Service Tap

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Bjenks

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I have a residential customer who has a 200A meter going to a 30 pole 200A panel. They are building a seperate structure garage and will be putting a 100A panel in it. I wanted to double lug off the output of the meter can, but the electric utility won't let me. So I am thinking of coming out of the meter to a tap box and tap to the new garage. Is this a common solution? If it was coming out of a breaker, I would make the conductors the same size, but since this is now two service conductors I am thinking I can make them different sizes. Any thoughts on this?
 
Bjenks said:
I have a residential customer who has a 200A meter going to a 30 pole 200A panel. They are building a seperate structure garage and will be putting a 100A panel in it. I wanted to double lug off the output of the meter can, but the electric utility won't let me. So I am thinking of coming out of the meter to a tap box and tap to the new garage. Is this a common solution? If it was coming out of a breaker, I would make the conductors the same size, but since this is now two service conductors I am thinking I can make them different sizes. Any thoughts on this?
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You are using the 200 amp meter base and want to come off the load side to a tap box to feed the 200A panel in house and the new 100 amp panel in garage? If thats what you're saying then you need a 300 amp meter base.
 
If thats what you're saying then you need a 300 amp meter base.[/QUOTE]



Why would you say that? Do you typically add all your main breaker sizes together to achieve your service size? You must end up with some large services.
 
Why not set a wp 6 or 8 circuits feed thru panel. Feed the 200 amp from the feed thru lugs-- then you only need a 100 amp breaker to feed the garage.
100 amps in the garage is awfully large-- what goes on in there? Doesn't matter but this would be an easy fix-- no bugging wires etc. The panel is about $100.
 
I'm assuming your talking about FPL. If you or your PE design the service double lugged and the design is approved by plans review, how is this a FPL issue? If you contacted a POCO rep. before design, don't worry, next call, new rep. It's a circus.
 
woodduder said:
If thats what you're saying then you need a 300 amp meter base.
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Why would you say that? Do you typically add all your main breaker sizes together to achieve your service size? You must end up with some large services.[/QUOTE]
No but without a load calc thats what I would do in his situation. Without a calc you would have a potential 300 amps on the 200 amp meter base the way he was describing to do it.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Why not set a wp 6 or 8 circuits feed thru panel. Feed the 200 amp from the feed thru lugs-- then you only need a 100 amp breaker to feed the garage.
100 amps in the garage is awfully large-- what goes on in there? Doesn't matter but this would be an easy fix-- no bugging wires etc. The panel is about $100.
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This sounds like the best solution to me. The next step would be to tandem the house panel to make room for the garage circuit, or to set up a sub-panel off the house panel and relocate a couple of circuits if you are maxed out already, but the Dennis' route is much easier. The only setback there is the POCO would most likely have to extend their wires, as their connection is raised about 10" when swaping out a meter for a meter-combo. But they have done it more than once for us. Local POCO here, anyway.
 
If I went with a 320A meter then it would be UL listed for a double lug and I wouldn't have to worry about the tap box. The 200A meter box is not listed for double lug. The garage has a 50A 208/120V receptacle and a full second floor with HVAC & HT. The total load calculations for both structures is less than 200A. The customer is looking for the least expensive solution and replacing the meter can or upgrading the house panel is an extra expense.

I just want to run a 2/0 out of the meter into a tap box and then tap off a 4AWG to the new garage (treating the garage panel as a service panel). However, I am concerned that normally the tap has to be the same size with a breaker feeding it, but this tap is before the service disconnect.

Someone mention putting a 6 or 8 position panel in and feed through to the existing panel, but then I would actually make the existing panel a sub-panel and the new panel would then have to be the service panel. Seems like a lot of extra work.
 
Bjenks said:
Seems like a lot of extra work.
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Only if your service is not back-to-back and changing from 3-wire to 4-wire becomes an issue. Replacing the meter can, one way or the other, to accomodate the additional wire seems less work than creating a service tap situation by the time you account for boxes and lugs large enough for the 200 amp wire, cross-sectional areas, etc. Either way works, you have to be the judge on what is the most effecient route, material and labor, since it is sight-unseen for the rest of us.
 
OK, I see your point. Should I go with a 200A Universal Mains with feed-thru-lugs or go with a 200A Mains and then put two seperate sub-feed breakers in (Isolating the N-G in the existing panel)? I am thinking of a Universal Mains that subfeeds 3 wires to the existing panel (I don't believe I need to run a ground over per 250.32(B)(2)). Then I put a 100A breaker in the new Main Panel that runs a ground and neutral over to the garage. I would still bond the N-G on the Main Panel, keep the bond on the old panel and Isolate on the Garage. Would us a SQD HOM816U200FTRB

Existing panel has 30 position with a quarter of them tandem.
 
If you can go with the meter-combo, that would be the ticket. You can feed the garage from the outside and avoid house penetrtions. Just remember to figure on changing house panel feeder to 4-wire because your service is now a disconnect.
 
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