Thread: Hello from NY

My name is Keith, I have been a electrical Inspector with Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Service in upstate New York for over 12 years. Before that i was electrical contractor. Altogether 39 years years i have been "playing" with electricity

I hold current International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI) certifications for Electrical Inspector; One and Two Family Dwelling, and Electrical Inspector: General

I work in Otsego and part of the surrounding counties here in central upstate NY. Here in NY we are using 2002 NEC for 1&2 family and 2005 NEC for everything else.

My main pet peeve is grounding and bounding and anything that will kill or injure persons or burn the building down

Looking forword to sharing information here

KB:

Welcome.

Originally Posted by Keith Bliss

Looking forward to sharing information here

Keith,

Looking forward to the information shared, that is what we do here.

Keith,
Welcome, I have found this board to be very helpful. Nice to see a fellow New Yorker.

Go Redsox


I mean Mets.......or maybe Yankees

Just kidding

Welcome

Welcome to this Forum, Keith. Say "Hi" to Tim Thomas for me. Tell him Fred Warner says "Hi"! By the way, you live in a great part of NY.

Welcome.
This is a great forum.
Are you a NYSBOC member?

Originally Posted by Evan Grugett

Welcome.
This is a great forum.
Are you a NYSBOC member?

Nope, I am a IAEI member. what is NYSBOC?

Thanks for al the warm welcomes

Originally Posted by Keith Bliss

Nope, I am a IAEI member. what is NYSBOC?

Thanks for al the warm welcomes

New York State Building Officials Conference.
NYSBOC Home

Welcome: any advice is always welcome. Pardon my ignorance, but what is bounding? Thank you. Danny.

Originally Posted by Keith Bliss

My main pet peeve is grounding and bounding

Originally Posted by Danny O'Donovan

but what is bounding?

Danny,

A typo for "bonding".

Going from typing "grounding" to "bonding" and the 'u' snuck its way in there.

Go Red Sox

Sorry

Cannot help it

Welcome and now that you are here lets go to work. Occasionally I have a hard time determining if a service panel is bonded. There seems to be a different way for each panel. Can you simply this for me?

Originally Posted by Chuck Weaver

Occasionally I have a hard time determining if a service panel is bonded. There seems to be a different way for each panel. Can you simply this for me?

There are usually one of two options available, depending on the panel.

- a bonding screw through the neutral/equipment grounding bar into the back of the enclosure

- a bonding strap which is attached to the back of the enclosure and goes into a terminal in the neutral/equipment grounding bar

If the panel is "Suitable for Service Equipment ONLY", then the neutral is already physically, mechanically and electrically bonded to the back of the enclosure, usually with an uninsulated, exposed, metal bar running across the back of the enclosure from the neutral terminal bar on one side to the equipment grounding terminal bar on the other side.

If the panel is "Suitable for Service Equipment ONLY", then the neutral is already physically, mechanically and electrically bonded to the back of the enclosure, usually with an uninsulated, exposed, metal bar running across the back of the enclosure from the neutral terminal bar on one side to the equipment grounding terminal bar on the other side.

The neutral bar and the strap I know about but I'm not sure I have seen, or knew I had seen this metal bar running across the back of the enclosure from bar to bar. Are there any particular characteristics or will I know it when I see it?

Thanks Jerry

Originally Posted by Chuck Weaver

The neutral bar and the strap I know about but I'm not sure I have seen, or knew I had seen this metal bar running across the back of the enclosure from bar to bar. Are there any particular characteristics or will I know it when I see it?

"will I know it when I see it?" Yep.

You will look that metal bar and think ... ummmm ... aren't those always insulated from the metal enclosure in black plastic???

Then, when you read the label, instead of saying "Suitable for Use as Service Equipment" it will say "Suitable for Use as Service Equipment ONLY", and that is because there is no option to isolate the neutral from ground.

LOL Well, I guess now I will have to learn to read. When will all this education come to an end. Looking old and wise is really mis-leading. Thanks again Jerry. Now I have a little more information about bonding than I had befor and that never hurts.

You cannot see the top on the neutral bar been I am sure you get the pic with the bar leading from the ground to the neutral

Originally Posted by Ted Menelly

You cannot see the top on the neutral bar been I am sure you get the pic with the bar leading from the ground to the neutral

Ted's photo shows the bar going from the neutral terminal bar to the grounding terminal bar is insulated, the label on that most likely will say "Suitable for Use as Service Equipment" at that bar is isolated (insulated) from the back of the enclosure.

The first photo attached is Ted's photo, now imagine the black insulating/isolating plastic covering was not installed and you just see shiny bare metal, such as in the second doctored up photo to make it look like shiny bare metal (okay, not a great job, you get the idea in looking at the two photos).

The exposed, bare, metal bar against the back of the enclosure obviously has no option with which to isolate the bar, or the two terminal bars it is attached to, from the enclosure, thus it is ONLY suitable for use as service equipment.

Thanks Ted for the photo - worth a thousand words. And thank you Jerry for hilighting it form me. I may not have figured it out otherwise. You guys have certainly expanded my knowledge of bonding and I appreciate it. That's what I love about this site. All you have to do is ask and somebody can answer in clarity.