stansey
New User
- Location
- California
- Occupation
- Sales
All, Just joined the forum and hoping for some help/direction. I am the building owner and cannot find any advice from the trade - no one shows up or wants to mess with this.
QUESTIONS: Really appreciate any help
- what size NEW feeders should I pull based on the scenerio below (I have the building half empty and I'm trying to get my feeders in place for upgrade while I have the flooring pulled up)
- city tells me I need #1 SER copper or #00 aluminum (both are scarce to buy and expensive - I'd by the copper if i could find 00 aluminum seems to cumbersome to pull)
- electrical supply house says EVERYONE uses #0 aluminum in this scenerio - said "please don't waste your money"
- Grounding - Zinsco switch gear uses ground on plumbing. Should I drive 2 grounding rods per code? Is there an aftermarket ground bus that I can put in the zinsco switch gear.
- Bonding - since I will now have a ground in my SER feeders, do I isolate the neutral/ground in the apartment panels and treat them like sub panel (don't have grounds currently)
Thanks in advance
Scenerio
- 4 unit building w/ 5 meters (1 for owner/common area) build in 1964 (all on back of building in panel w/ breakers)
- 2 800 SF 1 BR
- 2 1200 SF 2 BR
- gas heat
- shared laundry room (no dryers in unit)
- wall AC (1200 BTU)
- gas heat (wall)
- adding microwave hood (dedicated 20 amp)
- all my load calcs say I do not even need 100amps
- ADDING 50 AMP car charges fed by unit panels (#6 copper)
Existing Equipment
-Zinsco 500 amp switch gear on back of building
-5 Zinsco 100 am load centers (1 in each unit plus 1 common)
-apartments on 70 amp breakers and common on 40
-apartments are fed w/ #4 aluminum (3 conductors no ground -all obviously bonded)
-common area fed w/ #8 copper (dryer and outside lights and receptacles)
Proposed Upgrades / Equipment
- convertible 12/24 Square D 125 amp load centers in each unit (100amp 8 space for common area)
- pulling new feeders for the occupied spaces - leaving the #8 wire for common area (copper romex)
Later upgrades
Going to run the Zinsco switch gear for a while, but planning on adding SD MP55125 125 amp per unit switch gear w/ 100-125 amp breakers at a later day
QUESTIONS: Really appreciate any help
- what size NEW feeders should I pull based on the scenerio below (I have the building half empty and I'm trying to get my feeders in place for upgrade while I have the flooring pulled up)
- city tells me I need #1 SER copper or #00 aluminum (both are scarce to buy and expensive - I'd by the copper if i could find 00 aluminum seems to cumbersome to pull)
- electrical supply house says EVERYONE uses #0 aluminum in this scenerio - said "please don't waste your money"
- Grounding - Zinsco switch gear uses ground on plumbing. Should I drive 2 grounding rods per code? Is there an aftermarket ground bus that I can put in the zinsco switch gear.
- Bonding - since I will now have a ground in my SER feeders, do I isolate the neutral/ground in the apartment panels and treat them like sub panel (don't have grounds currently)
Thanks in advance
Scenerio
- 4 unit building w/ 5 meters (1 for owner/common area) build in 1964 (all on back of building in panel w/ breakers)
- 2 800 SF 1 BR
- 2 1200 SF 2 BR
- gas heat
- shared laundry room (no dryers in unit)
- wall AC (1200 BTU)
- gas heat (wall)
- adding microwave hood (dedicated 20 amp)
- all my load calcs say I do not even need 100amps
- ADDING 50 AMP car charges fed by unit panels (#6 copper)
Existing Equipment
-Zinsco 500 amp switch gear on back of building
-5 Zinsco 100 am load centers (1 in each unit plus 1 common)
-apartments on 70 amp breakers and common on 40
-apartments are fed w/ #4 aluminum (3 conductors no ground -all obviously bonded)
-common area fed w/ #8 copper (dryer and outside lights and receptacles)
Proposed Upgrades / Equipment
- convertible 12/24 Square D 125 amp load centers in each unit (100amp 8 space for common area)
- pulling new feeders for the occupied spaces - leaving the #8 wire for common area (copper romex)
Later upgrades
Going to run the Zinsco switch gear for a while, but planning on adding SD MP55125 125 amp per unit switch gear w/ 100-125 amp breakers at a later day
