Author Topic: 1 awg wire too big for disconnect terminals  (Read 2258 times)

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SolarFlare

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1 awg wire too big for disconnect terminals
« on: September 01, 2013, 07:06:54 PM »
I used 1 awg wire to reduce voltage drop from my combiner box to my disconnect switch on my house. My panels are not mounted on my house, so I need a disconnect. The terminals in my Siemens 3 pole 60 AMP disconnect only handle down to size 3 awg. Are there adapters that can be used and still meet NEC 2008 code?

Thanks~! : )

Frank S

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Re: 1 awg wire too big for disconnect terminals
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2013, 03:21:01 AM »
Any electrical contractor supply house should have those
 I wired  one of my shops up many years ago and ran 2 500 MCM cables from the meter base to separate Mains panels the meter base could only handle 1 350MCM cable. I machined  the adapter from nothing more than a brass block with 2 holes bored in it for the cables with 2 set screws holes cross drilled to secure the cables the block was machined round on 1 end the size of the hole in the meter base the City electrical inspector thought it was purchased from a supply house He was also a EE and said he had bought many just like them in the past
 What you need would resemble the pin connectors used on welding cables
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SolarFlare

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Re: 1 awg wire too big for disconnect terminals
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2013, 07:57:48 AM »
Any electrical contractor supply house should have those
 I wired  one of my shops up many years ago and ran 2 500 MCM cables from the meter base to separate Mains panels the meter base could only handle 1 350MCM cable. I machined  the adapter from nothing more than a brass block with 2 holes bored in it for the cables with 2 set screws holes cross drilled to secure the cables the block was machined round on 1 end the size of the hole in the meter base the City electrical inspector thought it was purchased from a supply house He was also a EE and said he had bought many just like them in the past
 What you need would resemble the pin connectors used on welding cables
Thanks! This is unfamiliar territory to me.

XeonPony

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Re: 1 awg wire too big for disconnect terminals
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2013, 09:51:51 AM »
sort of the same thing, I just machined a whole new terminal bolt down for the panel.

any good parts ware hous will have what you need, some prettier then others.  if you solder the end of the cable and then widdle down the tip to fit the full bore of the switch that will be acceptable as well, just not as pretty as a machined adapter.
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