Un-insulated Grounded Conductor

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Gtrooper

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In a single-phase, 240 V service on a pole, service entrance conductors enter a meter base and terminate at the lugs of the meter base. The meter base has a main breaker / disconnect. The neutral bus of the meter is grounded to a ground rod. Three conductors, two hot and neutral, continue underground from the load side of the meter base breaker to a panel board with a main breaker where the neutral and grounding electrode conductor are bonded together and to the grounding electrode system. Are the three conductors continuing from the load side of the breaker on the meter base to the main breaker on the panel board considered service enterance conductors or feeders? Further more if they are considered feeders can the neutral (grounded conductor) be un-insulated?

Thanks.
 
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If I understand your post correctly, the conductors leaving the meter-main are feeders and the grounded conductor should be insulated. In addition there should be another conductor installed as a grounding conductor which should be separated from the grounded conductor in the panel.
 
250.32(B)(2) would permit the feeder from one structure to another to contain only three conductors. An EGC is not required if you can meet the conditions of 250.32(B)(2).
 
I think the point trevor was trying to make was that since the conductors went from the meter base underground to the panel, there is no need for a main to be installed at the meter base.You can run 3 conductors underground from a meter base to a MBR panel without a 4th grounding conductor installed.
 
FrancisDoody said:
Since the OCPD is in place everything downstream would be considered a feeder.
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As Trevor points out, a three wire feeder can be run from an OCPD in one panel to another.

allenwayne said:
I think the point trevor was trying to make was that since the conductors went from the meter base underground to the panel, there is no need for a main to be installed at the meter base.You can run 3 conductors underground from a meter base to a MBR panel without a 4th grounding conductor installed.
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Then we wouldn't be talking about a feeder. Trevor was addressing the provision allowed in 250.32(B)


Roger
 
roger said:
As Trevor points out, a three wire feeder can be run from an OCPD in one panel to another. Trevor was addressing the provision allowed in 250.32(B).
Roger
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That's exactly what I meant. A feeder from one structure to another is permitted to be, in this case, three conductors. The EGC is not required if no parallel paths are created between the two structures.
 
That would be correct provided there are no telephone wires, water pipes or any other things that would be capable providing a grounding path back to the original source
 
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