Jim Port

Neither are required by the NEC. The furnace is not cord and plug connected is it?

The 1/4" gap is built into the panel. They have raised bumps to provide the gap.

Marc, Both types of cables mentioned in my post are service entrance. SE-U is as shown by Mr. Kenney. SE-R has 3 or more insulated conductors and a non-concentric bare grounding conductors. It is commonly used to feed subpanels.

The NEC requires a bond to the satellite dish from the GEC.

If I were to guess I would say the SER is feeding the disconnect and the SE is feeding the panel. Maybe someone had some leftover SER and used it instead of SE-U cable.

Since you should not be working on energized equipment there is no need to have take wrapped around a device so it can be safely removed or installed in the box. A properly installed wire nut should not need to to help keep it on. It tape is needed someone needs to learn how to install a wire nut.

From the Windsor Fire site. A smoke alarm is an all-in-one, self-contained device, with a detector, which senses the products of combustion (smoke) and sounds an audible, and sometimes visual warning or alarm. Smoke alarms are widely used in residential settings. Put simply, a smoke alarm detects smoke and sounds an alarm. A smoke detector is strictly a sensing device only, which senses the products of combustion (smoke) and sends a signal to a building?s fire alarm system to activate an audible, and sometimes visual warning or alarm. Smoke detectors must be connected to a building?s fire alarm system and are NOT a stand-alone unit. Put simply, a smoke detector senses smoke only and must be connected to a fire alarm system control panel. Smoke detectors are a detection device only ? not an alarm. http://www.usfa.fema.gov/campaigns/smok ... index.shtm

Also a note that there is a difference between a smoke alarm which most houses should have and a smoke detector. They are not the same.

Is that a 4 wire feed? If so it should not be bonded. If it is a 4 wire feeder there look to be neutrals on the left bus along with the jumper between the buses.

The transformer is not allowing the 130 volts. The circuit has lost the reference point caused be the failing neutral.

Garry, how would a failing breaker allow the voltage to rise on one leg or drop on the other?

A neutral being used for more than one circuit is being shared. In 3 phase systems you can have one neutral for 3 hot legs. In a single phase system like a house you would only have the two hots sharing the neutral. If two cables were run from the panel, but were only using one breaker to supply the circuit, the neutral is not being shared. In that case the breaker panel is the same as a junction box.

While it is certainly a mess, that installation like on the right panel is allowed with the conduit sleeve. There are conditions like draft stopping, a fitting at the top and cables being secured also.

There are breaker locks made specifically for this purpose.

From 250.53 (G) Rod and Pipe Electrodes. The electrode shall be installed such that at least 2.44 m (8 ft) of length is in contact with the soil. It shall be driven to a depth of not less than 2.44 m (8 ft) except that, where rock bottom is encountered, the electrode shall be driven at an oblique angle not to exceed 45 degrees from the vertical or, where rock bottom is encountered at an angle up to 45 degrees, the electrode shall be permitted to be buried in a trench that is at least 750 mm (30 in.) deep. The upper end of the electrode shall be flush with or below ground level unless the aboveground end and the grounding electrode conductor attachment are protected against physical damage as specified in 250.10.

Marc, in the picture shown there is a code violation. The rod is not in contact with the soil for 8', unless it is a 10' rod. The problem with the 10' rod would be that the top of the rod is supposed to be flush or below the surface. Even if the top of an 8' rod were flush with the slab, it does not have the contact length with the soil for whatever the thickness of the slab would be.

A loop in the panel would have been in a conductor, not the cable that 338.24 applies to.

I encourage you to drop the bit about how refrigerators "should not" be on GFCI circuits. There's no such rule. I also wish that people would stop referring to nuisance tripping with regard to GFCIs. Modern GFCIs are pretty reliable things. When they trip, it's almost always for a good reason. Even if you ignore those two points, there's no need to put the fridge on a separate circuit. They can just wire the existing circuit so that the GFCI protection doesn't extend to the fridge. X2 Also a side note that refrigerators in commercial kitchens require GFI protection.

Since the neutral is bonded to the ground in a service panel the ground would not show a high resistance compared to the neutral.

The cable is required to be marked at regular intervals. With as much cable as I see there should have been several markings that were visible. The grounding conductor is bare so it takes up less space.

I scanned the article but did not see anything about the CH breakers and a problem with them. Would you be so kind as to direct me to that section of the article? Thanks,

I saw the intended humor Bill, I was just noting that the label was incorrect as well as damaged.

A metal water line that has been changed over to plastic would not require grounding or bonding. The NEC says metallic systems need to be bonded. Only if the metal water line was 10' or more in direct soil contact could it be considered an electrode and could be used for grounding. It would still require a supplemental electrode such as a rod. The neutral is only bonded to ground at the first means of disconnect.

NEC 2011 406.4(D). A similar requirement was also in previous editions with some differences like the AFCI section. Too long to post here.

The NEC requires GFI or ACFI protection be installed to the current requirements if the receptacle is replaced.