Tap off bottom of meter to feed A/C disco?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

richwaskowitz

Senior Member
Location
Shelby Twp. MI, near Detroit
Can one tap off the bottom of a meter socket to supply a feeder to an adjacent air conditioner disconnect? If no.....If it can be done at the top of the meter as is the practice to feed a second meter for an interruptible A/C service, why not the bottom?
 
230.72 is usually the roadblock you'll run into. However, most meters aren't designed for two conductors at the terminal.
 
Tap off bottom of meter to feed A/C disco?

Can one tap off the bottom of a meter socket to supply a feeder to an adjacent air conditioner disconnect? If no.....If it can be done at the top of the meter as is the practice to feed a second meter for an interruptible A/C service, why not the bottom?
 
Normally two problems.
(1) The lugs are most likely not rated for two conductors.
(2) Unless the existing service disconnect is at the meter, an added one would violate 230.72(A)

OP posted twice..threads were merged
 
Last edited:
Then howz come?

Then howz come?

If this is not permitted, then how can interruptible A/C set-ups be OK? With these, both the incoming service cable and the #6 which taps off to feed the adjacent meter for the A/C have always been stuffed under the same lug at the top of the meter. I have never seen a meter socket with a second terminal for the tap. Also, since the A/C disconnect is one service disconnect (located outside near the condenser) and the main disco is inside in the basement somewhere, how is this permitted?
 
richwaskowitz said:
Does that mean there are no interruptible services in other parts of the country like I described or is it done differently?
Click to expand...
Utilities do things different , it seems they can violate the rules with no problems. However as described both are violations. Is this in a rural area?
 
Not rural at all. This is Detroit Edison country, all of south eastern Michigan. They have these radio receivers you install near the meter and they can interrupt the control circuit and thus drop A/C units off line when they choose. It gives you a break on the electric bill by means of a second meter.
 
Out here in Ca edison teritory they place those units on the A/C condensor and inturrupt the A/c relay.

In any respect I suppose it's up to your local utility as it's in the meter. Here you if you have a large pull section I have seen them allow a terminal block to be added so that mutiple wires are not on one lug.
 
As Sierrasparkey stated, the utility does not have to follow NEC rules.
If the installation is for load mangement, it probably falls under exception 3 to 230.94:
Exception No. 3: Circuits for load management devices shall be permitted to be connected on the supply side of the service overcurrent device where separately provided with overcurrent protection.

Locally, if POCO installed it, it would require inspection or need to comply with NEC
 
Utility companies usually are constrained to follow the rules in the NESC. The nec does not apply to utilities. So it becomes a gray area of the code. Around here the city inspectors would not allow that, even if done by the poco. It is going to be up to Poco's to adjust and develop better methods of control of individual home appliances if that is their goal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top