A Journey To GEM / My Big Project

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sub3marathonman
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:32 am

Re: A Journey To GEM / My Big Project

Post by sub3marathonman » Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:34 pm

This shows the CT leads arranged back inside Subpanel #2:
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The wiring was run from the terminal blocks up to the GEM. It was a relatively short run, and I just ran the wires along the previously installed conduit. I should have planned for Subpanel #2 and left an access in the conduit running there, but at the time I wasn't sure what I would be doing.
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After that, I was ready to put the cover back on the GEM!
Last edited by sub3marathonman on Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sub3marathonman
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:32 am

Re: A Journey To GEM / My Big Project

Post by sub3marathonman » Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:55 pm

OK, I really did try to keep things neat. I had CT leads enter the GEM from three separate points, depending on which panel or subpanel the circuits were on. However, with 32 circuits, and over 64 wires, it gets pretty messy. For the most part, I was able to keep the channel wiring to two per circuit, although for a couple of the 240V circuits I may have run both leads to the GEM, and on one circuit I needed to combine two channels with the CT40s from different panels, so I did the combination two wires per hole for one place on the GEM.

Here is how the GEM ended up looking:
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a very close-up view:
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The cover was finally placed, with great fanfare, upon the GEM:
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Now, yes, it sounds easy enough, but of course it didn't work out exactly like that in the real world. You see, the cover, and especially in this case, must be held on by four screws. BUT, they're not just any screws, they are microscopic screws. So I got up on the ladder, repeating the mantra "Whatever you do, just don't drop the screw." So the bottom one went in nice and easy! Up to the top (opposite side) for screw #2. So while simultaneously pressing on the cover, holding the screw and screwdriver, and lining up the holes, yes, you guessed it, I dropped the screw!! Now, looking for a needle in a haystack would have been ten times easier, as a needle is 100 times the size of the screw. And of course I had to stop holding the GEM lid on, while attached with only one screw, and grab another one I hadn't lost yet to install in the hole to keep the internal wire pressure from snapping off the GEM cover base. Then I was able to spend ten minutes looking through dust and everything else on the floor to finally see the glint of the little silver screw. And after all four screws were in, it looks fairly nice.
sub3marathonman
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:32 am

Re: A Journey To GEM / My Big Project

Post by sub3marathonman » Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:15 pm

Some of the previous photos from the main panel showing how the CT leads were routed, in conduit, to the little terminal blocks:
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Yes, Rube Goldberg would be proud! But there was an actual method I tried to follow.

With the main panel having so many circuits, I broke it into the left side and the right side, and routed the leads separately. The right side leads are routed to the far right terminal blocks visible in the photo close to the floor. That worked great, until I discovered I had forgotten one. It was so packed with all the wires that I ended up having to run that one separately back to join with the wires from Subpanel #1, but fortunately the CT lead was long enough, and I was once again thankful that Brultech saw fit to leave a good length for the leads. It also ended up, with so many circuits, that some of the leads from the right side were attached to the terminal blocks for the left side. This was done to make running the wiring to the GEM easier. I went to Lowes and looked at the wiring, and there was either telephone or sprinkler wiring, 22ga (IIRC) and grouped as ten wires, which would allow five circuits per wire. I also used the eight wire grouped too, but at some point the pricing changed and the ten wire grouping was actually cheaper per wire. The conduit for the wiring to the GEM is also visible in the photo going up parallel to the white conduit for the sprinkler system.

My cat ended up being very impressed with the whole thing :D :
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burger
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2019 1:57 pm

Re: A Journey To GEM / My Big Project - question

Post by burger » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:06 am

First - I am glad to see I am not the only one attempting a monitoring install for the first time.

Our Breaker box is mounted in a support wall in the kitchen. It is between studs that are on 16" centers. We have 14 " of space above and 36" below that are open. The box is Square D. I am currently searching for a non-metallic "Network Box" that I can use to install the GEM and DB in and recess into open space between studs.

I am a neat freak - so I am looking to "hide" everything inside the network box. So far I have not found anything in the local hardware, Home Depot or Lowes... Any suggestions?
ben
Site Admin
Posts: 4254
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:39 am

Re: A Journey To GEM / My Big Project - question

Post by ben » Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:28 am

burger wrote:First - I am glad to see I am not the only one attempting a monitoring install for the first time.

Our Breaker box is mounted in a support wall in the kitchen. It is between studs that are on 16" centers. We have 14 " of space above and 36" below that are open. The box is Square D. I am currently searching for a non-metallic "Network Box" that I can use to install the GEM and DB in and recess into open space between studs.

I am a neat freak - so I am looking to "hide" everything inside the network box. So far I have not found anything in the local hardware, Home Depot or Lowes... Any suggestions?
Look into Wiring Cabinets: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wiring+cabin ... _sb_noss_2

Keep in mind you'll probably want to fit an outlet in there too to power everything (or run a power bar into it).
Ben
Brultech Research Inc.
E: ben(at)brultech.com
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