Evaluation - Initial Consultation

Sometimes all you need it to talk through where your electrical infrastructure is at. A review of past work and confirmation the system is in fine working order.

Initial consultation fee $150. Skype or phone with shared photos.

A technical assessment of where you are at is necessary to understand what gains, if any, can be had with additional modifications to the infrastructure. Sometimes piece of mind is all that is needed.

A first call can transition into an intake getting one step closer to project initiation. From this point a recommendation of services can be offered. A scope and proposal outlining a variety of solutions to meet the allocated budget. All consideration will be given to initial evaluation fees and further design service and or material fees.

Example of initial options letters after submission of images of project.

Here is what I see.

The meter outside is underground feed.  The socket is 200A and has a 200A meter.. I would say the utility is bringing 200A to the house.  It's probably aluminum wire in the earth, but you're not going to get that changed.

Panels

You have a panel that has to be removed and replaced.  It is pretty burned up.  It's only 100A.  Since the meter is 200A, you should be able to land a 200A panel without any issues or alterations by the utility.  Talk more with your contractor.. You have 2 rooms with audio.  One for recording and one for listening.

You could use a contractor Sq D QO Loadceter or one of my Sq D NQ panelboards.  My website explains the difference.

A Sq D NQ panel thoroughly cleaned with Main Breaker is $3800 plus breakers and spd. Without main breaker as MLO is $1995. Breakers for audio are AFCI snap on QO.  $75 each. A SPD is $200.

Your contractor will probably want to make the rest of the house breakers AFCI, but he may not have to.  It depends on the local codes and if he wants to make you use them. If he is doing the work and not pulling a permit, he may not make you.  A non AFCI breaker is more like $15 each.  Instead of $75.  Plus any mark up he has. If you put a nice NQ panel in, I would want to go to the outside of the house and bring 2/0 copper wire from the meter inside.  That means cutting the tag.  Honestly, with either panel option, you should pull the meter to do the work and use 2/0 wire.  It is far more safe.  Your pulling the meter, the wire is about 7 feet.  Change the wire. 

Not sure if pulling the meter will mean he wants to get a permit or not.  I don't know how vigilant your city/utility is. If you get a permit, this may be a place where you end up having to use AFCI on all circuits in he house.   Just a consideration. FWIW, Even a new panel of contractor quality, I would put a minimum 30 space 200A main breaker panel in.  So you're sort of in the same boat either way.  Just one panel's base price is $350 and the other is $3800.  Plus your Breakers and SPD.

A consideration is a NQ panel is 20" wide.  It takes more space in the wall.  Its also very tall.  About 48" tall. If MLO its 32” tall.  The walls need to be 2x6 construction to hold a NQ panel. The panel is 6" deep.   A contractor QO panel can be in a 2x4 wall. The difference between a QO and NQ panel is a light lifting of veil.  It's pretty subtle.  But worthwhile if you want the lowest noise floor possible.

Isolation Transformer

A Torus wall mounted isolation transformer is 21 inches wide and 11 inches deep.  And they go on the surface of the wall.  So you would have an 11 inch deep enclosure that is 21 wide by 26 tall on the surface of the wall.

A WM45BAL is $6999 plus $750 for 3 x AFCI output breakers.  If you electrician is ok without AFCI, then it's $6999.

I personally find a WM45BAL gives a more notable sonic improvement than an all copper NQ panelboard.  The WM45BAL is an excellent filter.  It is a great isolation from a lot of street noise.  It blocks RF and DC from the utility.  If the branches are too long. Noise can creep back in.  Keep the run under 40 feet.

Torus isolation transformers are very good with amplifiers in a listening environment.  If you're only dealing with front end gear for say recording, a Shunyate or Audio Quest on the rack can also work.  They are going to voice differently, and may be more costly than the isolation transformer.   They are on a rack which can be nice.  But you can not feed 2 rooms with 1 unit like a wall mount transformer in the basement can.  You can get a rack mount isolation transformer too,  It could sit on your floor somewhere.  A RM20 is $3999.  It would work fantastic in your tape transfer room.

Those are my basic thoughts and considerations. 

If you only wanted consulting I would ask for $500 from start to finish.  I advise on what contractor panel to get.  How to get the branches landed in a panel properly.  How to bring the branches to the room and how to land the boxes and duplex.  Also how to ensure you have a good ground and how it lands in the panel. I am available to answer any questions and get on the phone with the contractor as needed.

If you got a panel or transformer I would reduce the consulting to $200.  If you got both, I would waive all consulting.  

Let me know if you have questions.

Rex 

Example of Scope Letter

General Scope Overview:

1. Properly ground the main service at back of garage..

2. Relocate the GE (rod) for the main service and extend the GEC to the new GE rod location.  Use a new rod and wire.  

3. Land the new GEC next to the SSBJ  in the gutter. 

4. Relocate EGC termination for CB F to a location next to the GEC next to the SSBJ.  These 3 should be right next to each other.   

5. Locate where the HWT bond wire is landed in the gutter.  It needs to be on one of the copper ground bars.  If it is not, get a bonding conductor from the copper pipe to the ground bar in the gutter. 

6. In the gutter, confirm there is no voltage or ampacity on the copper water piping system.  Test for micro amps and micro volts.

7. Rework the feeder to panel F in the main service.  Tap from primary service at generator transfer switch.

8. Apply option 1 and add a subpanel F.

9. Apply option 2, no subpanel.

10. Move UPS power feed from panel F to panel G or E

11. Mount a Torus 9 KVA wall mount transformer on wall in server room.. 233 LBS

12. Feed transformer from panel F (Option 2) or F1 (Option 1).

Details:

Service Grounding

There are 2 ground rods under the gutter at the service.  One is the GEC for the service.  It reads between 350 and 600 ohms.  I can pull the rod from the ground. There is another ground under the gutter coming out from the bottom of the brick  wall. We don’t know what this is too.

Provide a new grounding electrode GE (rod) and GEC.  Install the new GE at least 10 feet from the generator ground. The generator ground is 2 ohms.   Maybe place it towards the fence where the utility power pole is.  It needs to be out from under the roof overhang.

If the utility power pole has a transformer with a ground to earth at the bottom of the pole, the new ground rod will need to be located towards the yard.  Again, 10 feet from the utility power pole ground and/or generator ground and out from under the garage roof overhang.  It needs to remain in moist soil.  At least to the far left of the transfer switch pad.

Land the new GEC connected to the new GE rod inside the gutter per image 04.  It needs to be next to the SSBJ lug termination.  The SBJJ being the ground wire from the 600A fused disconnect neutral/ground bond point.  Also take the ground coming out from the wall under the gutter, butt splice an extension and take it to the new ground rod.  Or, run the main grounding electrode conductor past the ground from the wall and C crimp the one from the wall to the GEC.  The GEC is to remain unspliced from termination bar to rod.  

Spray all wire terminations with Caig Deoxit GN5S.2N provided by Kingrex Electric.  At the ground rod connections especially.  Liquid tape over the connection at the rod and C tap. Spray all exposed copper to aluminum terminations in the main disconnect, gutter, transfer switch and fused disconnects with Deoxit.

See Images 01, 02, 03, 04.

Test the ground connected to the water system for mV and current. Locate and land the GEC bonding the cold water to the same ground bar the SSBJ is attached to.  Put an amp meter around the GEC from the cold water at the connection to the ground bar in the gutter.  Use a quality amp probe that can measure fractions of an amp.  Break the ground connection  from the cold water to the ground bar in the gutter.  Put a meter between the two and test for any Mili Volt.  Use a True RMS meter. 

Note any ampacity and voltage.

Extra: If amps or volts are present, begin a process of elimination to determine what is leaking voltage.  This will require individually opening disconnects to the house panels.  From there opening CB to individual branch circuits.

Is the cold water bonded to earth anywhere in the home,  garage or yard allowing a ground loop of nuisance voltage to travel.  Maybe a plumber could investigate this.

Service:

The entire main service is on a generator.  We want to take the audio equipment (Panel F) off the generator feed. CB Switch F is the disconnect we want to focus on. Confirm CB F feeds panel F in the main home upstairs utility room. Install a nipple between the generator transfer switch can and gutter to route cables from a new feeder tap from the service wires to panel F, bypassing the generator switch. Remove the phase and neutral wires feeding disconnect switch F from the splice blocks in the gutter. Refeed panel F by tapping the primary side of the service wires inside the generator transfer switch.  There are 2 extra wire spaces per lug set.  Use these empty spaces. Change the neutral too.  Don’t pull it off the tap blocks in the gutter.  Go to the utility neutral termination blocks in the generator transfer switch.  Use all copper wire THHN/XHWN  3/0 or larger. Spray the wire terminations with Caig Deoxit GN5S.2N provided by Kingrex Electric.

See Images 05, 06, 07, 08.

Feeders:

The feeder to panel F is routed up a wall on the front side of the house inside the crawl space surrounding the upstairs utility room. The feeder wire is looped back along the wall, then brought forward and around the corner.  There is a large amount of spare wire from this loop.

Option 1 Subpanel:

Remove the feeder from panel F, pull the loop out from its current location and use the extra wire to bring the feeder to a new panel (By Kingrex Electric) that will be placed next to the access door to the crawl space in the utility room.  Label the new Panel F, and relabel the old panel F to F1. From the new panel F, run a feeder wire back to the original panel now labeled F1. Inside the old panel F1 was a 50A x 2 poll branch breaker on spaces 6/8 that feeds the UPS next to panel F1 in the utility closet.  Move that branch to panel G or E.  It needs to remain on a panel that is fed by the generator. Technically the new location for panel F may not have 6”6” headroom.  If the project is to be permitted, get the location approved ahead of installation.  I am not picky about the location of the new panel.  My only stipulation is the feeder wire not be broken and spliced.  

See Images 09, 10.

Torus Transformer

A Torus wall mount isolation transformer (By Kingrex Electric) to be landed on the wall to the right of the access door to the utility room. The transformer is rated for 100A.  The input is 2 x 45 amp.   The Torus transformer will be fed from the new panel F. Use the 2 poll 50 amp CB provided in the panel. Use #4 copper NM-B from Panel F to the transformer.  Do not use copper SER.  I want the solid #8 ground in NM-B. The location of the Torus transformer is critical.  I want it on the wall to the theater room to the right of the access door of the room.  I want the branch wires to the audio equipment location to be 20’ to 40’ in length.  Not longer than 40 feet. 

I am fine with the panel and the transformer being next to each other.  Try and maintain 8 inches space between them. The subpanel F can be surface mounted to better attach to the Torus if needed.  

Option 2:  An acceptable method for the project would be to eliminate the new Subpanel F.  I find eliminating aluminum and tin connections improves audio performance.  The existing  panel F, Square D QO panel has both.  Installing an all copper panel will provide a small performance gain.  It is not dramatic.  The Torus transformer will provide a fairly significant gain in noise reduction and increase in dynamics.  If the existing panel F is to remain and no subpanel is added:

The feed to the UPS in existing panel F will need to be relocated.  Inside the existing panel F is a 50A x 2 poll branch breaker on spaces 6/8 that feeds the UPS next to panel F in the utility closet.  Move that branch to panel G or E.  It needs to remain on a panel that is fed by the generator. The Torus transformer will be fed by the existing panel F that is no longer fed by the generator.   Install a 2 poll 50 amp CB in the panel F, spaces 1,3 to feed the new Torus transformer.  Use #4 copper NM-B from Panel F to the Torus transformer.  Do not use copper SER.  I want the solid #8 ground in NM-B.

I am critical of the location of the Torus panel.  I want it on the wall to the theater room, right of the door to the utility room.  I want the branch wires to the audio equipment location to be 20’ to 40’ in length.  Not longer than 40 feet.