OCP on delta-wye with no neutral

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QuietGirl

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Electrical Engineering Team Lead
According to NEC 2017 240.21(C)(1) - "Single-phase (other than 2-wire) and multiphase (other than delta-delta, 3-wire) transformer secondary conductors are not considered to be protected by the primary overcurrent protective device."

I have run into a 3-phase delta-wye, iso transformer (feeding a motor) where the neutral is not used. My only question is can the primary OCPD be considered to protect the secondary wires? Or are we required to have overcurrent protection within 25' (or in accordance with the tap rules) of the secondary side?

My understanding of the rule is that the OCP on the primary (when the secondary is a Y) will never see a neutral current so we cannot count on it to open in that case. Any phase current would be reflected back through transformer and thus the primary OCPD would open. Am I missing something?
 
You need OCPD on the secondary Y. What is the voltage and is the Y secondary grounded?
480V-480V (just for iso of the motor noise) and yes it has to be grounded.
I thought it was needed but do you know why? What is the electrical problem with relying on the primary?
 
480V-480V (just for iso of the motor noise) and yes it has to be grounded.
I thought it was needed but do you know why? What is the electrical problem with relying on the primary?
Basically; a line to ground fault on the secondary will be split into currents on two of the legs of the primary. This means the fault current seen by the primary side OCPD is much less than would be expected by simply considering the turns ratio of the transformer.
 
Basically; a line to ground fault on the secondary will be split into currents on two of the legs of the primary. This means the fault current seen by the primary side OCPD is much less than would be expected by simply considering the turns ratio of the transformer.
Ah! That makes sense. Thanks for your help.
 
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