Hey all, I’m currently in the middle of pre-licensing for Florida. During the electrical course I’m questioning the Cutler Hammer panel I used for my essay. They use only one bar for both ground and neutral. It is bonded to the cabinet. The previous homeowner ran a subpanel with a 3 wire connection. Is this still OK since the ground is coming from the common bar in the main panel or should there be a separate 4th wire added to comply?
That depends. Where is the subpanel? If it was to a separate structure, such as a garage, this may have had been acceptable at the time of install if it was as long as before 2008, and if there were no other metallic paths back to the house. However, if the subpanel was in the same structure, such as a house, the subpanel should have been fed with a 4-wire feeder regardless of when it was installed.
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Yes, the subpanel is in the same garage. It fed a refrigerator and what looks like some power tools (air compressors, saws, etc.).
Are you saying that the service panel and the sub-panel are both in the garage?
Here are helpful graphics:
3 wire same building:
3 wire separate buildings
4 wire same building:
4 wire separate buildings:
(Ground rod(s) req’d main panel)
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Yes sir. Both in the garage. Looks like he ran it up and through the attic to get to the opposite wall.
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Michael, this is very helpful. Thank you!
Then yes, it should have been fed with a 4 wire feeder.
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Are the conductors in metal conduit such as EMT? A fourth conductor is not needed if they are and the assembly uses appropriate fittings.
Was this 3-wire feeder a cable or was it in a raceway?
No George, it’s ran in standard grey PVC electrical conduit. That’ll make it easier for me to pull a fourth wire.
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I also noticed that there are 2 breakers in the panel labeled GFI on the legend but they are not GFCI breakers. Just standard. I’m not sure if they made those breakers in 1980 when the house was built. There are GFCI outlets in both bathrooms. None in kitchen or garage. From an inspector standpoint I would assume I would just call it out as a defect or should it just be advised to have an electrical contractor revisit? Thanks all!
Charles, can you post a few photos of the panel?
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In that case there should have been a fourth conductor.
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