How to Upgrade an Electrical Panel to 200-Amp Service (Part 2) | This Old House
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- Опубліковано 1 вер 2014
- Master electrician Scott Caron installs a new panel to complete a service upgrade.
Watch part one here: • How to Upgrade an Elec...
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Steps:
1. Use diagonal-cutting pliers to sever all wires inside existing electrical panel.
2. Unscrew and remove old electrical panel from the wall.
3. Screw a large ¾-inch-thick plywood panel to the wall for mounting the new electrical panel. 4. Feed the SE cable through the top of the new electrical panel, then screw the panel to the plywood. Use a torpedo level to ensure the panel is level.
5. Make all the electrical connections inside the electrical panel.
6. Feed the house circuits into the panel, making sure each cable passes through a cable connector.
7. Connect the bare-copper ground wires and white-insulated wires to the ground and neutral bar inside the panel.
8. Plug new circuit breakers into the bus bar.
9. Run the main ground wire from the bottom of the electrical panel to the copper water main.
10. Have the utility company reconnect the electrical cables to the exterior of the house.
11. Label each breaker with the correct house circuit.
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How to Upgrade an Electrical Panel to 200-Amp Service (Part 2) | This Old House
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Legend says the breaker panel is unlabeled to this day.
That is something a homeowner can do with no danger of electrocution. It really helps to have two people and radios or cell phones so you can talk to each other.
Yea, I probably should label mine, but I usually just off the power to the entire panel instead...
I call that shitty customer service, as an electrician I always label the panel with a printed label, not a handwritten squiggly notes...and Canada has very different rules too!
@@gophersgirl true also in Canada you can’t use pvc with a few c clips you must use a mast made of rigid conduit with bolts holding it in place it also must go through the roof for more support also only th hydro can pull meters
@@gophersgirl I call that waste of expensive time which adds to the expensive bill.
For all general people watching you do NOT just cut the wires regardless. You mark them all first along with current Breaker size unless you want to rip out all the dry wall and trace every single line. Remember this is for TV purposes. Keep in mind you also need GFCI and AFCI now to meet the safety codes.
PlayGirl hahahaha! Do what?! You can determine the breaker size needed by the gauge of the wire. No marking needed. Jackwagon
@@leonardholt5311 no you can't. Just because there's a 12 awg wire at the panel doesn't mean there isn't a 14 awg somewhere in the circuit
@@dr.cupcakes626 so when you do a panel change, or replace a breaker, you should go throughout the whole house and trace down every wire to make sure the wire size doesn’t change?
@@electricaf365 ideally yes. But if this isn't possible the only truly safe solution is to downgrade the breaker ampacities
@@dr.cupcakes626 bullshit. If you get hired to change out a panel, then you change out a panel.
He dumped the hardest part onto the homeowner. Labeling the breakers!!!
He said "All I need to do...". The 'I' was short but distinguishable
z ibp, maybe he did. Regardless, it was a joke.
What's hard about it? Shut it off and see what shuts off, test the sockets in that room to be sure....done.
Dude was so giggity he'd be happy to do it himself.
@@Mookaton
How many outlets and light switches are in your house? How far from your breaker box are your outlets? Let’s multiply the number of outlets by the number of circuits and then we can get the number of possible combinations. It can take hours to do this.
Sure, you can start the process of elimination to save some time, but then you have the one outlet in the living room that is not on the same circuit as the other living room outlets. Or you have the recently installed bath fan hooked into the room next door and not with the bathroom lights.
If the breaker box isn’t properly labeled, it’s likely because over the last 30+ years some handyman playing electrician didn’t take the time to think out your upgrades.
I wanted to see the part where he's figuring out which circuit goes to what 20 times.
+ SusceptiblexMe - outlets are pretty easy, you just move a vacuum from circuit to circuit. The lights in the basement are easy. You turn on a light and when the person upstairs tell you it went off you got it. Dryer and range is 240, pretty easy.
Some of us use a circuit tracer. You plug a transmitter into a circuit and the "sniffer" runs over the breakers a couple of times. Once calibrated it'll beep on the breaker linked to the circuit the transmitter is plugged into.
+E.R.Long - they have really wide price range. Are they all the same? Are you an electrician and use your's a lot?
I have the Ideal Circuit Tracer. I paid around $100 for the kit, Canadian dollars. It has the adapter for plugging the transmitter into a light socket as well as the alligator clip adapter for tracing light switches. I find it very handy. I went on a service call awhile back and the homeowner told me he had an electrician and an apprentice spend three days mapping the circuits in his house. I could have done the whole house in 4-5 hours with the tracer.
And add a radio in what you assume is a different cct then the vacuum and bring the end of an extension cord down to the panel with a light on it plugged in somewhere else and there you go. More indications about what is going on w/ the ccts.
No long talks. All informative and straight to the point. This is how a video is done!
@Yo Mama but to the home owner that watches these to DIY he looks genius...lol
@@andrewmeinders5712 But to the rest of us, he looks like an arrogant buffoon.
Yea, if you want a bunch of morons electrocuting themselves and starting electrical fires.
If you think this a good work I have a bridge to sell you
@@darrengibson1115 At least the wiring was fairly neat. I have seen some real squirrel nests created by a sloppy/lazy electricians.
Master electrician. He did a fantastic job keeping it simple and neat. I need that man here for my 200 amp service install. Excellent work. 👍
It ain't that hard. I'm not an electrician and I could do it.
@@jamedlock83 Same. I do most of my own work. Time is more what I need these days.
This guy does an awesome job at keeping it simple and to the point. Well done. This is how (HOW TO) videos should be.
Well said
Should be careful: he left a lot information out .
Its nice to watch, but not a guide on how to do it yourself. Not enough details.
@@darrengibson1115 rudiementary 5-6 minute overview... you gotta pay for more knowledge ;)
@@paladro true .For those diy be careful check city and county codes all free information . Also purchase a NEC code book.
“This should never be done by homeowners”
*proceeds to show homeowners exactly how to do it*
But some homeowners know how to do this already. ;)
he was not showing him how to do it, he was just throughly explaining what and why he was doing what he was doing
Proceeds to double lug the grounds, not trim tags, and make the water meter nearly impossible to service and work with.
@@anvilhead59 it only voids your house insurance when they find out you did some electrical yourself and the house burns down...that's why us sparkies pay a lot in licensing and insurance...
Homeowner's should never go down there ! lol
Outstanding video!
This shows that great electrical work is always clean and neat.
Leaving extra length in the wires is also important for future work.
Metal gas lines are also often grounded.
Well done Ask This Old House!!!
Important to note, Bending the wire in a loop ALSO gives you the ability to Reattach into a new lug if by chance you have a Bad Connection and it burns up. If not for the "Extra Wire" in that loop, you would have to replace the incoming cable OR install a "J-Box" above the breaker panel to splice in longer wire. Good Idea here.
Yes! Always leave slack!
I was also explained that if there is a surge like implosion there is slack in the wire so not everything gets ripped out from under the lugs....
On god thow
That's why it's called a service loop...
capt obvious welcome to the chat
Johnny Sins is an electrician too? Man this guy does everything!
He loves his 200 Amp wire...
Thanks for the suggestions you have contributed here.
Just seeing the guy using a torque wrench on the electrical box means he does take care.
I saw a regular socket wrench, not a torque wrench. But even if it was a torque wrench, hes on TV. He should be doing things properly.
Are you talking about the dewalt impract driver? If so, that’s not a torque wrench 🤣
There is a difference between using a 200 amp panel on a 100 amp service and upgrading your 100 amp service to a 200 amp service. Besides using larger service entrance conductors for the 200 amp upgrade, you most likely will need to have it inspected by the city. Many utility companies require a passed inspection when they come out to change out the meter. You will also need to upgrade the meter socket as well. And I ALWAYS trace out the circuits and label them before disconnecting so I know what neutrals are sharing what breakers.
They probably didn't show that the NS cable was also upgraded...
I don't think which neutrals are sharing what circuits shouldn't matter since they are all getting connected to same bus bar . What I do is mark which leg they are on so as to make sure the circuits are all on the same shared leg as previously.. Also he is double tapping the ground s into the 1 screw on buss bar , should be 1 wire per 1 screw
@@gusc6785 i saw the double grounds as well but I see that all the time.................
@@gusc6785 Neutrals should only matter if GFCI/AFCI breakers are getting installed. Otherwise they all just go to the same bus bar anyway. You are permitted to double tap neutrals on the bus bar, at least provided the label inside the panel door lists it. My Siemens panel allows 2 neutrals per screw. Of course it is possible for local codes to override panel ratings.
So which of the 2 did this video do? What the point of doing a 200amp panel on 100amp service?
I like how clearly you speak, well done.
tommy is better
Most concise service upgrade video I've ever seen. Nice work!
Its 4am I go to work in 2 hours Idk why youtube suggested this........ But now I want to change my breaker box
This why if you have the chance to go get the training and the license, you can save a lot of money if you need this done.You will always have work like HVAC and Plumbing.You will always have a skill that you can use anywhere.
True these trades will never be outsourced and will always be in demand.
How do get the training if the union doesn’t have openings and no shops around me have any openings? Is there a better way than going through the ibew?
@@johnpachner9236 I don't live in a Union state so I may be the wrong person to ask, but here you can get trained to be an electrician or plumber at a local community college. I don't know if it's any different or not in a Union state.
@@RoastBeefSandwich I was looking into it last night and there's a vocational school that has an electrician program. Not sure how much it is, but probably pretty cheap compared to an associates degree, let alone an undergrad or higher.
I work in I.T. and make near as makes no difference to 6 figures, but this looks quite fun and you know it's more than enough to pay the bills and can definitely help with any future real estate property investments. It's really a no brainer if you have an interest in it.
@@ryanshannon7703 When I went to college for welding between 2011 and 2012, it was $6500 for the year. So it's close to that for HVAC and electricians. I know here in Lincoln, NE, there's a couple companies that'll train both fields that are not union. Which is a benefit.
Learned a lot watching this guy. Hope to find an equally knowledgeable electrician in my area
Great video. Like how he just cuts those wires to simply match to the appropriate breaker later and, voila, all back in action again!
I mean if you only have 3 different amperage breakers, it’s easy to identify which one is what since the positive and neutral are together.
@@jimeneazy5999 Quite so, indeed.
@@jimeneazy5999
Did you mean hot and neutral? There is no positive on AC circuits. And them being together means nothing since all neutrals go to the neutral bar.
You know what, I love this program, Ask This Old House. Great information here about just about everything you need to know to maintain your home from landscaping, to electricial to plumbing, carpentery, masonry projects, just EVERYTHING! sad though that in the Pittsburgh region, WQED channel 13 fell off the radar screen and you can't get it anymore on over the air broadcasts like in the good old days.
GROUNDING TO THE COLD WATER SUPPLY IS A BAD IDEA AS WELL.
Just to clear up some confusion with grounding(GEC), neutral and equipment grounding conductors. First of all this is not the whole video so there may be some confusion because of that.
The neutrals can not be doubled up or paired with an EGC(NEC 408.41), but the EGC's can be doubled up, depending on the listing of the panel manufacturer.(NEC110.3(B)
The system grounding connection(GEC) was code compliant. NEC(250.24(A)1. He used two ground rods outside and connected it to the meter can, which is permitted by the NEC. However the local utility has requirements on this so it can vary.
The bonding of the water pipe is compliant. NEC250.53D(1)
The reason the neutral and EGC's can share the terminal block is because this is the main disconnect. At 2:31 you can see a black looking bar that ties the two terminal blocks together and you can also see the MBJ(copper piece with green screw) is tied to the enclosure. NEC 250.24B, 250.28A, B, C
This will probably be the most important, yet least viewed comment of the video.
One thing I never and will never understand is why people are so critical of a 5 min video clips from this channel. They don't show one lil thing and everyone is "well in MY area you aren't suppose to do THAT". Do they not know things are different from city to city? Freaking idiots.
Two ground rods are not required on a house with city water supply, the underground water service system is considered the main ground. Only one auxiliary rod required.
@Tbone McShittles $2300?!? I need to up my prices 🤔 How high was the point of attachment?
@Tbone McShittles I’m truly sorry that happened to your girlfriend, did it even get inspected? Sounds like about $1300 with inspection, maybe $1500 because of the sub.
Very descriptive video! Awesome!
Good video. I've watched both parts (1 &2). Piece of cake...I could do this myself. However, the video doesn't show any of those unexpected problems that could (and do) occur and require a solution. That's the reason we hire a pro, who has been there and done that. Thanks for the video.
If you watched part 1 then you know he said right up front you ALWAYS hire a professional to do this kind of work. He's only showing the steps involved, For me it was very helpful because I'm thinking of upgrading to a 200 amp circuit and wanted to know how much work is involved and get an idea of roughly how much it would cost. Now that I know it requires all new panel and wiring all the way back to the meter I know it will not be a cheap or fast job for any electrician, and I don't need to have anyone come all the way to my house to tell me that now.
IM JUST HERE to read the comments on every sin the electrician committed by the youtube community.
LOL...exactly.
@assassinlexx Yea but living in the area I know this company ain't cheap
That job was done as cheap as it gets I hope they don't charge out the you know what for what he did. The sins that popped out to me he should be more specific on actually wire size to breaker size not small, medium, big. Also those really old 2 conductor cables need to be GFCI protected if going to a regular 3 prong receptacle instead of a 2 prong
@@andrewmeinders5712 well doesnt everyone who would understand gauge know already? They are obviously 14, 12, 10..
@@cantcomeupwithausern to the average homeowner that watches these videos to do it their self it is not obvious from what I've seen the last 20 years
Thank you for helping me understand that this is NOT something I'm going to do myself.
How about 3 outlets and no appliance, easy job.
Very well professionally explained...the guy is real pro
Great comments with electricians pointing out the code violations. Also, we need AFCIs on all recepticles now.
@Brian Uehlein In some markets, you do. The "Grandfathered in" rules typically get removed of this permission once you make a change to the service. Here, if you upgrade the service, you then need to upgrade the rest of the items you're installing to current codes. This includes putting those old circuits on AFCI or GFCI breakers as required.
Yep. Unless your AHJ exempts it.. Some counties in my area have. Too many complaints of nuisance trips.
electricians are the most critical of each others work than any other profession
Yes and its an International thing.
For good reason. Smallest mistake could be deadly.
Maybe cause bad wiring kills people.
In my Area it takes 6-8 months for the power company to come out and when you do get an appointment, it's a 3 week window and a 50/50 crapshoot if they actually show up.
Pull the meter at the entrance..
@@paulksefvwefvwefvwerv6767 Can't do that, that's tampering. You need to have your service disconnected first or you're actively messing with the meter.
great video. well explained!!!
Scott, you make this look SO EZ! You've done this a few times already, YES!! :)
Wow, this man knows his work! Wish he could upgrade my electrical system to a 200 amp breaker box! Great video!
I would label all the circuits before replacing the panel.
my existing panel has some 15a, 20a, dual 15, dual 20, 240. So, I would want to map it over to the new panel with the proper amp breaker. figuring out the exact label would be secondary to that.
No reason to most times. If the panel is well labeled it's most likely not in need of an upgrade as it's been addressed in a remodel or addition to the home. And if you know what your doing you can keep things well organized enough to land conductors in the proper breakers and phases. Also its a great well-paid day to shut every breaker on and off to locate and label after.
I absolutely gaurentee that most electricians don’t do all this work which is sad cause when it’s done right it acts right! No weird issues down the line
Good explanations. Good video. Thank you.
soul patch on fleek
Can I please have him come to my 168 year old family farm? I still have KNOB & TUBE 🥺. And FUSES😭 I'm desperately trying to learn how to do this, but dang.... I love how he just, does it. I enjoy learning from actual, ethical, professionals ❤️
How many circuits does your place have? just curious
Any electrician could do it, since they would never use any of the existing stuff except maybe for pulling romex down walls. They really would just go all new like they were wiring a new house.
@@TechHowden well, there are still 3 fuses, and then a mess of a panel. My father and I are tackling it, starting today. I've researched an awful lot, and found that my previous family, well, just "did their best" to put it kindly. So, we are going to sort it all out, run new Romex/Southwire, and put it into a brand new 40 space 80 circuit panel I bought.
Now, my biggest problem is, running wire in this old beautiful Victorian Farmhouse ❣️. I flat out refuse to remove the horsehair plaster walls, as the insulation it provides is stellar! And it's just stunning to boot. But, I will find my way, doing research with the help of good folk like this❣️ Thank you. You never know how much you help someone with mere words and videos 😘❤️
@@jenimbusy6765 Did you succeed?
After changing out a main panel front those crappy stab-lok breakers to Square D, it wasn't too hard. Very satisfying just pulling all the wires (AKA: the mess) out and starting over from what the last guy did. Only thing I would have done different here is not just go on small medium and larger wires to know whats what, but taken the time to label all the wires first before I took everything apart.
Jesus, I hit 00:18 and almost had a heart attack. i didnt know there was a Part 1 to this video
My house has random outlets and appliances tied to the same breakers. I want to separate them on to their own breakers. Looks like fun.
Call a licensed Journeyman Electrician, don't do it yourself.
Where I live, adding circuits, doing anything in a panel, or upgrading services must be done by a certified electrician.
hehe where i live there are no codes and restrictions and i do shit like this most of the time. it also helps that ive been diy'ing electrical wiring since I was like 10 yrs old. Its mind blowing how much protocol and proper technique you have to follow while doing stuff according to code or with safety regulations. though i guess doing this code regulated stuff would be fun. no one likes shoddy unsafe third world electrical work.
"hehe where i live there are no codes and restrictions" - Where? in India where they give fuckall about health and safety?
@@araibirshad8294
I live in California and electrical work requires a licensed electrician OR the home owner can do it. You just can't sell your electrician services without a license. Then it has to be inspected, and if you screwed up the inspector will usually tell what to do to fix it. Unless he sees you are an idiot, and makes you hire an electrician for your own safety. I upgraded my breaker box and installed solar with a grid-tie inverter myself. The inspector complimented my work.
Great video! Only thing I saw wrong was having all the breakers on before turning on the main.
It didn't matter. In Part 1, it was shown the service line to the house had been cut so everything in the house was dead behind a visible open point.
@@whiteknightcat You misread the comment. You should have all the breakers off before you throw the main on, less likely to have a surge happen.
@@jefftickleschitz1265 agreed but up here in the ne are lights go out and on so often our electronics are used to the surges lol
I always face away from the panel when first turning on the main breaker, with all branch circuits off. Just in case...
nice very professional looks really good do you always for the most part connect large size wires by bolting them down i don't think you really want to uses large wire nuts based on it being to ridged but you could probably uses large spade connectors or push closed mechanisms
This guys makes it look so easy
A lot of places have trouble getting the power company to come out in a timely manner. Also, the new service needs to be inspected before reconnection. Electricians will install everything and back feed the new panel with the old one until the inspection. Then call the power company for the move.
Exactly! In Maryland, you make temporary connections to the existing SEU cable on the load side of the meter, and let the power company come out after you pass your inspection.
Mine took over eight months for the whole process.
Oh God, the wire management.
I'M FOAMING. HELP.
Thanks guys!
Good job on the white phase tape.
I love this show.
And love how the guy teaches. Awesome, just awesome.
Thank you
I know this is just clips from a full episode, but ... right off the bat he created more work for himself by cutting all the perfectly good leads. How many seconds would it have taken with the drill to back out each of the screws and just pull the leads out? How long did it take to re-strip all those leads which are now shorter?
It takes as long to put the right gauge for the right circuit
I guess if he use the drill to back all of the screws out it would probably take the same time to restript the ends
We’ll sometimes the leads are oxidized or just deteriorating from past probably loose connections or overloading so I always just cut them hows and strip back anyways
I replaced a panel once.. and even without cutting them.. most of them were short.. the guy that did it before me had it so nice and neat.. looked like art work. By the time I was done, it looked like a jungle
Lol who cares. Stripping that wire takes no time.
Excellent instructions part 1 & 2
In Germany the Meter Box is like tripple the size, also we have a Fusebox before called the HAK (Hausanschlusskasten) in this Box we seperate Ground and Neutral its better for the ESD and a little of extra Security then every House got a Fundament earth which ist Connected to the PE from the Pipes and from the Meter Box it is safer but also it costs probably way more Also we have Lower Amps because WE got 230V between Phase and Neutral and between the three Phases we got is 400 V.
Great - another video where the UA-cam commenters tell us how much smarter they are than the licensed electrician and pointing out how many mistakes they assume he made due because they assume their local codes must apply everywhere.
Get a grip. They aren't about to show every detail as the process would take several hours. It isn't meant to be a tutorial... it is just to give the typical homeowner a basic understanding of how involved the process is so they don't balk at the $1200 cost to upgrade a small residential panel.
I'd trust Scott to work on my home, and his presentation and customer service skills are top notch. Some of you self-proclaimed "experts" could learn a thing or two here.
Phormify $1200 wow that is crazy. I had a fuse box replaced with circuit breakers. I bought the parts about $125 the electrician put it in for $65. Since the house is a rental house I have to have it inspected every time I get a new tenant. Which is about every year. Never had a problem with it passing inspection.
I'm well aware of the NEC, but I'll disagree with you that he is violating code or doing anything illegal.
Thanks for proving my point about the comments though. You may return to your regularly scheduled trolling of UA-cam comments now... I'm sure you have a long day ahead of you.
If you are going to call someone stupid it helps to use the proper version of "you're". Ironic isn't it?
Keep trolling Phil... You may not be much of an electrician but at least you have this UA-cam thing working out for you.
I agree with you. Scott did it correctly 100%. Trolls here are all wrong.
Phormify well I'm not a troll I bought an older home last year and the box needed to be upgraded I was scared it was gonna cost out the ass ....i bought the box at Lowe's and the electrician came ( a real place not bobs repair service) and he charged me 75 to put it in
Part 3: Labeling a mismanaged circuit breaker.
Thoroughly explained.
Randy, exactly right! The grounds on the two wire circuits? They were on the neutral and ground busses in fairly equal number so I'm thinking they all had grounds. I didn't see any GFCI breakers however...Nor did I see a building electrical permit and hear of the final inspection and certificate of occupancy we have to have before the electric utility will hang the meter ... Also, an important part of a service upgrade to change to larger feeders from the street, to the meter base and then into the CB Panel, his was installed before they started recording the video or by another contractor...And that B.S. of having the homeowner 'have the honor' is pure Hollywood as you said....
Thanks :) Im not a know-it-all but I do know when its done wrong.
First the main wire has to be upsized to 200 amp, work has to be inspected and in most states done by a licensed electrician.
I want to see the part where he’s figuring out the bill.
.14 WET PAPER OR A GOOD TIME INSIDE THE DOOR
Had these guys give me an estimate to rewire my kitchen remodel and almost crapped my pants
Anyone have an estimate on the cost of this total job I need this exact same thing done asap
depends on where you live
@@00.0O at least 2000 to have done, only a few hundred if u do it yourself though bc the only costs are the outside weatherhead and box, wiring and breaker box inside - and it should be easy enough to get a new breaker box that can reuse your existing breakers - assuming your house uses breakers..
Thank You.
Agreed. Well done instructiional video now i can piss around with my panel ⚡⚡⚡
What year of apprenticeship do you get your soul patch?
It's not based on years, it's how many times you get shocked by 440v and survive.
Most homes also include a 50 amp 240 VAC circuit for an electric stove, even if you are using gas. So there are usually four sizes of wire, not three. It also would have been nice to show how to use an inch-pound torque wrench to properly tighten those breaker screws, and to use separate ground and neutral buss bars with a bonding screw or pigtail.
No need to separate the grounds and neutrals in the main panel, only in a subpanel.
very nice work its clean it neat thanks for sharing keep up the great work
very good video ,thanks.
The "gel" should have been used on the meter socket connections.
Copper doesn’t need the gel. Just aluminum oxidizes
@@shawnbroswick1272 copper does oxidize. Oxidization happens when you use two dissimilar metals. If the wire is copper and the lug is not you should still use the gel.
@@Spectre302011 yes. When you mix the 2 then you need it. Thanks
Would have been helpful to hear what gauges the wires needed to be for the upgrade.
14awg for 15 amp breaker, 12 for 20amp, 10 for 30, 8 for 40…
Then #6 for 50amp breaker😊
@@addminusDIY #6 for 60amp breaker as well.............
Pretty sure he means the service conductors 😂
Some areas of the country you can do a single point ground plate if allowed by local code then ground the plate, also I have run ground rods around entire house, rods 16 ft. apart if they are eight feet long and then used 1" X 2" solid copper strap via thermOweld. to bond rods. Rock solid every time. Again, depends on local code.
In Ontario we can use grounding plates instead of rods and the must be buried 24 inches deep I’ve heard some, places it’s copper but here it’s galvanized steel. They are relatively cheap and as efficient 2 10 feet 5/8 ground rod
Well explained.
All you need to do is spend 1 whole day turning off breakers and chasing circuits around your house. No problem!
Saw a water main become totally perforated and turn a woman's front yard into a mud pie because of the ground connection to the main and the fact that the neutral in the trans moved and was therefore not neutral anymore, but feeding a current directly to ground. After fixing the main, I called the electric company and the next day they were there w/ a truck and changed out the trans. Don't connect earth ground to a water pipe or anything but a sacrificial ground rod buried in the earth. Still an excellent video. Thank you.
alex tworkowski Using the water line is illegal here, probably slow be illegal everywhere - not hard to stick a rod in the ground.
In the UK they are allowed to ground to gas FFS.. GAS!.. I never ground to plumbing, I do the extra labor and drive a propper ground rod..
in the Uk thats called bonding and its there to stop electric shock. Have a read on it.
Grounding to gas is EXTREMELY dangerous, You people are morons period. I guess it's a game of natural selection over there though..
Apparently it's legal wherever they filmed this. But as a home owner I would feel more secure if the main ground was connected to a rod outside into the ground.
Great job
Great video. The homeowner is your cousin🦾🦾🦾🦾
two questions.. first. is the wire coming off the telephone pole always big enough to handle 200 amp service? second... do electrician use different size wires coming into the house from the meter? so if you jump up to 200 amp , a home owner might have to change to a bigger wire? thx!!
to answer the first question, it is not a problem to upgrade a service. the power company wires that feed your home are capable of handling a 200a service. however the wiring from your meter needs to be adjusted to handle a service upgrade. a 100a service only requires #2 awg aluminum. however when you upgrade to 200a you will need to step your wire up to 4/0 aluminum.
Thanks Alex, I appreciate your input!
Alex Johnson's response is the typical condition. There is no guarantee that your local power company has installed wire large enough for a 200a service from their transformer. The electric company has their own set of codes that are different from the NEC and they often engineer their wire to much closer tolerances than what the NEC requires of electricians wiring buildings. The only way to be absolutely sure would be to contact your electric company to verify the capacity of their existing service conductors to your building prior to doing a service upgrade.
mic jam yes if you are doing an upgrade yes. you need new cable coming from outside .
If you have to ask this question then don't mess with your incoming power line at all. You could easily have found out the rating of that cable yourself. It's much more reliable to find it out the truth yourself than asking such a thing on UA-cam. This all concludes that you should just call professionals to get things done on your electric system.
OK that is not how you turn on a main breaker on at all you should never look at a breaker when turning it on. You look away take a deep breath and use your non dominant hand to turn it on. This is so if there is an arc flash from a short you don't breath in the molten metal from the arc flash.
However, proper safety procedure is to make sure all circuit breakers are off, then turn on the Main Breaker. After that, circuits are turned on one at a time.
I guarantee they did a test run and made sure everything worked fine before they filmed the home owner "turning it on" for the first time, probably before they even installed the cover.
Use a broom stick
wrong and wrong ,the correct way is to tell the ol lady to go throw it on !! LOL
good video , i think you should have all the breaker off when turning on the main and turn them one one by one .
That guy is truly a master electrician... what a wonderful job
I never understand when people don't trace all of their breakers and create an easy to follow list.
But I'm a little OCD so that must be why :p
Glad I'm not alone on that :)
Junior Mudd I agree wholeheartedly, JM. I'm just a homeowner but I've gotta admit that properly organized wiring is a thing of beauty. I have a 1953 house in which we had a panel upgrade done by an electrician a couple years ago, with several new circuits run to modernize the kitchen. The thing looks great inside!
Panels often start out properly labeled then, over the years as circuits are changed or added to accommodate additional electrical needs, the labels become inaccurate.
When I bought my house in the 85's (built mid-60's) about half the circuits were mislabeled.
@Junior Mudd typically the existing panel legend is either not there or so far off. I find it is way easier and faster to do one after ward with a circuit tracer. Also noticed the expansion above the meter, not required, the conduit will move. The riser does not go there the roof so it is allowed to be PVC, but not going thru the roof depends on the overhead drop being the proper height above yard sidewalk etc. The dressing of a panel is thing of pride for a good electrician.
i would keep a square d qo panel and breakers for a small house
+David Berquist lots of good breakers junked there as well. I like Sq D's enclosed bus bars. Way safer than this brand.
I do that whenever I rip out a service. I must have $2,000 worth of circuit breakers that I took out of people's houses LOL
I agree Square D all the way. The QO series panels are one of my favorites. At home I have a 60 slot 200 amp Square D panel as my main panel and for sub panels I have an 8 slot square D and some old 60 amp fuse box. I also have a 100 amp federal pioneer panel in the garage but I just don't like it as much as the Square D QO. Hopefully that panel in the video did not go to waste
Unfortunately many of those good branch cct breakers will go to waste as the rules now require Arc Fault breakers on most plug ccts..
Way to go regulators - turn an $8.50 cent breaker solution into an $85 expense for each cct.
I'm surprised that there is anybody left alive in other countries that use electricity considering their lack of self serving, profit centered, safety mechanism regulation.
Yeah I completely agree. AFCI on every circuit is just overkill. I think It used to only be required for bedrooms until recently. I have NEVER had AFCI breakers in any house or apartment I have lived in. In fact most of the apartments I lived in until I moved into a condo built in 1994 only had fuse boxes. Hell as far as I know no body in all of those buildings ever got killed from electrocution. I think electrical code has become a little rediculous in the past few years. Don't even get me started on tamper resistant outlets. I absolutely hate them. In fact when we bought our house the newly added bathroom had 2 of those nasty TR duplex receptacles in it and they drove everybody in the house mad. The day I ripped them out and threw them in my junk pile just felt so good. Too bad many big stores such as home depot only carry the TR crap now. I am just keeping my eyes peeled for used and new non TR receptacles. Many of the decomishined ones I find are either so worn out they don't hold plugs in or the plastic is all cracked and covered in paint. Hopefully I can get enough to last me a lifetime. Btw I am only 17 years old.
Nice video.
Good job, in NY they definitely do not want to see a ground in the meter though. We would run that directly to panel. It also looked like he put a expansion fitting on the pvc riser, strange but maybe Massachusetts has some dumb code requiring it. The only critique I have is although you didn’t label what each branch circuit was, you should label what amperage breaker the wire was on. A lot of old houses do strange things you wouldn’t want to send a larger amperage circuit to a device only rated for 15amps.
“Mok” the wires????
This electrical installation looks like its from the 50’s 😄
Why’s that?
@@jimeneazy5999 I saw some ungrounded circuits.
This Old House on a budget using beer can wire for your main run…how nice of them
It's very helpful
Why would you "mock" the wires before you cut them? Surely it would give them an inferiority complex and cause a short circuit.
All I heard is this gets connected to the neutral zone lol.
Hi...I did all this and when I turned the power back on the lights worked but nothing else. Out of curiosity I unplugged everything and the lights went out. After plugging something back in I had found that my lights were connected to an outlet...is there any way to fix this?
You guys are very different compared to here in Australia
not allowed by nec code book to land two wires on yhe same terminal
What section?
Shades921 110-3b mentions about it can only be if it's specifically labeled. The best termination tho would to splice the wires together and then screw one wire down. tighten a wire to much that it puts a cut in it creates resistance and a hotspot is potential. having two wires doesn't allow the screw to be tighten properly as well... and potential for a faulty circuit.
zmonkeymadness well, it's not really "illegal" just only allowed when it says it's allowed. i.e. the terminal has to be rated for 2 wires.
Just about every terminal i use (i work in a control panel shop) is rated for 2 terminals.
Wrong if it's listed you can use two wires on a breaker or bus bar
is that a square D standard to be rated for 2 conductors on the terminal lug?
man I wish wires were called small (14awg) medium (12awg) and large (10awg) much easier
Lol
This comment is only funny to another Electrican 🤣
@@alfredoandroid357 I'm glad you got it lol
Tall wire,Venti wire,Grande wire
Don't forget all those extra-large sizes! Maybe we can call then 2X, 3X, 4X like tee shirts for big guys.
…”and now we’re gonna ‘mock’ the wires”: you skinny little wires, you mother wears army boots. Gotta love the Boston accent
This videos are grate.
I thought tying the ground wire to the water system was a no no?
How much would this work and materials cost from licensed electrician?
Depends on your location but roughly between $2500.00 - $3000.00
Could be more or less depending on how many existing circuits, if you need a 30 or a 40 circuit panel
Underground or overhead service etc . Lots of other factors.
quick question I have a 200 amp meter combo panel that has 4 spaces, that are all full but 1. Can I run a 200amp sub panel off of that? I'm trying to run another 100 amp sub to a shop off of the 200 amp sub(welding shop) is this possible.
Thanks for the videos.
Nice Video. Well im from Germany and we have three Phase alternating current (230/400V) so here it is a bit diffrent
In Germany houses have three phase service ?
@@AwesomeBeatles yes
this electrician is destroying the whole main cabinet only in order to see where the cables are going to , incredible
Wait the ground and neutral go under the same strip? That causes the GFCI's to trip doesn't it? OR is it an TN-C system? I'm confused as an European electrician.. Don't you have GFCI's required on all your groups? And do all of your groups (circuit breakers) have only thermal protection and not magnetic protection? (overheating on the thermal and short circuiting on the magnetic) Someone explain to me...
FoodOnCrack no the 2014 nec states that GFCI (210.8) must be in place for Bathrooms, garages or any located floor below grade level not intended for habitable rooms and limited to storage areas, work areas, and ares or similar use, outdoors, crawl space at or below grade level, unfinished basements, kitchens where receptacles are installed to serve the counter top surface, sinks where receptacles are installed within 1.8m 6ft of the outside edge of the sink, boathouses, bathtubs shower stalls same thing like the sink.
+Risto Mladich Still didn't really answer his main question, you just simply stated where GFCI's are required by code, in the US...
+FoodOnCrack the N and G bars are actually separated and only touch at one spot in the middle, kinda hard to see
The utility provides a 3-wire service which consists of two "hot" wires and a neutral. Between the two hots there is 240 volts. between either hot and neutral is 120 volts. The ground begins at the first disconnect and is the point where the ground wires in the circuits connect to the neutral. Nowhere else is the neutral allowed to be grounded within the building. Since GFCIs are "downstream" of this connection, they do not trip.
+FoodOnCrack I too would like to know if inspection passed this improper installation: neutral and ground tied via common service bar (the black band in the middle) which makes him think it's ok to mix neutrals and ground on both bars...AND, worst of all, he has the box grounded to this neutral/ground bar, which should give someone a mild tingle if the panel powder coating wears to bare metal.
Super nice
I'm glad I moved into a new house having a 200 amp circuit panel already
you want e/v vehicles your going to need a 400 amp service 👀🤣