Earth Grounding Rod Requirements

I have a grounding question.  I am installing 400a service to my new home.  We ran 350MCM wire underground thru 3" conduit from the 2ndary terminal (moped) to the house into a 320A Cooper B-Line meter.  From the meter we ran 2 sets of 4/0-4/0-2/0 thru the wall to 2-200a breaker panels ("standard practice", according to my electrical supplier).  The ground wire (#4Cu bare) from the grounding rods comes up from the ground and we're curious if there has to be a special splice connecting the ground wire to each breaker panel or can we run thru one breaker panel to then next, say by connecting the ground wire to a ground bus on one panel and running that thru to the next with #4Cu bare or #6Cu in conductor.  Different electricians are suggesting different methods and the electrical inspector is unsure, but seems to be leaning towards the "special splice". Any feedback would be appreciated.
      

We need to have a new water line put in from the meter in the parking strip to the house. We've recently had a new electrical panel put in and the electricians pounded two grounding rods into the ground outside our house. Because of this, will the house be just as well grounded if we get plastic pipe as if we get metal?
      

Need to run wire for automatic horse waterers (1.3 amps each) to an open field about 350' away from the barn.



Ran 14/2 UF wire to 3 waterers inside the barn.

350' away from barn, is #10 wire OK for such a small load (1.3 amps for each waterer - 3 waterers in the field)? or do I need #8?



In the field, need to run to 3 separate wateres, so I think I need a subpanel out in the field...

How do I install the subpanel in an outdoor setting & what materials do I need?

If #10 wire is ok, I need 10/3 UF to run from the main panel to the subpanel - correct? Also, does the entire run need to be in conduit?

What size conduit if needed?

Is 18" deep enough?



What size breaker at the main panel?

What size breaker at the subpanel?--> only need to run 3 waterers (1.7 amps each) and maybe two separate circuits of outdoor receptacles...

What else is needed here? type of outdoor subpanel, grounding rods, etc...????



Thanks for the help!
      

I am installing a square D 100 amp panel in a mobel home and had a question. The panel came with no seperate grounding bar only 2 connected neutrel bars and the typical hot bars. I was curious as to why some panels have seperate grounding bars (for bare copper) attached to them an some do not. Thier was a green bonding screw that said if bonding the box was necessary to screw it in the nuetrel bar and attach a wire from it to the panel box. Would it be better to attach a grounding bar directly to the panel and run a wire from it to a rod in the ground?
      

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?
      

Hi guys. I'm Dan, and I'm in Knoxville, TN. I know running power to a shed is a very common topic here. I've been doing tons of reading and feel pretty comfortable with the requirements, but I have two questions I haven't been able to find a clear answer to.



First, my situation: I'm having a 10x16 shed built in my backyard, to be used primarily as a woodshop. I need more than a single circuit, so I know I need a subpanel and two grounding rods at least 6' apart, bonded to the subpanel with #6 bare copper wire.



My house has 200 amp service, and the main panel is in the garage at the opposite corner of the house from where the shed will go, so it would be pretty inconvenient to run a feeder from, there. But there's an existing 100 amp subpanel in the basement, presumably installed when the previous owner finished the basement. I'll be running a 60 amp feeder from that subpanel to the shed.



My total run will be something like 75', so I'm running #6 THWN for the two hots and neutral, and #10 THWN for the ground. I plan to bury it in 1.25" schedule 40 PVC, buried 18" deep.



My first question relates to how I need to run the wire when it's not underground. The basement is finished with a drop ceiling, so I plan to run the feeder across the drop ceiling, out of the house, down to the ground (it's a walk-out basement), then underground the 26' to the shed. I assume it still needs to be in conduit for at least the part that runs up the wall of the house. But what about inside, when it runs through the drop ceiling to the panel? Does it need to be in conduit for the whole run? Or would I just staple the four wires to the joists or something?



The other question relates to the trench. I've got a rain gutter downspout that discharges right at where the shed will soon be, so I'm running a 40' length of 4" PVC to pipe that water past the shed. It will be buried just about 6-12", just enough to run under the shed. Can I run the power conduit in the same trench (obviously, deeper)? Presumably I'd dig the 18" trench to the shed, lay the schedule 40, then add a few inches of dirt to bring it up to about 12" deep, and extend the trench past the shed at that depth, then lay the 4" drain pipe and backfill. Or do I need to dig two separate trenches? Is there a rule about how far apart they need to be if so?



If anyone sees any other flaws or concerns with my plan, please do speak up, I want to do this right. Thanks!



Dan
      

Hello, we recently purchased an above ground pool and had it installed.  The city building inspector came out to inspect the electrical and said we would need a bonding grid around the pool and bonding plate in the trench.  When I questioned how to do this, his response was to contact the pool manufacturer.  I have done this and the manufacturer tells me that since my pool is aluminum wall and the rest of it is resin, I do not need the grid and plate, but will need to insert a bonding screw to the skimmer  and drop a copper wire from the screw into the ground.  I asked for a schematic on how to do this, but they could not help.  I am also concerned that they told me something different then the building inspector did.  Can anyone help me with this please?  Right now I regret getting this pool, hoping someone can walk me off the ledge.  Thank you so much for you time.
      

I have a tankless hot water heater with the following requirements:

Voltage/Freq:240v/60

Wattage:21kw

Max amp load: 88

Min req circuit breaker: 2x60

Min wire size: 2x8 AWG copper (note:should be 2x6)



Amps to house is 200. Breaker box is 10 years old with space to add new breaker. The old 30 breaker will come out, new 2x60 in, and new wiring will need to be run approx 15 feet to location of old water heater.



Initial quotes from electricians via phone are all over the place and I have someone coming to house on Friday for a site estimate. In my understanding, the work is straight forward as stated above. What am I missing? Or what might the electricians be thinking I am not (besides pulling a $40 permit)?
      

I'm building a whole house everything system. It is a sixteen zone system with full AV distribution, 9 security cameras, about 70 speakers, ten 9.1 surround sound amplifiers, 6 PCs, KVMs, loads of networking gear, two dss, bluray, roku, squeezebox, NVR server, NVR viewer, etc. There are air conditioners in the Liebert MCR racks. The headend contains three 42U racks. Two of the racks are for AV equipment and the third rack is for the PC equipment.



Here is a detailed list of all the equipment and their electrical needs:



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/70589/MillerPlan.xls



You will see two tabs on the spreadsheet: Equipment and Cabinets. These contain very detailed information on all the devices going into the three racks. You will see that I specified 14 electrical circuits.



I have already purchased all the equipment except for the "APC UPS 280 watts" and "Furman power conditioners". If anybody experienced with residential systems with requirements like this could give me feedback on the electrical requirements and my proposed design it would be great, all feedback is welcome!
      

In a 1950s home the electrical is being redone. Wallboard was removed in the kitchen and there is a kitchen sink drain/vent line (seems to be 1" to 1-1/2" pipe) in the wall which is made of steel. It runs down into the concrete slab and up through the roof. There is an old electrical outlet (which will be removed and replaced) next to it which has a 14/2 cable and a separate small ground conductor running to it. With a meter I measure 50V between the steel pipe and the steel housing of the receptacle. Once the old receptacle is removed and a new one is installed, where and how will the drain pipe be grounded? I am sure there are more steel drain pipes used in this house but not all of them are open and exposed. Will it be sufficient to ground this one steel drain/vent line? If yes how and with what conductor size?