Subpanel Grounding


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Old 02-11-10, 04:12 PM
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Subpanel Grounding

I would like to replace the old GE subpanel and I have been told that the grounding is sometimes on the backside of the panel. Does that make sense? There is no grounding bar inside the panel and no sign of any grounding that came from the main feed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47448629@N04/4350111386/
 

Last edited by striper2003; 02-11-10 at 06:40 PM.
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Old 02-11-10, 05:04 PM
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You are going to need a bigger image then that for these old eyes but I think that the ground in back you heard about refers to individual junction boxes not a subpanel.
 

Last edited by ray2047; 02-11-10 at 07:57 PM.
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Old 02-11-10, 06:42 PM
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Larger photo attached

I have attached a larger photo of the sub panel
 
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Old 02-11-10, 07:37 PM
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You appear to have an illegal subpanel. I see no ground wire coming into the panel with the feeder, nor do I see a ground bar. It appears the branch circuit grounding conductors are simply tied together with a large wire nut, they aren't grounded at all. You need a 4 wire feeder, 1 black, 1 red, 1 white and 1 bare or green ground to a ground bar. In addition, some of the breakers I see are not GE breakers. I doubt they are U.L. listed to be installed in a GE panel.
 
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Old 02-11-10, 07:56 PM
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Subpanel

Just a quick question. Where is the subpanel located? In the same building as the main panel or a seperate building?
 
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Old 02-12-10, 09:16 AM
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Subpanel is located in garage in the same building as the main. The home was built in 1957 and the main is outside about thirty feet away. It would be a challenge to run new cable to this subpanel since the house has no crawlspace/attic. House has semi flat roof (2X6 rafters). i would have to rip half the walls down to run new cable. Anyway, I do know the cutler hammer breakers are illegal in this box. When I had an electrician put in a dedicated line to the microwave I had to buy a twin breaker at $100.00 to do the job. The electrician said he was reading ground but I don't get it. There is no grounding bus or visible ground wire so is it possible to have ground connection to the back of this older GE box? The house was built in the late 1950's so could that be a possibility? Were subpanels not grounded during those days. There is no room for a ground bar in the panel even if you wanted one.
 
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Old 02-12-10, 09:40 AM
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Is that panel fed with a cable or a conduit? If conduit is it metallic?
 
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Old 02-12-10, 09:46 AM
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Good question as it relates to ground. No, I am 99% sure that it is cable (not in a conduit).
 
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Old 02-13-10, 08:31 AM
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I found the ground wire into the box. While taking the drywall down I found a 8 GA copper wire running into the back of the subpanel. It is hard to see but the wire is to the left of the wire nut kinda by itself.

Thanks All
 
 

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