DIYbanter - View Single Post - Checking on electric contractor; adjacent sub-panel question

wrote:
1 - Do the neutral and ground need to be separated in this sub-panel?
He bonded them.

Yes they should be separate with a 4 wire feeder.

Thank you; I suspected as much. I questioned him directly about this
and he said it was not necessary. I've installed a separate ground bus
in the sub-panel and separated them.

I think bonding the neutral and ground is subpanels is a relatively
common code violation, but an electrician should know better. If you
havn't already, check for a "main bonding jumper" from the neutral bar
to ground - usually a screw. The subpanel can be grounded by the rigid
pipe and doesn't need a separate wire.

2 - The hot wires for the moved circuits were extended into the
sub-panel. Do the neutral and ground wires need to be extended also?
He left them in the main panel and only extended the hot wire.

Yes to extending the neutral, all circuit conductors in a given
circuit should go through the raceway. The ground can stay.

This is NOT necessary. Neutrals have to be run with hots so the total
current (with current going in one direction cancelling current going
the other direcction) is zero in a pipe or knockout. The current in the
hot load wires returning from the panel will cancel an equal current in
the supply wires so the total current is zero.

40a and 8ga would have been a better choice. That is not a code issue,
it is a design issue. You can swap it out for a 30a without changing
the wire.

Thank you again; I upgraded the wire to #6 stranded and replaced the
sub-panel feed breaker with a 40A. I was afraid the first time we used
both heater this winter, that it would trip the breaker.

Make sure the subpanel is rated for 40A (most likely is). Given the low
cost of a higher amp feed and the original panel being maxed out, it is
kind of dumb to only run the subpanel at 25A.

Bud--