"""""Unless you do the test with the actual wiring and fault it repeatedly to adjust everything it is NOT going to work""""" """"This is a very application dependent item, not anything a lab can do for you. """" It�s like beating a dead horse.... This will be the last time I am going to try to explain this to you because I am not getting it through to you. I guess square D, engineering firms and hospitals do this kind of thing for fun and like to spend 7, 10 or 20K on things that don't work. You are only talking in opinion. Please provide your comments with some articles that a selective coordination study is bogus from a reputable source? You say you have seen all these issues but provide not details as to the specs or conditions it was under. It�s almost an insult and as if you�re saying the engineer who performs these studies is performing a job that serves no purpose. What else are you stating that can't be duplicated at a test site???? You can get the resistance of the wire, the temp, weather conditions, motor torques, load, time ran, splice types, terminations, age etc. During the study the engineer should get plans that show your entire setup. If there is something odd then they will review that and take it further into consideration. If someone doesn't do a spice correctly that is an incorrect installation, but if you take into account the available AIC at the site and spec your breaker correctly it will open without damage. The amount of time and calcs is why it cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Let�s take one common sense note, if it�s BS then why does the code require it in certain instances? Once again the study will take into effect the amount of available current and if done correctly will match the equipment to this. You say that a lab can't duplicate the field conditions???. Some labs test some of their gear at 200% in some instances. Take a look at MGE gear and see what they do upon testing/commissioning. So if you are in the field and a splice fails or a phase to phase short and the breaker blows off the wall or does something off normal then you better start looking at who designed it or setup the settings, because in MOST (not all) cases it wasn't correctly installed to handle the fault. Please before you go any further please read the link I added. It is an example of a study and it is from cooper/bussman. Look at page 1 number two on "SHORT CIRCUIT STUDY" I do hope you understand this better and that this helps clear things up for you. """"""Ever seen conductors move under fault current? You should see power lines jumps. """"" I have a lot of experience in high voltage and yes the air can become a conductor. Where are you going with this? Here is a link that might be useful: READ THIS LINK! Example of a study and what it includes

So far so good. I have learned that ground rods are harder than I initially thought, and more difficult to drive. I got the first 4' in within about 5 minutes. After that, I could no longer pull it out of the ground, and had to go to beating it in. I have a 3lb drilling hammer, and initially I was concerned with harming the rod, so I was trying to pad it with wood as I beat it. I don't recommend this :) I put the clamp on the thing, and commenced to wetting the ground and beating on the rod. I have another 8" left but now I have to dig my trench to bury the other wires. I have a hammer drill, but for the life of me could not figure how to employ that without some special bit (which I didn't have). Anyway, back to trenching which I am not looking forward to, after which I get to run wires through the studs and stuff. My ceiling is less than 8' high, any good recommendations for lighting? Looking for the most bang for the buck, easiest maintenance, and longest life. You know, I want everything for nothing :) I am considering fluorescent or LED but haven't decided which. If I go with LED I will put cans in, but if fluorescent I will only put up outlet boxes. Unless there is something else out there to consider?

I did replace the GFCI breaker with a normal one. I added a GFCI receptacle to the left of the kitchen sink. And I found out the master bath receptacle on the wall with the light switch, feeds the kitchen receptacle to the right of the sink. So I put a GFCI in the master bath and a GFCI label on the kitchen receptacle to the right of the sink. The oddball receptacle in the master bath down by the floor, got swapped for a GFCI. And the lower bath got a GFCI as well. So the main panel is all normal breakers now. I was busy painting the garage OSB and drywall. Finally getting around to the sub panel again. Found one on Ebay for a decent price. And it had all the breakers installed. The last guy was going to use it for a sub panel but decided to go with something else. This sub panel has screw down breakers. (see photos below) So I got 50ft 6/3 w/g NM-B cable. It is still wrapped up. The current sub panel "feed" is 12/2 romex coming out of the wall just a tad under the radon exhaust pvc.(see photo) Prior owners handy work. That exit hole is right by the out wall of the house. That 12-2 feed is routed through the double rim joist into the house lower level bedroom. The joists are perpendicular to that wall and run straight back to the utility room which has an open ceiling. The rest of the lower level is dropped ceiling tiles. The 12-2 feeder was routed diagonally across that lower room through all the 2x12 joists, across the doorway, and where the stairs are, and then 90 degrees to the right into the room with the main panel. In routing it, it was snaked through holes being used for other larger cables. I have my doubts about being able to route 6/3 through the same path. Many of those holes are going up on an angle. So I probably will wind up drilling new holes in the joists to run the 6/3. Another option presented itself today as far as the exit hole into the garage for the 6/3 feed. I removed the hose biib connection that was in the garage. See photo where drywall needs to be patched. (The hose biib was left there after the garage was put on. That wall was formerly the front of the house.) So that hose biib hole is closer to the main panel by a good 11 feet. The hole size is just under 1 inch. If I route the 6/3 cable through that spot, it would require less drilling of joists. But it would require me to run the cable to the right along the garage wall to get to the new sub panel. I have not decided if I am going to mount it just above the radon pipe in the corner, or the adjacent wall. They are both outside walls of the garage. So the question then is, if I route the 6/3 along the wall, can I enclose it in some leftover schedule 40 pvc conduit I have for protection? It would be about 51 inches off the floor and head to the right about 12 feet. Or do I need a different cable altogether since it is in a damp location? New sub panel Screw down breakers The romex with the horse shoe loop is the current sub panel feed New panel will mount either above the radon pipe exit on the right, or on the adjacent wall. Current sub panel up high to the right of door Former hose biib location. Can route 6/3 through the hole and save a lot of joist hole drilling versus the current 12-2 feed exit location.

Just a note about the ampacity of #6 wire... While it's quite commonly used for nominal "60-amp subpanels", 6/3 NM is actually rated for only 55 amps. The so-called "roundup rule" permits a 60-amp breaker. If you start with 55 amps and figure the load demand for the heater at nearly 16 amps (1500W / 120 X 1.25 = 15.625), that leaves roughly 39 amps for the welder, and with two resistive loads on the panel, there's not much room to discount for diversity when both heater and welder are in use. As a practical matter, your might be OK with your original proposal since a welder requiring a 50-amp circuit is unlikely to draw a full 50-amps for sustained periods. (That's almost got to be true of a welder with a duty cycle as low as 20%!) Nevertheless, this sounds to me like a situation where the reasoned, conservative approach would be to bump up to #4AWG, in which case you could comfortably accommodate sustained loads at the full 60 amps or, better still, use a 70-amp breaker. The difference in wire size would surely add to the cost, but I wouldn't allow the fact that you already have an unused 60-amp breaker to drive the solution. The cost of a new two-pole breaker is pretty modest in the scheme of things. (The price of the wire is a different matter, depending on the length of the run.)