Neutrals

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

billdozier 78

Member
Location
Orlando
My boss has me pulling in circuits to new building. Cake work, but he is making a big deal about the neutrals. I know that on a multi wire branch circuit the neutral needs to be identified and the breakers share a handle tie. As I understand this it is to eliminate any potential shock hazard due to unbalanced loads on the neutral. If all neutrals are tied under the same bar does that risk not still exist. Or is it mitigated to the point where no real danger could occur? Secondly what he has me doing is pulling in a neutral with every circuit. And he is insistent about both sides being labels. The panel and the box it feeds. Does that make sense?
 
The handle tie is also a step in preventing someone being shocked by "back-feed" voltages if they disconnect the neutral on a MWBC.
If you are pulling separate neutrals for each circuit for proper loading and also to prevent a back-feed, it is important to assure you connect all loads to the neutral associated with the phase. If you are sharing conduits some means of assuring you use the correct neutral needs to be in place.
 
It has less to do with inbalance and more to do with someone disconnecting the shared neutral while one of the circuits is energized. The handle tie or multi-pole CB will in theory eliminate that possibility.
 
billdozier 78 said:
Secondly what he has me doing is pulling in a neutral with every circuit. And he is insistent about both sides being labels. The panel and the box it feeds. Does that make sense?
Click to expand...

If you have multiple neutrals entering and leaving a box, it makes perfect sense. You need to know which neutrals go together in order to keep the hots and neutrals working as one pair and one pair only.
 
infinity said:
It has less to do with inbalance and more to do with someone disconnecting the shared neutral while one of the circuits is energized. The handle tie or multi-pole CB will in theory eliminate that possibility.
Click to expand...

In 42 years of doing electric work I never was that stupid, but it seems the NEC is preparing for the future of less educated dolts to perform electrical installs?
 
brian john said:
In 42 years of doing electric work I never was that stupid, but it seems the NEC is preparing for the future of less educated dolts to perform electrical installs?
Click to expand...

I agree with you but there is some evidence to support the NEC's position regarding the protection of careless workers.

There is someone who works in our company who eight months ago was badly injured (clinically dead and revived) because he did not shutoff the three 277 volt circuits sharing one neutral. Besides his heart stopping and suffering burns he also fell from a ladder. He was out of work almost 6 months recovering. I would guess that injuries are more common than we think.
 
brian john said:
In 42 years of doing electric work I never was that stupid, but it seems the NEC is preparing for the future of less educated dolts to perform electrical installs?
Click to expand...
employers WANT less educated dolts. there was a thread on here a while ago about conduit running not being electrical work. If you break the work down into small enough tasks and dress the workers up in enough "safety" gear, the same "dolt" who works at the convienece store could do the work of an electrician.... for convienience store pay,

If anyone thinks that is not happening, and that all this safety nonsense is for the workers' benefit, I think he should think again. It is to de-skill and de- pay "skilled" labor.

Rich and working poor ... that's where we're headed.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top