Pulling The Power Line and Planning Panel’s location

              Before you can pull your lines into the panel you need to know where the panel will be located. You also need to know the demand the unit’s appliances and usage will place on the panel before you can determine the size of panel, you’ll need to avoid overloading the system.  You must know and adhere to your local codes and many times you must have a licensed or certified electrician to work under on the project if you are not one yourself.  Choosing the location for the panel many times has been determined and located in the plans. These places are usually not in closets, they are free of moisture, have good air flow, and are easily reached.  At good workable heights. (Maximum breakers heights often determines the height of these panels.) Choosing the proper location for the panel will help if you ever need future upgrades, but it will also make normal use and maintenance easier.

            The project which I am building requires both underground and through the unit conduit instillation. I need to walk and plan my pulls because you cannot pull through more than three nighty degree bends. Therefore, I need to place pull boxes in places (such as under the counter) so I could pull the run. When shopping for materials do not forget the lube for pulling wires and do not get the small bottles. While pulling the wire be generous with the lube.

To be able to pull the line I tied a small piece of clothe onto a construction string line and blew it through the conduit. Many times, these can be sucked through by a shop-vac.

Once the string can through, I tie it to the rope I would be pulling the lines with. When ever possible tape the lines together but stagger the starting points to make the pull easier. Tie and over tape the line or lines to the rope and have one person lubing the line as they keep the kinks out and help by pushing as the other pulls the lines through. Continue this process until you have your lines through and leave the rope in the conduit for future pulls. The boxes lids will need to be off during the rough electrical inspection to show connections if any or the lack thereof.

The conduit needs to be strapped to prevent movement and the edges need to be de-burred where the boxes come together. The ground wire’s needs to be stapled or secured with in six inches of entering the conduit and the panel. When installing your panel think of the lines you’ll need to run and make sure you have enough knock outs to provide you access to the panel. Walk your conduit and insure it is strapped firmly into place so that it cannot come into contact with other obstacles running through the wall and joist cavities. When you pull your wires, it is wise to leave an expansion loop in the lines whenever possible or slack in the line when it is not.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.