BlameTheIntern
New User
- Location
- Houston
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Hello
I'm wrapping up my first electrical engineering internship and I have a question about bonding conductor sizing for non-electrical equipment like steel columns, cable trays, tanks, and vessels.
I was reviewing some grounding plans and I noticed that we generally use #2 AWG to bond steel columns to the ground grid. However, sometimes I see #2/0 AWG used to bond a tank or a vessel to the ground grid. I asked a senior designer about this, and he said that #2/0 AWG is typically used for large equipment. I then asked him what defines "large" equipment, and he said that's up to the engineer to decide. My lead directed me to NEC 250, but in this case, the equipment doesn't have an upstream breaker / protective device.
My questions are, in the absence of client specifications, when should we use #2 AWG vs. #2/0 AWG? Is there a calculation or NEC article that covers this?
I'm wrapping up my first electrical engineering internship and I have a question about bonding conductor sizing for non-electrical equipment like steel columns, cable trays, tanks, and vessels.
I was reviewing some grounding plans and I noticed that we generally use #2 AWG to bond steel columns to the ground grid. However, sometimes I see #2/0 AWG used to bond a tank or a vessel to the ground grid. I asked a senior designer about this, and he said that #2/0 AWG is typically used for large equipment. I then asked him what defines "large" equipment, and he said that's up to the engineer to decide. My lead directed me to NEC 250, but in this case, the equipment doesn't have an upstream breaker / protective device.
My questions are, in the absence of client specifications, when should we use #2 AWG vs. #2/0 AWG? Is there a calculation or NEC article that covers this?