Grounding Electrical Meter

Good advice, I didn't think about putting a disconnect at the meter.

In the USA, the ground wire can be connected to either the meter can or the electrical box in the house but not both. The most common way is to the meter can. It is easier to drive a ground rod outside. The service to the garage being connected to the meter without a separate disconnect is not allowed by NEC. or the local utility company. A ground rod is required for the garage also.

This follows the rules for runs to a "Detached structure". Detached structures will require their own ground rod.

There are a few different types of panels. One called a main lug and one called a main breaker. Main lug panels won't won't have a breaker.

If the # of circuits, I believe is >6 you have to use a main breaker panel although you can have a 150 A breaker in that panel and have the feed be a 60 A breaker, so it just acts as a disconnect.

Right now, I can't go into sizing because you haven't described any loads.

So, your sub panel gets fed from a breaker from your house box. Breaker in the garage must be there if the number of circuits is greater than 6 (check), otherwise it's optional. It can be greater or equal to the protected feeder.

If you buy a main breaker panel and use it as a main lug panel, you will need a ground bar kit for that panel and the neutral to ground bond screw will have to be removed. Now you have 4 independent buses assuming 240. L1, L2, Ground and neutral and Ground and neutral will NOT be tied together in this panel. That means grounds to grounds and neutrals to neutrals.

All 4 wires are run back to the main panel. In the main panel ground and N will be tied together --- Usually. There are exceptions.

Then you sprinkle in a ground rod for the detached structure and attach to ground.

PS: Rule 1. Only the utility touches the meter or pulls the meter. You touch the meter -- very bad things happen.

There is no room from the main breaker panel. plus it is more convient to run the line to the garage from the outside meter. I plan on using a main breaker panel in the garage. according to our city codes #12 is okay for under 100 feet (which this will be) there will be one circuit for a garage door opener and one for a light and one outlet. Using this senario I plan on driving a ground rod exclusivly for the garage main breaker panel.

oilcan13

I think you should employ an electrician to do the work on the system for your own & everyones safety. It does not matter what you think about how things should be done, there are regulations on how work should be carried out & the standards are there for the safety of everyone. You have shown that you do not have the correct knowledge of how to do the work safely get an electrician before you get someone killed

Although I am not a licensed electrican I have been doing electrical work for the better part of the last 30 years ,albeit mostly minor work, in my remodeling trade. I do know how to work safely. That said, Your advice is not taken lightly. I know that electricity can be dangerous without proper precautions but I believe I am capable of handling this job. Thank You for Your concerns.

oilcan13

Doing minor repairs is completely different to doing work on your meter wiring & main distribution board. What you have suggested that you want to do is completely wrong/ illegal & unsafe. If you have to ask questions about doing this work you are not experienced enough to perform the work. Get a qualified electrician to at least do the work on the meter & distribution board.

"City codes require grounding of electric meter"

Does it not mean, grounding of the metal body of the meter and/or it's metal housing? Mandatory provisioning of a ground/earth for the utility is another matter.

It would be a really bad idea to connect this circuit from your garage directly to the meter.

You have a breaker panel with a main breaker. All of your load circuits should be on your side of that breaker. There should be only one connection from your meter and that would be to that main breaker.

This is to protect you from problems on the power company side of things. The power company sizes their fuse at the transformer to handle all of the customers that are serviced by that transformer. They don't always size the fuse to protect the wire that they run to your meter. An acquaintance of mine ran into that when he drilled through his utility drop. This shorted out the two lines making up 240 volts to his meter. The fuse at the transformer did not blow. The wires glowed until they melted. The only reason he didn't light something on fire was that the wires melted apart thereby opening the circuit. He was a very lucky man.

The correct way to bring power to your garage would be to add a circuit to your main panel. Since you don't have any space in your panel, you should add a separate sub panel. You must remove circuit(s) from your main panel and put a breaker there to supply this sub panel. The circuits that you've taken from the main panel can then be fed from appropriate breakers in the sub panel.

As for your meter. Don't even open it. You must assume that neutral is not grounded coming out of the meter. The meter box should be grounded, but that is your utility's responsibility.

Neutral should be connected to ground (bonded) at only one place and that is in your main panel, where your main breaker is. You must not connect neutral to ground anywhere else.

I will add that, despite your claimed experience, the fact that you want to connect directly to the meter tells me that you are not qualified to do this work. Please hire a licensed electrician.

It is legal and done many times. Connecting a disconnect at the meter and then running a line to an out building (garage) then to a breaker box with its own ground rod.

Thanks

oilcan13

I think it's just your description that is raising alarms here and you're most likely not proposing to do anything that is totally outrageous....

Just to clarify things, is there a disconnect at your meter now or not?

Normally, based on direct personal experience in 6 countries, the consumer is not permitted to touch the meter at all. The electricity supplier provides a clear point of demarcation, either a fuse or circuit breaker.

Have you got a happy snap of the meter where you are that you could share with us?

Where are you?

"It is legal and done many times"

Just because people have done it many times does not make it legal. There is never a situation where a supply is taken directly from the meter & run out to a sub board, because this will make the sub circuit live when the main switch is turned off. Every circuit is supplied after the main switch & then through a circuit breaker to protect the cable to the sub board/ breaker box.

This is true. I have since reconsidered and will run the line from a sub-panel connected to the main breaker.

Thank You

oilcan13

p.s.

I forgot to mention that work that I have done included Wiring My own shop from scratch with its own meter and service panel (100 amp service), this also included a home built phase converter for a few of My 3 phase machines. and rewiring a two apartment building that I own with new service panels. with no problems, so I guess this would be considered a little more then "minor work"

just saying not braging.

Consult a qualified electrician. Obtain a test certificate for the installation upon completion of testing.