Mounting 200a Semi Flush Panel In Stucco

I am installing a new semi flush 200a meter/breaker panel. the neutral meter lug is bonded to the panel, and comes into the breaker side to a common bus. There is no ground bus bar

Q- do i need to install a separate ground bus for my circuit ground(s) and ground rod, and if so, do they need to be bonded together? or can i just use the common bus for all grounds and commons if there is adequate space?
      

Hi all

I'm renovating a rental home I bought. It has the original 90 year old fuse panel  and I'd like to replace it with a modern panelboard. Here's a picture of the current setup:







I'd like to demo the inset fuse box cabinet and then mount a new panel on the wall to the left.

The service conduit goes inside the stucco into the building. I'd like to cut it, put in junction box, and a sweep and extend the service to the left to the new panel



I called our electric co. to get the power disconnected and strangely the rep told me "Oh, people usually just work on it hot". Is this true/feasible??



Your advice is appreciated
      

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.
      

In a previous thread (Wire suitable for underwater usage), I enquired about what cord types would be suitable for underwater usage because I was building a submersible fishing light to attract baitfish.  Well, the light is done, and the bulb "farthest away" from the battery is by far the brightest in the chain (I hesitate to say chain since they are wired in parallel). 



Attached image "photo 1" is a picture of the light I made.  Notice the bulb all the way to the left is far brighter than the rest.



All bulbs used are the same spec, and look like this:



To wire the bulbs, I cut the flange off with a Dremel tool so that they would fit in the tube.  Two pair of them have their terminals soldered together (neg to neg, pos to pos...that's the "gap" you see in the lighting), and the first bulb in line is upside down, with it's terminals facing the incoming wiring.  The first bulb receives the wiring from the main line, then hookup wire is used to jump from those terminals to the next set, etc. 



There IS one anomaly with the final/far left bulb.  When I was cutting off the flange, I accidentally cut too far on that piece, basically severing the terminals from the bulb.  So, when wiring it into the circuit, I had to improvise and soldered the hookup wire directly into the solder points located on the bulb itself (instead of the underside).  Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about in attached "photo 2."



I have no idea why this anomaly would make the bulb brighter though.  Can anyone think of any other reason the bulb would be brighter?  Unfortunately, I cannot do any readings on the individual bulbs because I did not notice this until everything was soldered into place and the lamp sealed/waterproofed).
      

I want to run Romex from a j-box, that is in the ceiling of my basement, to the main panel.  I know that I can run Romex from the box along the face of the joist (not the bottom), but what are my options once the Romex gets to the wall?  The joist I am using, conveniently enough, meets the wall ideally for where the panel is.  However, I've read that I need to run the Romex through EMT, or some form of conduit.



If you look at the picture I've attached, the panel is mounted on a piece of plywood that extends out underneath the joist.  Can I just staple the Romex to the plywood and then run it into the panel without using any conduit?  The cast iron pipe makes using any conduit quite a problem.



The cable you see is MC Lite, but I want to replace it with Romex.  There are going to be up to 9 more lines coming into the panel this very way.
      

I'm having quite the time finding an electrician who will quote this.  Just about all of them say that what I need is to upgrade my main panel but I want to install a new main panel that is a part of the meter base outside and make my current 100A panel a sub.   Maybe you people can tell me why nobody seems to want to do this.  Here are a few shots of the existing meter (note what is apparently a 60A base here)






and a shot of the conduit headed underground.  Like most homes built during this era, the conduit makes a right turn underground to enter through the cinderblock, ending up coming into the back of the main panel.  This conduit encloses a 4 wire feed. edit: no, actually it is only a 3 wire feed which is a problem if I want to convert the original main panel a sub.






Here's the existing panel.  It's a 60's era Square-D split panel with a 30 amp sub panel for the finished basement.  Those are low voltage wires to circuit taps for my home energy monitoring system btw.






The reason I don't want to upgrade this panel are as follows:

We won't be expanding the electrical west of this panel any more.  All planned expansion (240v car charger in Garage, planned 3 season room with grid tie Solar on the roof) will be to the east.


Upgrading the panel will require major surgery to the walls.  Due to the way the original basement is engineered there, the walls have an intricate stud pattern behind the existing panel.  I'd pretty much have to rip out a 4' section and redo it to make the access large enough to handle a 200A panel.


Adding additional circuits to an upgraded panel will require an act of God due to the finished basement construction.  There are no raceways for additional circuits.






Based on this, my thoughts were to create a new 200A main panel outside based on something like the GE model TSM420CSCUP loadcenter.  Here's a shot of this panel:






This particular panel has room for three 2-pole breakers in addition to the 200A mains.  I'd add a 100A 2-pole breaker for the existing panel, with the other two reserved for the garage/solar expansions.



The issue with the contractors who have quoted the job appears to be the conduit going to the existing panel.  I'm not sure what's wrong with it but it is apparently not compliant with current code.  Obviously the bonding needs to change, new grounding electrodes need to be driven, and a water pipe ground needs to be established to the new main panel, but what else is required?



I'd like to throughly research all the code considerations here so I can approach a contractor from a more knowledgable perspective then determine the best way to perform this upgrade.  Due to POCO coordination and the need to cut household power for the duration of the job, I have no desire to DIY this one...



So what exactly is wrong with the conduit running from the existing meter base to the existing load center?  Why is everybody telling me that I can't do essentially what I've described above?  What are the relevant code sections that will apply to this job?  Should I be chatting with my AHJ about local considerations now or should I wait until I have the code requirements down pat (assuming the latter here)?
      

I have an older QO-Square D eight circuit panel. It is being used as a subpanel and when installed was not bonded.

The neutral bar consists of a bar mounted with one screw and a second bar mounted to it by standoffs. This second bar is where the bonding screw is. I can see no way to separate these two bars for proper bonding. There is no provision for mounting this second bar.

I wish I could post a picture but I will have to work on that.

I am thinking I will have to purchase a new panel but can't understand why neutral and ground cannot be separated.
      

Q1-

isn't rigid conduit supposed to bottom out in hub on new service panel? I thought so, installed mine and the threads look fine but only threaded in about 8 turns then stopped. Same on the other end.

Q2-

i'm trying to figure out how to brace my service entrance rigid conduit in my garage wall to my service panel. the conduit is 1 1/2 inch and the studs are 3 1/2 (2x4) so there's no room for cross bracing behind the rmc.i was gonna brace then strap but no room(stucco exterior) any ideas??

Pics are attached any help is greatly appreciated-

Steve
      

I had posted a week or so ago about random afci's tripping aroung my house that is a year old. I am fairly convinced that it's a interference problem or something in my ground system. Outside my house there is a meter and next to it is a small breaker panel with a 200a breaker that feeds the panel downstairs. Outside there are 2 big black wires going to the ground bus. They go inside and one goes to the water pipe that comes in from outside. O can see where the other one goes. Is it important for me to put in a ground rod and run a big wire to the outside box? My las two new houses had them. I'll try to upload a pic of the outside box. Thanks
      

Hi all,



Had some issues with my sub panel tonight.  The sub has tandem 20A breakers to feed my Home Theater in the basement.  We were watching tv on the projector when my whole AV rack went dead.  I was able to track it back to the sub panel.  Forgive me if my terminology is not correct on the description....Turns out the top bus bar? has no power. (The one that the red wire feeds)  But when I trace that red wire back to the main panel it sees 124V.  The bus bar that the white wire is connected to sees 124V.



As in the picture below, the breaker on the left has no power but if I swap it with the one on the right it works.



Why would that top bar not have any juice to it?