry if I am complicating this I just I’ve only done single family dwellings and I am confused because the main is usually after the meter so I think there should be five mains but the disconnect is before the meters and usually the disconnect is the main, but after the meter lol. Help! This is my first multi family.