Can a load center have a breaker as large as its main?

[leejosepho]

I have a 30-amp feed going back to my detached workshop, and here is the load center in the workshop ...



I have a great-working old 120V arc welder that needs 30 amps ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=8v2...welder&f=false

Question: Can I put a 120V 30A breaker in my shop's loader center that has a 240V 30A main breaker?

If I do that for the welder, I would use a NEMA L5-30P plug and receptacle just for the welder.

[ActionDave]

You can install the breaker, but you have what appears to be another problem. Is there a green screw next to the white wire in the top right corner of the panel in your photo?

[LLigetfa]

Around here we were not allowed to mount a panel directly against wood and must put a layer of sheetrock in between.

[BobL43]

Around here were are not allowed to mount a panel directly against wood and must put a layer of sheetrock in between.

That's funny because around here the electricians nail a plywood sheet to the concrete foundation to mount the panel

[LLigetfa]

Oops... I stand corrected.

Question
Does the Code require the installation of drywall behind an electrical panelboard?


Answer
No. This requirement was removed in the 2002 Edition of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.

[dlarrivee]

Around here we were not allowed to mount a panel directly against wood and must put a layer of sheetrock in between.

Sounds bogus to me, around HERE we're required to have a plywood for the panel to mount upon.

[leejosepho]

I added a lighting circuit to the panel at the beginning of this thread, and I inadvertently shorted the black wire to the panel when I apparently over-tightened the clamp holding the wire at the top of the panel. The clamp was not really all that tight, but the "bump" on its plate was more of a sharp "V" than just "gently round" like I usually see, and the insulation on the new 12-2 w/G wire I used seems to me to be relatively light. In any case ...

I was standing barefoot on the concrete floor of the workshop, and I felt a very light tingle through one of my fingers touching the end of one of the screws while I was wiggling the wire a bit (to check its tightness) and tightening that clamp. At that point, and since the box is not bonded, I soon discovered 120V between white and ground (since the ground was now hot), and nothing at all between black and white. It took me a while to realize the pinching clamp was the problem, but I eventually figured that out after checking all other connections in/at every box in that circuit.

Question: Why/How did/could I feel a small trickle of voltage between ground and the concrete floor?

My only guess is that my new 5/8" X 6' galvanized ground rod is in soil too dry for it to work properly. We have had virtually no rain here in NW Louisiana for some time now ...

... and it is a good thing I was barefooted today or I might not have caught that problem so quickly!

[jadnashua]

That tickle could just as easily been enough to stop your heart! Never work on electricity in your bare feet. The ground rod is primarily for protection during lightening strikes...don't count on it for an effective ground. Neutral is on the center point of a 240vac transformer...and, it may not be exactly in the center. The current is trying to return to the source generator. Ground is sort of relative.

[leejosepho]

You can install the breaker ...

That is good to know, and I thank you.

... but you have what appears to be another problem. Is there a green screw next to the white wire in the top right corner of the panel in your photo?

No, but you definitely got me up out of my seat to go take a look! That screw is silver and just happens to appear green in that picture, and it holds the commons bar to that lug. The bonding screw is laying in the bottom of the panel, and it would go in the spot just above the screw you have asked about.

Edit: Here is the rest of my story ...



The house has an old 60A XO panel directly behind the meter, and then the former homeowner added the exterior panel with 240V breakers for the workshop, dryer, AC and stove with everything still being fed by the original 60A service with #8 wire at the eave!

We are presently on an electrician's project list to have our service entrance upgraded, and I will likely wait until then before doing very much with my welder even though all is well in the workshop.

[jwelectric]

The back fed 30 amp breaker needs to be tied to the panel.

You are correct your service needs attention

[leejosepho]

The back fed 30 amp breaker needs to be tied to the panel.

You are talking about some kind of retainer for the main in the workshop, correct? I do not know what part I need to do that, but I do plan to ask the electrician about that when he comes out to update our service entrance.