When posting a question to a forum, I always worry about getting too verbose. In the attempt at concision, I sometimes provide too little information. I think at this point, I have the answers I need; however, given all the people who so kindly provided responses, I am, at the risk of being too wordy, circling back around and providing additional detail that might have gone better "up front." (Feel free to skip this "update" if you have already heard enough
)
You can purchase white conductors with colored stripes. Also if you use a quote in the thread from the NEC kindly give us the section so we can look at the context.
Please accept my apologies! I was having some trouble getting the formatting (and spelling:ashamed1
to look decent and did not notice that the "numbers" got lost in the process. Since I cannot find a way to edit the original and add the numbers, I shall re-post here what is [perhaps] a more clear citation:
2011 NEC said:
200.6 Means of Identifying Grounded Conductors
(A) Sizes 6 AWG or Smaller.
An insulated grounded conductor of 6 AWG or smaller shall be identified by one of the following means:
<*snip*>
(4) Wires that have their outer covering finished to show a white or gray color but have colored tracer threads in the braid identifying the source of manufacture shall be considered as meeting the provisions of this section.
I did not mention, but am also cognizant of:
2011 NEC said:
200.4(B) Multiple Circuits. Where more than one neutral conductor associated with different circuits is in an enclosure, grounded circuit conductors of each circuit shall be identified or grouped to correspond with the ungrounded circuit conductor(s) by wire markers, cable ties, or similar means in at least one location within the enclosure.
Exception No.1: The requirement for grouping or identifying shall not apply if the branch-circuit orfeeder conductors enter from a cable or a raceway unique to the circuit that makes the grouping obvious.
Exception No.2: The requirement for grouping or identifying shall not apply where branch-circuit conductors pass though a box or conduit body without a loop as described in 314.16(B)(1) or without a splice or termination.
I know, as JFletcher so kindly pointed out, that
...if you have a 3 phase panel, you could just pull one neutral with your three hots and not have to worry about which neutral goes with which hot.
Unfortunately, nobody ever told that to the UPS gear we are placing on the circuits that it is okay to share a neutral wire between phases:happysad: When we plug two of them in on adjacent outlets served by different phases and a single neutral, they squawk about "the building service"; if the outlets have separate neutrals, the gear is happy... And if your UPS ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! We're running separate neutrals...
Also, the separate neutrals let us put the loads on separate breakers. If we need to service or tap (see below) one of the circuits, we can simply turn off the breaker associated with THAT circuit and be quick (UPS will carry load for minimum of 30 minutes) about our maintenance. If we use one neutral, we have to use a three-phase breaker with a common trip -- which means shutting off all three circuits to work on one. It also means that somebody being stupid on one circuit (can we say, "The custodian needed an outlet for his vacuum?") can take out all three simultaneously...
Also, based on present calculations and expected loads, the phases are pretty well balanced. If, at some future point, that is no longer true, having individual neutrals for the individual phase wires which are terminated on individual breakers means we can shift them between phases easily. If the panel is laid out carefully, it is a matter of seconds to "pop out" a breaker (Square D - QO Panels) from one position and exchange it with a breaker from another position. No screws get loosened; and, with UPS gear in the racks, no loads get dropped.
I also appreciate the suggestion from petersonra about
...Tieing them to the hot wire it goes with at each end [being] a cheap solution.
For sure, that works -- for the box on the end of the run where, initially, the only outlets will be installed. In fact, those outlets are a "giveme" -- electrically speaking -- because the neutrals are not really "paired" with the hots until they get fastened to the outlet at the far end...
The problem is, we are putting some boxes, in-line, in the conduit feeding those outlets. These boxes are for future growth only. Right now the hot wires and associated neutrals are passing "straight through" each intermediate box, so they might qualify for "Exception #2" (above). Unfortunately, should we need to add more racking, the intent would be to "tee off" of the appropriate intermediate box and run conduit down to the proper height for installing another outlet. At that time, we would "tap into" the runs that are passing through the aforementioned "future planning" intermediate box. For that to happen properly and safely, the neutrals need to be differentiated. Regardless of "built-in" markings on the white wires, I plan to insist on tagging each neutral (and each phase wire) to guard against future mistakes. Using a couple of striped neutrals would make that tagging process exponentially faster and considerably easier.
Thank you, everybody! It sounds like using a factory-applied colored stripe on the neutral as a tracer should pass inspection. That's what I needed to know!
I appreciate everyone taking the time to improve my level of knowledge; and I appreciate the assistance in preserving my working relationships
Thanks!!
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