How do I splice a "Grounding Electrode Conductor" from the breaker panel?

[Guv Bob]

You know it might be a good idea to have a couple of licensed electricians stop by separately and give you their opinion about this.

[mike]

stop by separately and give you their opinion about this.

Second opinion is not required. The system sucks.

Back in the day, the whole city was done this way. There really is no service disconnect. You have to pull the meter to disconnect the power.

I've got five breakers hooked directly to the grid. And a bunch of breakers downstream of one (pair) of them for the circuits/outlets in the house.

AFAIK, the first current limit is on the other side of the utility transformer.

[bob haller]

ans stop by separately and give you their opinion about this.

replace the meter can with one that includes a main breaker....

[trader4]

ans stop by separately and give you their opinion about this.

It's hard to imagine such a thing could have been installed and passed inspection in 72. What kind of breaker panel is this that has no main disconnect breaker?

[bud--]

That used to be a fairly common scheme called a "split bus" panel. There can be up to 6 service disconnects grouped together. You have 5. A split bus panel had a bus connected to the service wires for the service disconnects and a bus connected to one of the service disconnects. To disconnect the power with a split bus panel you have to switch up to 6 disconnects instead of one.

Which as you know doesn't provide much protection for you. But that is the way all services work. What is uncommon with your service is that the service wires go a significant distance inside the house. The code allows them to run outside but wants minimal distance inside.

[gfretwell]

stop by separately and give you their opinion about this.

As long as you only had 6 or fewer breakers it met the code.

[bud--]

That used to be a fairly common scheme called a "split bus" panel. There can be up to 6 service disconnects grouped together. You have 5. A split bus panel had a bus connected to the service wires for the service disconnects and a bus connected to one of the service disconnects. To disconnect the power with a split bus panel you have to switch up to 6 disconnects instead of one.

Which as you know doesn't provide much protection for you. But that is the way all services work. What is uncommon with your service is that the service wires go a significant distance inside the house. The code allows them to run outside but wants minimal distance inside.

[seangn007]

Irreversible butt splice is usually a large copper butt splice that needs a special tool to crimp check local electrical supplier, exothermic weld is is more complicated and costly, it uses gunpowder to weld the copper togeth er, you might need a licence to purchase so I would say that is not an opti on.

[Paintedcow]

I did not see the start of this thread, but if you're trying to connect a bare copper wire that's probably a solid #6 or #8 gauge wire, just buy an appropriate sized SPLIT BOLT from an electrical supply store or larger hardware store. Slip the wire ends into it, and tighten the bolt on it. Real simple. I would not suggest doing this underground though.

[gfretwell]

Not on a grounding electrode conductor. They must be unspliced with the 2 exceptions the OP cited. They do sell a one shot exothermic splice but it is not cheap. Otherwise you need the big crimper or a set of Cadweld dies. For most people it is easier to run a new wire the whole way

[mike]

I replaced the water main with plastic and needed a new ground for the electrical system. I didn't feel comfortable trying to snake a bare wire down past the service entrance into the box. I went to the inspector's office and asked about the no-splice requirement. He said, "no problem, splice onto the existing wire." Passed inspection without a hitch. YMMV.

[gfretwell]

I suppose there are inspectors who do not care about the code. There is a loophole (90.4) that keeps them from being liable ... unless someone is injured. Then there will be no problem finding a lawyer who will allege gross negligence that pierces sovereign immunity and loopholes in the code.

[Paintedcow]

Either that code did not exist around 12 years ago, or there are exceptions. Around 12 years ago, I worked for a friend who moved and set prefab homes on their foundations. They came from the factory with all the wiring, plumbing, installed. Those that came in halves or more pieces had specific places where the wiring was plugged together between the halves of the building. We had to move the house to the location, set it in the foundation, connect the halves (or more) together, install all supports, cap the roof shingles, plug in all the places where the wiring had plugs, and sometimes connect some plumbing.

When we finished, an electrician hooked to the power line at a special connection panel in the basement, or on the smaller units that did not get a basement, it hooked up under the building. Split bolts were used almost all the time to connect the bare copper grounding wire that was pre-installed in the home, to the wire they ran to the grounding rods that they installed.

After the inspectors checked everything, we came back and attached the pre-cut trim to all places where there were joints between the different parts of the building, which covered all the wiring plug connectors and so on....

[gfretwell]

It has been in the code at least 48 years, the oldest book I have

[Tekkie®]

[e-mail] posted for all of us...

You should have realized by now that most of the stuff you do does not pass muster.