Upgrading Electrical Service

[Anonymous]

Posted by: Rob Kieser (old forum transfer)
Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2002 10:48 am

I am in the middle of upgrading the electrical service in my house (which I just bought) from 60 amps to 200 amps. I have the meterbase and panel box up and it passed inspection and is ready to be connected. After the power company switches the electric over to my new box can I take my old entrance cable and run it from my new panel box on a 60 amp circuit breaker to power my old fuse box until I have time to rewire different protions of the house?
Also what are the calculations I need to do to figure the size circuit breakers I need in my new circuits when I start to rewire.

[Anonymous]

Posted by: Wgoodrich
Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2002 1:17 pm

You would be allowed to supply power to your old service box from a breaker in you new service box as a temporary wiring use for a limit of 90 days only. By then you will either have to wire you old panel as a sub panel using the breaker and a four wire 6 awg cable containing two hots, one neutral, and one equipment grounding conductor. YOu will then have to isolate all the white neutral conductor on a neutral bar isolated from teh metal of you old panel box and also from any grounding bar or any bare or green equipment grounding conductor. Then you have adapted the old service box to a sub panel and may use this coverted sub panel as long as you need.

That last question you asked is a very big question.

Below is a link to our wiring a dwelling chapter under the 2002 NEC version of our two books of our web site. Read that entire article and it should help you to design you new wiring system. When installing new wire you must meet the newest version of the NEC. When you have an existing wiring system that was wired years ago and is still in a safe condition and has been left untouched other than minor repairs then that existing wiring is considered existing and controlled by the then version of the NEC it was originally installed and approved under.

Read the entire article before you make up your mind on any new wiring designs in your home. It should update you to the new rules that would apply and provide pictures that may help you.

http://www.homewiringandmore.com/homewiringusa/2002/maindwelling/newdwel/newdwel.html

Let us know how you come out

Wg