"Mark Wilson" wrote in message
...
Volts500, Mark and Sue,
Thanks to your help and the help of others I now feel I know enough to
keep
the electrician honest. I've got the soars book on order and I plan to
do
some of the grunt work myself. I honestly didn't realize this thread
would
get so involved. It's very kind of you to help out while keeping the
focus
on my safety. To ease my guilt at having imposed on so much of your time,
I
can only hope others will get some use out of it as well.
Keeping everything in mind, I'm going to follow Volt's advice for all the
grounding. I'm also going to replace the Service Disconnect (as Mark
suggested), and rewire the panelboard. Now, this opens up a few more
questions. If I had any shame, I would feel too guilty to ask any more,
but
I guess I'm a bit shameless. If you guys would start giving crappy and
vague advice, you really would avoid people like me buggying you so much.
Don't feel guilty -- that what these forums are for. If we get tired of your
questions, you'll only get lame (or no) answers.
Volts: It appears that the metal housing of the water meter negates the
need to jumper it. In this case, I think it would be better to simply
attach the grounding clamp as near as possible to the point at which the
pipe enters the home. Agreed? (See image)
http://www.geocities.com/mydeadpresidents/index.html
As for outgoing circuits, what kind of trouble can be caused by having a
mix
of neutrals and grounds on each bus? I'm gonna fix it no matter what, but
it won't be the first thing I do.
If it is service equipment, then none as ground and neutral are the same. In
a subpanel, the voltage drop across the neutral will raise your ground this
same amount (typically 1 to 3 volts). For things that actually go to a true
ground, such as audio tuners and cable TV cables, you'll get a current
flowing in the shield causing noise, hum, or other interesting behavior.
You've seen my Service Disconnect box. Is it common to have a separate
service disconnect box as I do? Had it been wired correctly, couldn't I
have just used the panelboard which has it's own 100 AMP breaker) and then
skip the current Service Disconnect box?
This seems to be a regional thing. Some areas demand an outside disconnect.
Where I live, the disconnects can be inside the house as long as they are
very near where the service cables enter. Since your second panel is also
outside, you meet the outside disconnect rule. The only other issue would be
if your area has a limitation on how far the main disconnect needs to be
from the meter. If they have one, it may be short, like 5 feet. The intent
here is to minimize the length of unfused service conductors and the amount
of structure they will damage should they flame up.
Tell me I have this right. Let's assume I keep the Service Disconnect at
100 AMP but I want to upgrade the box. I would then get a new box (that
supports at least 100amps) then add a 100 AMP breaker for the incoming
power
and then get another 100 AMP breaker for the power outgoing to the
panelboard. In other words, because my panelboard has room for the
circuits
I need and that I forsee needing, I see no reason to try to run circuits
from my new Service Disconnect box and therfore, the power should just go
straight through. Put another way, I'm not using the panelboard as a
subpanel in the traditonal sense. I'm using the panelboard for ALL
circuits
and the Service Disconnect is really nothing more than a way to kill the
main power and provide a lauching point for grouding conductors. Is
there
anything wrong with this setup?
The first panel is still your service disconnect because it has a breaker in
it. Additional service rated panels must be grouped (can't be 20 feet across
the wall) and there is usually no fusing between them. If your local
inspector says its OK, you may be able to replace the 100A disconnect with
just a junction box if the existing house circuit panel has a 100A main
disconnect. Then run new wires from the meter base to the panel where all
your circuits are and use it as a main service rated panel.
My main service breaker only allows for 100amps. I've read that a 100
breaker usually means you can go 200 or more, but I've totaled up the amps
of the circuits in my panel box and it's around 500! However, in the two
years I've lived here, I've never once thrown a breaker. Also, some of
the
circuits are used seasonally. I've got 60 amps dedicated to the AC, but I
also have 160 amps dedicated to space heaters which I almost never use,
not
even in the winter time (because that same room also has a wood stove).
Is
it time to upgrade to 200amps?
Again a local thing. Here, all services must be wired for 200A, but you
could put in a 100A breakered panel if you want to. The wires will have to
be sized for 200A though. If your service wires are 100A, then you can't
increase to 200A without replacing them. Same with your meter base -- is it
100A or 200A? You can put a 200A breakered panel on a 100A service if you've
done a load calculation and it indicates you're not exceeding the 100A
service. Finally, check with your utility to see how big your transformer
is. You'll want at least a 20 KVA for a 200A service, and preferably a 25 or
30 KVA.
I regards to power coming into my home (2 hot/1 neutral), how much power
is
available? I mean, right now, judging by the breaker in my Service
Disconnect, I'm utilizing up to 100 AMPs of power. If I wanted to go 200,
then can I just upgrade to a breaker and panel that support the extra
amps?
Or, is there some kind of physical change the Power Co will have to make?
100A is available at 240V (24 KVA). Power company may have to increase their
wires to you and may have to increase the transformer. You may have to
increase the meter base, the service entrance wires and the main panel.
--
Mark
Kent, WA