Polaris tap in meter main combo???!!!

[Itay Djerassi]

I really need assistant from some of the veterans here!!!!
I installed a generator at a residence. The house has a 400 Amp meter main combo. my journeyman removed the breakers and the bus in the main. He polaris tapped in the main and then added the breakers in the internal panels. Currently the panels are protected by the 200 amp breakers we installed and a SE rated ATS. I called for inspection and Miami dade county says i altered the equipment and cant do that. the way i see it , i am using the main as a junction box only. There is nothing but polaris taps inside. no breakers...nothing. I may have ruined the UL listing for the product as a panel but I am currently only using it as a junction box. Miami dade is giving me BS about NEC 110.3(b) but I am not using it as the same component. Does any one have any experiance using the main as junction box? Please Advise!!!

 

[augie47]

Problem is that it is not a listed junction box.
"Approval" is in the hands of your AHJ.
I have seen similiar and seen the AHJ approve it, but that certainly does not mean it would be acceptable elsewhere.
IMO, you are at the mercy of your AHJ. I would probably not hurt to ask an opinion from his/her supervisor or see if they have an appeals process.

 

[GoldDigger]

If you had not removed the "guts" but just disconnected all of the wires, it should have been legal to make connections inside it, as long as the fill and bending radius constraints were not violated.
But if you had to remove parts to make room, you may have a technical problem.

Tapatalk!

 

[texie]

I really need assistant from some of the veterans here!!!!
I installed a generator at a residence. The house has a 400 Amp meter main combo. my journeyman removed the breakers and the bus in the main. He polaris tapped in the main and then added the breakers in the internal panels. Currently the panels are protected by the 200 amp breakers we installed and a SE rated ATS. I called for inspection and Miami dade county says i altered the equipment and cant do that. the way i see it , i am using the main as a junction box only. There is nothing but polaris taps inside. no breakers...nothing. I may have ruined the UL listing for the product as a panel but I am currently only using it as a junction box. Miami dade is giving me BS about NEC 110.3(b) but I am not using it as the same component. Does any one have any experiance using the main as junction box? Please Advise!!!

Geez, you would dare to try something like this in Miami-Dade County? They make some of the toughest AHJs in the nation look like pikers. I spent a lot of years there and could tell you stories about doing battle with them that would make many leave the trade.

When they flagged something of mine I had a couple of rules I applied in deciding to fight. Were they really making the right call and how much it was going to cost me just to fix it to their satisfaction. If I was absolutely sure that they were wrong and it was going to cost me real money I would take them to the mat with a vengeance. One can never forget that these folks play serious hardball and this is not for the faint of heart and there can be repercussions. Every now and then I would fight something just for sport, just to show them that bullies sometimes have to pay a price. They really are bullies and need to be challenged.

That said, if they are making the right call, I would have no argument.

Which brings us to your case. Based on your description, it sounds like they are making the right call. In addition to their 110 argument, I'm also a little confused about your install regarding moving the main breakers to the subpanels. Have you met tap rules to do this?

 

[Fulthrotl]

I really need assistant from some of the veterans here!!!!
I installed a generator at a residence. The house has a 400 Amp meter main combo. my journeyman removed the breakers and the bus in the main. He polaris tapped in the main and then added the breakers in the internal panels. Currently the panels are protected by the 200 amp breakers we installed and a SE rated ATS. I called for inspection and Miami dade county says i altered the equipment and cant do that. the way i see it , i am using the main as a junction box only. There is nothing but polaris taps inside. no breakers...nothing. I may have ruined the UL listing for the product as a panel but I am currently only using it as a junction box. Miami dade is giving me BS about NEC 110.3(b) but I am not using it as the same component. Does any one have any experience using the main as junction box? Please Advise!!!

yeah. i've done it more than once. last time, it was a service upgrade, permitted, overhead feed.

late 40's house, fed with a 1 1/4" GRC to a weatherhead on the back of the house,
had a 60 amp board with integral meter, flush mounted.

mounted surface mount 200 amp panel on back of house near existing weatherhead,
new 2" mast to location about a foot away from original weatherhead.
switched service over to new panel, cut and used existing 1 1/4" to pull derated
conductors to original panel. turned out tidy.

in original panel, removed all interior components, leaving a bare shell. installed a
din rail, with blocks. landed all original circuits to terminals, and new #10 stranded
thhn to new panel. replaced entire face of panel with #12 GA 304 stainless cover,
bent to match the original panel cover, so it fit neatly the 3/8" lip of the exiting can.

inspector liked it, said so, signed it off.

one other thing... when i went in to pull the permit, i took a couple photos with me,
of the house, and went in the morning when the inspector was at the counter, and
walked thru the entire thing.

the only thing he didn't like with the plan was he wanted the cold water ground ran
entirely around from the back of the house to the front cold water bib... there was a
cold water bib about 3' from the new panel location.

he preferred, and the chief inspector for the city preferred to always have the ground
tied to cold water at the front of the house. god knows why, but that's where i put it.

the only difference between us that i can see, is that i wasted an hour beforehand
going to see him at his convenience.

as for the specifics of the installation, they are much different, except that we both
used the existing panel as a junction box.

you *did* ask beforehand, didn't you?