Service ampacity

[Ross Neag]

Based on conductor size (appears 2/0) I am calling this 100 amp service. No main breaker and UP TO 800 amp rated main panel in common area in 6 unit condo bldg. Ground and neutral isolated.

[Mike Tracy]

Ross,

The main service wire appears to be copper and if it is 2/0, then it is rated at 200 amps. Is this the main supply panel for the building? Is there a main throughout switch in a differnet location?

Mike Tracy

[Ross Neag]

This is not the main, its downstream as are the other 5 in this 6 unit condo bldg. Again, I was not able to determine the size of the main.

[Corey Friedman]

This is not the main, its downstream as are the other 5 in this 6 unit condo bldg. Again, I was not able to determine the size of the main.

Hi Ross,

If the building has an 800 amp service for a 5 or 6 flat bldg, and this is 2/0 to the condo panel it is a 200 amp not 100 amp panel.

There should be an electrical closet that has the main to building and likely indiviudal mains to each condo. If it is an 800 they probably used modular metering and the main disconnects for each condo are in the enclosure with the meters in the electrical closet.

Sincerely,

Corey

[Jerry Peck]

Ross,

There will be, should be, a "main" at the service equipment area for this panel and the other panels, as well as a "main" for everything at the service equipment.

The service supplies the service equipment.

The service equipment feeds the individual mains (no longer service equipment mains).

The individual mains feed the individual panels. The overcurrent protection for the panels is the individual mains. The rating of the individual panel must meet the rating of the overcurrent protection feeding it, as must the rating of the feeders from that overcurrent protection to the individual panels.

By the way, I'm guessing that there are a lot of multi-wire circuits in there, and, with those open breaker spaces, someone may have moved (relocated) breakers to other spaces, while that is not a problem on regular 2-wire circuits, moving the breakers on a 3-wire multi-wire circuit *could be* a problem (depending on if the person moving them knew what they were doing or not, and if they did what they knew or not).

[Ross Neag]

Thanks gentlemen. I will make the adjustment and appreciate your help.

R

[Jim Robinson]

Are you sure those are 2/0 cable? 2/0 is pretty big, and those look more like #2, which is what you would expect on 100 amp service. It's hard to tell from the photo, but looking at them in relation to the breakers, they don't look like 2/0 from here.

[Brandon Whitmore]

It does't look like 2/0 to me either.