[bcemail]

I'm moving the disconnect for my heat pump from on my deck ledger board to in my crawl space. I have already taken it apart which is how I found out it was for the heat pump, so we have no downstairs AC!

In the box I have, at the bottom the ground wire from the power connected to a little metal strip at the bottom of the box. On the other end of the strip was a copper braid which was connected to the ground wire running to the heat pump. Everything is rusted so I'm replacing the whole box.

Will a new disconnect have a similar ground setup? Do I need to connect the disconnect box to a ground somehow? If so, how? Also, any type in particular of disconnect to buy? Wasn't sure if there were different types based on load etc.

Thanks so much!

 

[jreagan]

You moved the disconnect so that you cannot see it from the outside unit? You can't do that. You'll now have to provide a lockable disconnect so a service person can ensure the power is really disconnected and that nobody will turn it back on.

 

[bcemail]

It was under my deck so that wasn't very useful either. Should it not be in my crawl space? Or is a locking version pretty common? The disconnect is about 25 feet from the actual heat pump and around the corner of the house. Same place it was when the new heat pump was installed

 

[Jim Port]

The unit needs to be within site of the unit. It should not have been around the corner.

 

[bcemail]

Ok, I checked this morning and there is a disconnect right next to the unit. The one I removed had obviously been sitting there untouched for a long time based on the rust, dirt, etc that built up. Maybe the HVAC unit used to be there before the deck was added, who knows.

To reconnect things, should I still use a disconnect there? Seems pointless but I wasn't sure what to use in its place. The wires coming from the house appear to be a thicker gauge than the ones going from the old disconnect to the heat pump. Is there something I should use to transition from one to the other?
Thanks!

 

[Jim Port]

A weatherproof junction box could benused.

What size are the wires? It might be possible just to use wire nuts in the splice.

 

[bcemail]

I'll have to check when I get home. The smaller of the two is the typical size that I find running to outlets etc. the bigger size is just slightly larger. This probably doesn't help much! Is there a reason the smaller wires are sheathed in white and the larger in black? Wasn't sure if that indicated anything or not.
The junction box is just a housing, no connectors, right? Am I just connecting the wires with nuts then? Anything special to do with the ground wires?

 

[bcemail]

I think the write running from the old junction to the heat pump is 8 gauge as the 10 hole on my wire stripper is a little too small. Does that make sense? The wire from the house is braided with 7 stands and the total thickness is a little thicker than the 8 gauge wire.
Is it ok to just connect these together? They were connected via the old disconnect with no problem so I'm hoping its ok to connect them directly. And the new disconnect is safely in place. If it matters this hooks to a double breaker in my box
Thanks!

 

[Jim Port]

Are both conductors copper? If any are aluminum you will need special connectors.

 

[bcemail]

Just hooked everything up. Junction box didn't come with a ground screw so for now I have the ground wires just pushed through an extra hole on the back and touching the box. Will this hold fora day or so? Also one of the ground wires is a little short. Can I just use some spare wire to connect the two of them to a ground screw? Do I need a write from the ground screw to anywhere to ground things?

 

[bcemail]

Jim: everything is copper