Panel Upgrade

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Scali

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LA,CA
Hi,
Have a friend that just had a panel upgrade done at his home in LA.
The electrician who did the job did not run any EGC's to any of the
receptacles or anywhere else.Also, The house is very old and has all
rigid & flex. Will this pass inspection?
 
When you say he didnt run any egc. Are you saying he ran wire from the panel through conduits to the devices...
There are different types of egc and each has conditions as to when they are used and approved as well as devices has conditions for how they become connected to the egc.

Are you asking because you dont believe in the electrician or his method,,,,
 
The panel upgrade has nothing to do with the grounding of the receptacles unless it is a code of the city.

Even though the panel is upgraded the rest of the house does not need to be updated.
 
Scali said:
Hi,
Have a friend that just had a panel upgrade done at his home in LA.
The electrician who did the job did not run any EGC's to any of the
receptacles or anywhere else.Also, The house is very old and has all
rigid & flex. Will this pass inspection?
Click to expand...

RMC is acceptable to use as an EGC, flexible metal conduit is as well but has some restrictions on length and overcurrent protection settings, that said outside of any local code amendments it likely is acceptable as a general rule assuming all raceway connections are made up tight and continuity between raceways is somehow maintained at enclosures, which is also commonly achieved with standard locknuts if connected to metallic enclosures.
 
edward said:
The panel upgrade has nothing to do with the grounding of the receptacles unless it is a code of the city.

Even though the panel is upgraded the rest of the house does not need to be updated.
Click to expand...

Cities in CA can no longer make codes up and enforce them unless there are one of the three express findings. Then they must be passed by ordinance and filed for approval by the State BSC. How well a city AHJ enforces what is already on the books is another thing.

As to the OP I doubt there is a issue with the existing conduits as they probably were installed when the conduit was legitimately used as the EG. Today you can still do this as long as you comply with current code. Separate EG are not always needed just an approved method of grounding. A CA city can certainly enact code to require EGC for all situations due to inherent seismic conditions.
 
Sierrasparky said:
Cities in CA can no longer make codes up and enforce them unless there are one of the three express findings. Then they must be passed by ordinance and filed for approval by the State BSC. How well a city AHJ enforces what is already on the books is another thing.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Thanks. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Good to know. I did not know that.
 
edward said:
Thanks. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Good to know. I did not know that.
Click to expand...

It has been that way for as long as I can remember but never challenged by contractors or enforced by the state. There are may BS local codes around that do not meet any of the requirements to be necessary. Even if the amendments do get submitted to the state they are just dumped into a file and never reviewed.
 
Panel upgrade

Panel upgrade

edward said:
The panel upgrade has nothing to do with the grounding of the receptacles unless it is a code of the city.

Even though the panel is upgraded the rest of the house does not need to be updated.
Click to expand...

But, he ran new conductors into the house, which makes it new work no?
 
curt swartz said:
It has been that way for as long as I can remember but never challenged by contractors or enforced by the state. There are may BS local codes around that do not meet any of the requirements to be necessary. Even if the amendments do get submitted to the state they are just dumped into a file and never reviewed.
Click to expand...

I know the inspector can not make up his own stuff and I do challenge them all the time. I thought for a local law/rule to be enforced all it needs was to be approved by the AHJ department and be on their files. I did not know that a local amendment has to be filed with the state.
 
If he rewired the house using the existing conduits then he needs to follow the rules for new work. It will be very easy to tell what is new and what is not based on the type of conductor insulation.
Steel flex if pulled new will generally need a EGC.
Aluminum flex may not.
 
However unless it has changed , Alflex certain type is approved in certain conditions up to 20 amps. , In the past I have only seen the tag on Alflex products stating it is listed for such.

Oh and CA is on the 2013 California Electrical code. there are differences.
 
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Sierrasparky said:
However unless it has changed , Alflex certain type is approved in certain conditions up to 20 amps. , In the past I have only seen the tag on Alflex products stating it is listed for such.

Oh and CA is on the 2013 California Electrical code. there are differences.
Click to expand...

Unless you can find us a specific product that is different, it is only good for six feet of length. It would need some sort of bonding material that shorts across each spiral of the construction similar to the bonding strip installed in AC and some MC cable types to be suitable for equipment grounding beyond 6 feet of length.

I tried a google search and only came up with product pages/articles/etc that mentioned maximum of six feet - this in the search results without even opening the results - I did not look at all 21,000 results but everyone on first page mentioned six feet.

I searched for "alflex flexible metal conduit listed for grounding" anyway and those were the results, figuring if there were a newer product listed for grounding over six feet it probably would show up in that search.
 
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