Central Air Condenser Disconnect

Need a little advice... Here's the scenario:



-200 amp meter/main.

-2 small side by side residences with 80 amp load each.

-Each residence has a 200 amp panel with main disconnect.

-1 3" conduit from meter to underground pull box between both buildings

-A 2" conduit from the pull box to each building.

-All conductors to be 3/0



Is there any reason why a 3/0 feeder with ground could not be pulled to the

pull box and then split to run to each building instead of running 2 separate 100 amp feeders? Any other things to consider?
      

I am installing 200 amp residential service.  From the meter socket I am doing a very short run into the crawlspace to a 200 amp fused disconnect switch. From the disconnect switch I am doing a 60 foot run to the 200 amp panel. The run between the disconnect and the panel is all within the crawlspace interior ( heated ). Do I have to use ACWU cable or is there a cheaper alternative? I also need to isolate the bonding so is 4 wire configuration very common ?   This is a Canadian question specific to British Columbia codes.
      

Getting ready to replace my well jet pump with a 240 volt model (currently I use a 120 volt pump. Currently I have a 20 amp, 120 volt circuit that runs from the house to the pump house about 60 feet. I use that circuit for the pump, a light and a receptacle. I want to replace that circuit with a 20 amp MWBC using 12/3 UF cable from the sub panel in my detached barn to the pump house (about 20 feet).



Question: Can I use 1/2" seal-tite to run from the sub panel to a a junction box prior to going underground with the 12/3 UF? The seal-tight run would be about 30". (I have a bunch of seal-tite, connectors and #12 THWN that I bought cheap at a storage unit auction.) The seal-tite would be run in the stud bay and along side the ceiling joist to get from one side of the barn to the other.



Question: Can I use an unfused air conditioning disconnect at the pump house to disconnect the 2 ungrounded conductors of the MWBC.



I can find nothing in the NEC that would bar either of these items, but I am a code novice.
      

We recently purchased an apartment complex built in 1950. Inspector's report advised us to upgrade the main electrical panel (fuse box) on the  outside of the building. He also advised us to relocate fuse boxes in closets stating it is unsafe and a fire hazard.

We met with several electricians to get a quote. It's so confusing because everybody says different things... 



FUSE BOXES IN THE CLOSET: One electrician advised us to flip the panel into the bathroom(closet is adjacent to bathroom) and install a breaker instead of a fuse box, another electrician claimed it's not up to code to have breakers in the bathroom.



MAIN PANEL OUTSIDE THE BUILDING: One electrician advised us to upgrade the amperage (currently 30 amps), the other claimed it's an unnecessary change that drives the cost up since we do not have any appliances that require high amperage: no washers or dryers.

So confusing. I want the property to be SAFE for our tenants, but cost-efficient for us. Any thoughts?

thank you.
      

Installing a 4-ton condensing unit outside (240V, 1 ph, MCA= 26A, MOP= 45A).  There will be a HVACR rated 45A breaker at the panel.  Plan to install the 60A non-fused disconnect with GFCI recepticle (GE U065NA1010) next to condensing unit.  Plan to use #8 wire since distance from panel is 80 feet, but unsure of the number of wires.  How many conductors will be required since the disconnect will have a 120V GFCI recepticle.  Will I need 2 wires (2 hots and 1 ground) or 3 wires (2 hots, 1 neutral, 1 ground)?  I'm thinking #8 wire with 3 conductors (2 hots, 1 neutral, 1 ground).
      

I am installing central air conditioner in our 80 year old house. Debating between one high velocity system or two conventional systems.



We have 100 amp service with an electric dryer, stove and oven. Water and heat is gas.



The HVAC contractor told me that he spoke with the electrician who assured him that we would not need to upgrade service but add in a sub-panel.



Any thoughts?



What are the risks of staying with current electrical service and adding A/C? What are the risks of upgrading to 200 amp with such old wiring? Is one high velocity system better than two conventional systems?



Note I am cross posting based on another question I had in the HVAC forum.



Thank you in advance for all your help.
      

Hello everyone. I need ask advice on my electrical.



Over the past few weeks the lights in my house (built in 1941) have been dimming intermittently. It wasnt happening very often so we figured that it wasnt anything big. Over the past few days however it has become more and more frequent and the fluctuations have been of higher intensity.



The power company came out this morning, did some tests, and told us that it is a bad main breaker. We have a call in to our home warranty company (we bought less than a year ago) and they have said that an electrician will call within 24 hours to set up an appt.



I have 2 questions...



1. Does this sound like a reasonable explanation for the flickering?

2. Is there a safety issue here? Should we be spending the night in a hotel until this is fixed?



Thanks for any advice!
      

Hello all,



My central air installer just called and said I need 15 Amp 208/230 circuit for the air handler we're getting. I ordered 2 pole 15 Amp breaker for my panel which happens to be Eaton. Myquestion:



Can still run 14/2 or does it need to be 12/2?



Thanks,



~S
      

Hey guys,

we have a 4-plex in San Diego that we bought several months ago that was built in 1950. According to inspector's report, we needed electrical upgrades. One of the electricians told us city is under a project to underground all the electrical lines, and if we do not do upgrades the way city EXPECTS us, once our neighborhood is due for undergounding, we will have to REDO the whole thing again (like changing the location of the MAIN electrical panel from where it is now).

Can they FORCE these upgrades to the owners? I am talking about a 15000-20000$ that will be required... It is not cheap...



What we wanted to do is the very minimum, but to make sure our tenants are safe: just replace fuses in each unit with BREAKERS and leave it in the closets as we "grandfathered" them in and replace the main panel fuse with a breaker.

But according to the advise of an electrician based on the city undergrounding requirements, we will have to RELOCATE the fuses from closets to the OUTSIDE of the building AND RELOCATE the main panel from where it is now to an opposite direction (closer to the main street).

Can the city ENFORCE us to do this?
      

Appreciate any help with this.



Background:



- new to us old house, got three quotes for an upgrade to 200A service plus addition of three new circuits in conduit with receptacles (Chicago area, conduit is code in just about every town around, I have no issue with that);



- existing service to house was overhead, opted to keep it overhead and not bury it;



- the quote says, exactly: "Installation of a 200 amp 240 volt overhead electric service complete with riser, outdoor meter socket with a 200 amp disconnect, 40 position circuit breaker type distribution panel..." etc.;



I understood from discussing the work with the contractor we chose that install overhead service meant to include the work and materials needed to upgrade the line coming from the pole at the alley to the house to handle 200A capacity; paid 50% down on quote;



- the morning the boss and tech show up for the work, boss says we already have a 200A overhead, which I seem to recall the home inspector mentioning months ago before the closing (makes sense because the overhead runs to a single room addition put on several years ago), but boss was the guy who came to the house to quote the job in the first place, didn't mention anything about the existing overhead capacity at the time;



- the work gets done, seems fine; tech left without going over anything with us but whatever.



Final bill matches the quote to the dollar. There is no indication that there were any surprises during the work.



Since the quote says installation of overhead service and they didn't need to replace the overhead lines from the pole I think the final bill should be lower than the quote. The distance from the pole to the riser is about 40 feet.



Should I expect from the wording in the quote that the final bill should be lower than the quote because they didn't have to touch the existing overhead?



About how much lower?



We didn't go with the lowest quote, didn't beat him up on price and the total bill is quite a pretty penny, so I think he would be making good money either way.



I know there is no way for someone to tell me an exact dollar figure here based on a blog post, but I'd like to get some kind of idea so I can start my conversation about the final bill.



Thanks for any help out there.