I do some electrical work for a friend of mine wiring up and repairing his shop equipment.
He has just built a new house and detached shop building.
There is a Combo 200 amp Meter/Main with a 200a Main Breaker and a 100 amp Branch breaker.
THe 200 amp feeds the house and the 100a feeds the shop.
The house is 80' from the service and the shop is 225' from the service.(Wood structure with metal siding on concete slab).
The Electrician for the builder installed 2/0 URD (3 wire no ground) from the meter/main to the shop building in 2" pvc. installed a 24 circ MLO Loadcenter, drove 2 ground rods and installed a #6 bare from the ground rods to the Ground Bar in the load center.
He did not however bond the neutral and ground in the subpanel and the Neutral was insulated from the Panel. While in the shop, thier dog was walking throught the doorway and once his paws touched the threshold he stated yelping and salivating.
My friend felt a tingling on the door handle himself when he touched it so he went and got the electrician to take a look at it. They found that one of the flourescent light fixtures had cut into the hot of the romex, which in turn energized the whole building since the ground was not bonded to the neutral for a return path. The Electrician did find and clear the fault but did nothing to correct the return path issue.
Here's where I come in.
He called me to replace a pressure switch on his air compressor and wire up a router.
Thats when he mentioned the story to me and I looked in the panel and noticed the way it was wired.
He then asked me to take a look at his house, since he now didnt trust the work that was performed.
In the house a 4 wire ASER cable was run from a 42 cir 200a MLO Panel where the neutral and ground bars were kept seperate. the ASER cable runs between the 1st and 2nd floor to an outside J-BOx. 2 ground rods and a #6 Bare is connected to the GEC in the ASER
but the Electrician had enough 2/0 urd aluminum left over from the shop that he used it for the 200a feed to the house ( 3 wire only ) from the service to the house.
other than the fact that the 2/0 is not rated for the 200 amp feed and the house did not have any fault clearing capability itself, I couldnt believe all this had been done this way.
I told him the Builders Electrician probably didnt know any better.
Now he wants me to overlook the project when its done to see that its done right.
I told him by then it would be too late. the problems need to be fixed right now before they ever move in.
I dont have a hand in this other than the burden of knowledge.
I informed my friend of the issues and let him know what I thought needed to be done to correct the problems but not sure the Bulders electrician will make it right.
I didnt want to do any corrections myself at this time due to the liability issues.
This is out of the city limits and no inspection is required.
He has just built a new house and detached shop building.
There is a Combo 200 amp Meter/Main with a 200a Main Breaker and a 100 amp Branch breaker.
THe 200 amp feeds the house and the 100a feeds the shop.
The house is 80' from the service and the shop is 225' from the service.(Wood structure with metal siding on concete slab).
The Electrician for the builder installed 2/0 URD (3 wire no ground) from the meter/main to the shop building in 2" pvc. installed a 24 circ MLO Loadcenter, drove 2 ground rods and installed a #6 bare from the ground rods to the Ground Bar in the load center.
He did not however bond the neutral and ground in the subpanel and the Neutral was insulated from the Panel. While in the shop, thier dog was walking throught the doorway and once his paws touched the threshold he stated yelping and salivating.
My friend felt a tingling on the door handle himself when he touched it so he went and got the electrician to take a look at it. They found that one of the flourescent light fixtures had cut into the hot of the romex, which in turn energized the whole building since the ground was not bonded to the neutral for a return path. The Electrician did find and clear the fault but did nothing to correct the return path issue.
Here's where I come in.
He called me to replace a pressure switch on his air compressor and wire up a router.
Thats when he mentioned the story to me and I looked in the panel and noticed the way it was wired.
He then asked me to take a look at his house, since he now didnt trust the work that was performed.
In the house a 4 wire ASER cable was run from a 42 cir 200a MLO Panel where the neutral and ground bars were kept seperate. the ASER cable runs between the 1st and 2nd floor to an outside J-BOx. 2 ground rods and a #6 Bare is connected to the GEC in the ASER
but the Electrician had enough 2/0 urd aluminum left over from the shop that he used it for the 200a feed to the house ( 3 wire only ) from the service to the house.
other than the fact that the 2/0 is not rated for the 200 amp feed and the house did not have any fault clearing capability itself, I couldnt believe all this had been done this way.
I told him the Builders Electrician probably didnt know any better.
Now he wants me to overlook the project when its done to see that its done right.
I told him by then it would be too late. the problems need to be fixed right now before they ever move in.
I dont have a hand in this other than the burden of knowledge.
I informed my friend of the issues and let him know what I thought needed to be done to correct the problems but not sure the Bulders electrician will make it right.
I didnt want to do any corrections myself at this time due to the liability issues.
This is out of the city limits and no inspection is required.
