I'm running new 12 gauge wire . All ceiling lights are connected to old black conduit or metal pipes. All of the receptacles appear to be connected with very old bx. There are no ground wires. Now in my main panel there is only one bus bar where only the neutral wires are connected. I want to run bx for all the receptacles and use the old black conduit for the lights. Now can I connect the green ground wire to the bus bar where the neutral wires are connected?

Yes

Chuck

It's not that easy.

Is this the main panel (which has the MAIN breaker in it), or is this a sub-panel?

Is this a house that you own, or an apartment?
Where are you located?

It's not that easy.

Is this the main panel (which has the MAIN breaker in it), or is this a sub-panel?

Is this a house that you own, or an apartment?
Where are you located?

This is the main panel with the main breaker that is being fed from the electric meter. This is not a sub-panel. This is a house that has a basement, 1st floor, and 2nd floor with bedrooms and washroom. I live in Chicago IL. Um by the way, does it matter if its an apartment or house?

Thanks you much

In a main panel the grounds and neutral occupy the same bar(s).
You can add on an additional ground bar but it must only be used for grounds.




Um by the way, does it matter if its an apartment or house?

If you are asking why, the reason is an apartment building is a multi-family dwelling. Typically you must be licensed and insured, and qualified, to work in a multi-family dwelling.

If you screw something up in your own house you and your family could die.
If you screw something up in a multi-family dwelling potentially dozens to hundreds of people could die, be hurt or lose their homes.

In a main panel the grounds and neutral occupy the same bar(s).
You can add on an additional ground bar but it must only be used for grounds.



If you are asking why, the reason is an apartment building is a multi-family dwelling. Typically you must be licensed and insured, and qualified, to work in a multi-family dwelling.

If you screw something up in your own house you and your family could die.
If you screw something up in a multi-family dwelling potentially dozens to hundreds of people could die, be hurt or lose their homes.


Well I just got of the phone with an electrical supply store and it turns out that the breakers I was looking to buy cost 32.99 each. HOLY COW! That's a lot of dough for one breaker. The current breaker panel is a Wadsworth. Apparently these are very old so it's cheaper I think to just replace the panel with a new one. The main breaker is a 100 amp. Breaker and I'm thinking of going with a 200 amp panel. Any suggestions?:confused:

Is this your house? If not have u checked with owner to see if it's all right by him/her to do this work.

A licensed electrician must do this work and the main breaker can be no larger then 100 amps. To install a larger main breaker u will have to have to feed wire increased in size to accommodate it.

Chuck

David. Sorry about your obsolete panel. If this is your home (you own) it may be wise to invest in a new service. It's going to be costly, whether you have someone do it or you do it yourself. But those breakers, although still available are quite costly. You are going to need the POCO and the city involved if you are planning a service change, since there will need to be changes made in the entrance cabling provided by the POCO.
A new service will give you a lot of room for changes and give you some flexibility in future projects. But it won't be cheap... especially in Cook county.