DIY: 220/240v 60A Subpanel

[hiboy]

Hey man u forgot your bushing.
jk
Great work on the diagram and the photos. One thing to note is when putting 6 guage in that large breaker, the lugs are designed for large wire so for rookies that might be reading this, make sure your wire is under the tightening screw, it easily slips since the hole is so large. I hate large holes. Tight ones are better.
hiboy

 

[Underground]

Looks good mostly. In the future though, don't remove the bridge between the the neutral bars. Add a ground bar to each side. Either the last code change or the one before they added some verbage which does not allow you to run any wires horizontally through a panel without the proper barriers installed. They just don't want wires crossing from one side to another and possibly shorting to a lug or, god forbid, some moron actually crosses in the vicinity of the busses.

Obviously use the right connector for the box next time, as you mentioned has already been corrected.

Don't ever rely on a gas pipe for ground. You bond the pipe, not use it as part of your grounding electrode system. I just don't want someone thinking they can connect to the gas pipe for a ground. The main purpose of bonding is to keep at the same potential. ie: no measureable voltage difference between it and a solidly grounded surface.

It doesn't matter here because your main is horizontal, but you really don't want to get into the habit of installing panels upside down. Especially with a vertical main. A breaker handle in the up position has to be on and a breaker in the down position has to be off.

 

[hiboy]

I've actually been called on inspections not grounding the gas line. Code for this county is to have all metal pipes grounded. Reason being obviously if the hot breaks free and rests upon a gas line, and you lean against it... well you get the point. Of course you have to ground the cold water also. Didnt know about not having wires crossing thru panel, learn something new every day, even on a non electrical site.
Ben,,, make sure you have installed the grnd screw or bond from your newly acquired grnd bar to the can, cant see any there but not all of the pic is shown. Thats the most important part of the system to have grounded, the can (panel enclosure) since so many wires are located in it.


hiboy

:bongsmi:

 

[Underground]

I've actually been called on inspections not grounding the gas line. Code for this county is to have all metal pipes grounded. Reason being obviously if the hot breaks free and rests upon a gas line, and you lean against it... well you get the point. Of course you have to ground the cold water also. Didnt know about not having wires crossing thru panel, learn something new every day, even on a non electrical site.
Ben,,, make sure you have installed the grnd screw or bond from your newly acquired grnd bar to the can, cant see any there but not all of the pic is shown. Thats the most important part of the system to have grounded, the can (panel enclosure) since so many wires are located in it.


hiboy

:bongsmi:

Although connecting the gas pipe to the grounding electrode system, it is not part of the grounding electrode system. The connection is made to keep the piping at the same potential as other metal surfaces. In other words to bond it.

PS I haven't gone back and looked but I do remember seeing the number 10 ground wire much too close to one of the lugs. So it is fed by a 4 wire and should not have the bonding screw installed.

 

[hiboy]

No doubt Underground, that copper wire is ready to sing on that hot lug, Scarry

and about the grounding on the gas line, its just a safety issue . Not all inspectors will enforce it, its just so it wont be accidentally energized and lite u up.
hiboy

 

[bentripin]

good advice everyone.. the ground in the first pic looks like its some sort of camera angle trick.. if u look at the pictures of me using the multimeter it dont come close to that lug..
now it dont look anything like pictured since I later pulled it through some conduit, I do admit I kinda half-assed everything before I took these photos cause I knew I was going to do it over later.. poor excuse I know.. my write-up was an afterthought and I did it on a whim to help someone out... had I planned this I would had more pictures outlining everything better.

If your water/gas lines need to be grounded or not is kinda beyond the scope of a subpanel install and is mostly dependent on how up to date your house is and your local codes..

I'll take some better photos next time I have the cover off.

 

[midnightrider]

farmer jon has a point --- you need to bond the ground to the can and not the nuetral ,,,,,,,, in your photo , you have isolated the ground on a sub panel and bonded the nuetral -------- this is wrong ,,,,,,,,,,,,, move the little green screw over to the ground bar or swap the white wire with the ground wire

 

[Underground]

If your water/gas lines need to be grounded or not is kinda beyond the scope of a subpanel install and is mostly dependent on how up to date your house is and your local codes..

When installing a subpanel for the purposes anybody here would be installing one, it would be a great idea to make sure everything is up to code to avoid any kind of problems or reason for further inspection.

 

[Bunz]

I hate large holes. Tight ones are better.
hiboy

Agreed!!! Nothing else to add, just agreed!!!:)

 

[DX1]

Hello BenTripin,
Thanks for posting your sub install. This is good info for anybody who wants to get rid of the hazardous extension cords and power strips in their grow room & bring in some serious power.
I certainly don't want to bash your work and I know that you posted this info with the intention of helping your fellow indoor gardener but I do want to point out a couple things in addition to what has already been said.
I'be pasted a copy of one of your pic's below & inserted an orange arrow over what I believe is the bonding screw that should connect the neutral bus to the enclosure if this panel were being installed as service equipment. While your ground bus MUST be bonded to the enclosure, the neutral bus cannot be bonded in your sub panel installation. Just make sure and remove that green screw and connect the ground bus to the enclosure and you're good.

The other thing is that your Romex 6-3 w/gnd is rated for only 55 amps.
See NEC table 310.16:
If you were to run some 6ga THHN in conduit you could increase the rating to 65A. See the de-rating table too as you must de-rate the ampacity of the wire as the temp rises (91% @ 87°F...)
Once again, I don't mean to knit-pick your work -Just some constructive criticism aiming to help anyone else out there who might be doing a similar improvements in their grow-op.
Anything that helps people get rid of extenion cords & power strips with HID ballasts connected to them is a good thing.
But, to all those considering a similar project, if you don't have electrical experience you should hire an electrician or enlist the help of a trusted, competent friend with some real-world electrical experience -Installing a sub panel in your home or building is not the type of job that you should take on for practice! If you need information don't hesitate to ask for help. There are people here and on other forums on the web who are willing to help. I get calls and emails all the time from people I don't know -even people who have bought equipment from my competition have asked for help! And I'm happy to do it -If I can do some small thing to maybe prevent somebody's house from burning down I will do anything I can!

Here are a few links with electrical info some folks might find useful
240V receptacle & panel wiring:
The 240V system explained:
Why do I need four prongs/four wires (my stove only has three!)
Timers, Relays & Contactors:

Hope this info helps somebody out there... DW