wrote in message
...
On Apr 25, 7:44 pm, RBM wrote:
On 4/25/2013 7:13 PM, wrote:

On Apr 25, 4:21 pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:
I have a Siemens 100-amp main panel (Catalog #: S2020B1100), and it
only
has one neutral/ground bar. The neutral/ground bar is on the right
side of
the panel.
I am trying to figure out if I can add another neutral/ground bar on
the
left side and, if so, how to do that.
The information about Siemens service panels is located at:
http://www.hqs.sbt.siemens.com/gip/g...ets/US/SIILV/S....
This panel is a Siemens "ES" Series Load Center, and it has 20
circuits.
On page 3 of the above online guide it says, "Single sided neutral on
24
circuits and below". So that explains why the panel that I have only
has
one neutral bar installed.
My question again is, can I add another neutral/ground bar on the left
side and, if so, how do I do that? Thanks.

But what he originally asked for was adding a second
"ground/neutral bar" on the other side of the panel. You can add a
ground bar and I don't think he needs to drill any holes, as Siemens
has one for the panel, so it should already have compatible holes.
But I think that's only code compliant as an additional ground bar,
meaning you can't use it for neutrals..... Is that correct? If
he moves some ground wires from the existing neutral/ground
bus to the new bar though he would free up locations for more neutral
wires.

Also, can't you put more than one ground wire under a screw
in at least some panels? That alone might solve the problem?

If the bar is threaded into the panel, it would suffice as a ground bar
only. If as John said, you run a #6 or 8 from it to the neutral bar,
it'll work for both.
You can put two grounds under one screw is some panels as well- Hide
quoted text -


But something about that doesn't seem quite right. If you just run
a #6 or #8 wire between the new bar and the old bar, then
you're relying on that wire to potentially carry the max current
rating (100 amps) of the panel when in service, on a regular
basis, as opposed to just a ground fault condition, no?
Which could occur. I would think the conductor between the
two would have to be rated for at least the max current of the
panel, (100 amps).

Isn't there a similar issue also with using an add on "ground" bar
as both a ground bar and neutral? The bar in the Siemens catalog
is listed for use with that panel as a ground bar, but does that
mean that it has the same current rating, etc that a neutral
bar would have? I realize in practice it may actually be the same
bar, but who knows?

I think that is an interesting question, and I would like to be able to
figure out the correct answer to that one. Unfortunately, the Siemens panel
that I have only has a neutral bar on one side since it has less than 30
circuits (30 and above have two neutral bars -- one on each side).

I called Siemens technical support on Friday afternoon shortly before 5 PM.
I explained that I want to be able to add a second neutral bar to my
20-circuit Siemens panel and asked if there is a way to do that. I also
explained the option/idea above of adding a ground bar and connecting that
to the neutral bar with an #6 or #8 wire.

The call-taker entered my question into their system and created an email
"ticket number", and then said that a technical representative will get back
to me on Monday. I'll pass on whatever I hear back from them.