by sawing (or some way cutting) the left neutral bar loose from the factory tie bar they have already altered the listed panel in such a way that nothing you do short of a replacement would allow the job to pass inspection here.
Sq. D QO Service Panel
- Thread starter Travlin_man37
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Travlin_man37
Member
- Location
- Charleston, WV
I made the silly mistake of asking the HO if there was another main panel or meter disconnect at his residence and he, of course answered "No, not that I'm aware" This house is built on the side of a mountain, and the utilities come in underground. Attached is a picture of the meter 200A disconnect located on the outside of the residence. Although this doesn't make repairing the main panel any easier, it does answer some questions.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehs1962/4285287044/
Ed
jaylectricity
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Occupation
- licensed journeyman electrician
So everything is bonded at the service disconnect.
Looks to me like all you need to do is take all the ground wires in the circuit panel and bond them to the cabinet via installing a new ground bar and a ground lug if still necessary..
Am I missing something?
Looks to me like all you need to do is take all the ground wires in the circuit panel and bond them to the cabinet via installing a new ground bar and a ground lug if still necessary..
Am I missing something?
Travlin_man37
Member
- Location
- Charleston, WV
I think basically that's it, except for the double and triple tapped neutrals on the neutral bar in the right hand side of the panel. I think what it needs is a ground bar kit installed for the grounds and then the "floating" neutral bar needs to be screwed back down to the neutral bus and possibly the second neutral bar added to the left side, then all of those neutrals relocated such that there is only one neutral per terminal. Thoughts?
Ed
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Aha! One of my conclusions was correct.
I agree, Ed. The panel's neutral bars should be returned to original condition, and grounding bars added to the enclosure, one of which can have a feeder EGC terminal.
fishin' electrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Connecticut
Got to love the 2 conductors under 1 lug, and 1 conductor under 2 lugs. That's just priceless.:roll:
Travlin_man37
Member
- Location
- Charleston, WV
It looks like the original EC added the lugs for both the panel and the disconnect to terminate the EGC. I'm not sure why he would not have added lugs properly sized unless he just happened to have these in his truck at the time.
Just out of curiosity, is there a code requirement for the 3/C insluated with bare gnd going from the outdoor disconnect to the main service panel? It would seem they could have continued with the 2 insulated conductors and the bare ungrounded conductor to the main service panel?
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Yes, there is, and no, they coiuldn't. Everything past the main disconnect must be wired with separate neutral and EGC, whether the main is first, as in this example, or within the breaker panel itself.
In other words, if you understand the requirement as it applies to branch circuits, or better yet, to sub-panels, having a separate main disconnect like this one renders the breaker panel a sub-panel.
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Travlin_man37
Member
- Location
- Charleston, WV
Thanks, that was a perfect explanation to a pretty dumb question....I also noticed that I typed "ungrounded conductor" when I meant "grounded conductor" which I assume you realized from your answer.
There are a couple bare grounds tied to the neutral bus that also have to be moved to bring this panel into code compliance.
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