blazenut Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I inpsected a house today that was 29 years old with a 200 amp main service. The panel did not have a main disconnect, only breakers for individual circuits. How would you word this in the report, if at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Could the power be shut off with 6 throws? Do you have a pic of the panel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazenut Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I do have a picture, but i only took one of the top of it where the main shut off should be. There were at least 10-12 total breakers. Can a main shut off be added outside of the panel? Or added to an existing panel? I forgot about the the 6 throw rule... How would you word this in a report? Click to Enlarge 16.76 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Sometimes, there's a disconnect/main breaker on the outside of the house. In this case, the panel in the house should be wired as a sub with the grounds and neutrals separated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazenut Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I didnt see any disconnect on the exterior of the home, but then again i cant say that i have ever seen one (nor do i know what one would look like). Would it be inside the meter housing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I inpsected a house today that was 29 years old with a 200 amp main service. The panel did not have a main disconnect, only breakers for individual circuits. How would you word this in the report, if at all? Was this a split bus panel? - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazenut Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ok, after doing a little more research, i think it was a split bus panel. There were 6 large breakers at the top (dryer, heat pump, stove ect...) and then a smaller void before the smaller breakers below. Then below there was a 60 amp "main disconnect" breaker in the lower section. It was a 200 amp main service. So am i correct in saying that this was a split bus system, the 6 throw rule would work for the upper section, and the bottow was protected by this 60 amp breaker that was labeled "main disconnect"? Is this ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Most clients aren't going to understand if you put that on paper. The important thing would be to show the client how to shut off the power in case of emergency. Just call it what it is, 200 amp service panel. FYI, the most common brand I run into with this design from that year is a GE and they should have no more than 6 breakers(throws) at the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ok, after doing a little more research, i think it was a split bus panel. There were 6 large breakers at the top (dryer, heat pump, stove ect...) and then a smaller void before the smaller breakers below. Then below there was a 60 amp "main disconnect" breaker in the lower section. It was a 200 amp main service. So am i correct in saying that this was a split bus system, the 6 throw rule would work for the upper section, and the bottow was protected by this 60 amp breaker that was labeled "main disconnect"? Is this ok? Your description is a little off. The "main disconnect" should have been one of the top 6 breakers in the upper section. If so, then that's a classic split bus design that every panel manufacturer out there made. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 If there are six breakers in the top split with a disconnect in the bottom split then it will take seven throws to sut off all the power. This is broken. The disconnect for the bottm split should be moved into the top split and one of the appliance circuits should be moved to the bottom split. That would fix it. I would fix it myself if it were my house, but I wouldn't advise my client to do so. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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