Highlights of the banquet included an incredible rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Peter Barten’s wife Sarah. She confidently belted out a melodic rendition that rivaled any other version I have ever heard. Peter just beamed with pride as his wife wowed us with her talents. Thanks again Sarah.

Bill Schwahn & Betty Buckley A.I.I.™ Chairman & Executive Director

Brent Foster was charged with keeping the program flowing. Instead of having a little red light on the podium to privately let a speaker know that he was going long, Brent used the large 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper that said “It’s Time!” The one person who was allowed all the time she wanted was Betty Buckley. Her Academy Award type speech was only to be outdone by the wonderful sparklies on her dress. She expressed love for everybody.

Thank you Betty for all that you have done for the Association. You have truly made this organization what it is today.. The Best! A.I.I. would not be the outstanding organization that it is today without your tireless efforts and commitment over the years. Thanks again for all you hard work and best wishes, and enjoy your retirement! Bill Bergstedt - S. Lake Tahoe, CA

Dear Betty, As you know I am new to AII and just getting to know you. I wanted to thank you for the refreshing way you have of openly expressing your love and appreciation for others. You are truly a breath of fresh air to AII, our industry and our common fellowship. I can see our Lord living within you. Like it or not, you are a great example to others. With Love in Christ. Jim Dobbs - Bend, Oregon

I would like to thank Betty for doing all she has for AII and me. YES she also held my hand through a few conference registrations and I highly appreciated the time she took to help and answer my questions. I am already missing you.YOU JUST GOTTA LOVE HER !!! Mark Leblanc - Oregon

I have had the pleasure of working with Betty through some stressful times when A.I.I. was at a low point...wanting to grow and prosper. She took the reins of the job with little pay and worked very hard. We all are benefiting from her work and will miss her on the other end of the phone or e-mail lines. She has helped me and offered sage advice through my time as member, committee member, committee chair, office holder, President and Board Member. She was always there and never failed to return calls or messages...like I was the most important person in her day. The work on our conferences has gotten better with each conference...the Seattle experience being the largest ever. Thank you, Betty, for all that you have done for us and I, we, wish you all the very best and hope you will grace us with visits in the future. Enjoy and our best wishes. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA

Another highlight was getting to see the wives behind the inspector.

Jim Lucas proudly showed off his jewel.	Michael Wicklund let his wife check up on the kids at home.
	Howard Main stood back and watched as his wife Amanda got all of the attention. She looked absolutely miserable, but happy.
Tommy Donovan proudly spent his time after the sessions with his true love.
	Bob Dylan and Joan Baez entertained in the lounge after the banquet.
Peter Barten with his gorgeous 3 young daughters. Mommy was busy during this photo shoot getting ready to belt out the National Anthem.
	Sarah Barten politely receiving accolades from Scott Merritt after singing.
Jim Corbin’s wife had to stay home to deal with humanitarian projects so he quickly posed with my lovely wife Shelly.
	And Jim Maass finally busted all of the myths and we learned that he really is married. How Linda puts up with him is beyond me. And if you think Jim’s “Y’all” is cute, Linda’s is absolutely adorable.... Just don’t ask her about the TV show 3 Wishes unless you have a couple of hours to laugh and cry.
Betty Buckley and her son Nathan.
The new Board of Directors

Oh yes, and then there was quality education. The Meth Lab presentation was quite eye opening...

I've got a seller that's complaining about separating the grounds and neutrals in the main panel. A fellow inspector has indicated that separating the grounds and neutrals is actually in the NEC. Of course, he's not sharing actual language with me. I think he wants me to learn how to fish. :-) Can you help me out here? I'd like to send the seller the chapter and verse if I can.

The seller tells me that if I can't find the chapter and verse, he's going to send me the bill for the repair work. I've already mentioned to him that I'm not going to pay it. This guy is a builder and he says his electrician says it's OK to double up the grounds and neutrals. I've asked him the name of his electrician because I have some electrical work I need done on my house and I want to make sure I don't use him.

Thanks for the help. Valley Bob

I reviewed my archive of emails and found this response from Jon Gudnason regarding double lugging neutrals in the Sacramento, California area...

Michael, I agree that everything in writing says not to double lug neutrals and that is sufficient justification for reporting it and an adequate defense if challenged as to why you reported it. As to the issue of another neutral carrying current and being bonded under the same terminal, I think that is irrelevant. All wires secured to any part of the bus bar are bonded together whether they are under the same lug or not. I have been led to believe the reasoning for not double lugging is that neutral wires carry the full load of current on a circuit much of the time and we do not want there to be a chance of a poor connection. Grounding wires do not carry current unless called on to in an emergency and then only for a very short time until the circuit breaker trips so the quality of the connection is not as critical. Double lugging on grounding wires - OK, double lugging on neutral conductors - not OK. Personally I do not report it. I would estimate that 60 to 70% of the panels I inspect have this condition. Clearly the AHJ does not care. Jon Gudnason - Placerville, CA

So clearly if we followed Jon's observations, then none of us would bother reporting combined neutrals. I found the same to be true in my area with homes up until about 1997. At that time some local code enforcement official must have attended a training where this was taught because the issue becomes much rarer on homes built since that time. If I find it on a newer home it is usually because the homeowner has come in to finish off the basement and has done their own wiring.

Here was my response to Jon and others observations

A.I.I.™ Members: I believe that all of you that have expressed opinions on this topic have missed the point as to why double lugging of the neutrals is a reportable condition. Given as a defense for it being a non-issue has been

• 1) There is no evidence of charring
• 2) The label says the terminal strip is rated for securing 2 12 gauge wires
• 3) The electrician says it is okay
• 4) It is done this way all the time

Also given as reasons for reporting it is because the house might burn down…. ALL OF THESE REASONS MISS THE POINT!!!

The NEC made this wrong many years ago because double lugging the neutrals is a safety risk to the person performing a repair. While performing a repair and shutting off one breaker, the breaker to the circuit from the other neutral could still be live and carrying voltage. And since electricians rarely shut off the entire system to make a circuit repair it was deemed in their best interest to make it a requirement.

Please note that the above red portion is not my opinion. It is was derived from reading the NEC commentaries and the letters from panel manufacturer‘s proposals to the NEC board “code” making committee.

I realize that some of you will fight this, and that is your own battle. Take a Square D load center and set your camera to high resolution and snap a photo of the inside direction label. Then come home and study what it says. You will be surprised to find that they prohibit two neutrals in the same hole, yet they allow up to three 14 gauge wires. The terminal strips can easily secure multiple wires and that is why we rarely see charring on the terminal strips. That is why we also say nothing when we see the ground and neutral from the same circuit secured neatly in the same slot of a main panel terminal strip. Two wires secured under a terminal strip set screw is okay. Two neutrals is not okay. Call the panel manufacturer and ask their engineers directly. Have them direct you to their official position and then share that with your sparky…. Then watch the back peddling begin.

Now I hesitate to share the following because it might muddy up the waters for the inspector that does not know the difference between a grounded conductor and a grounding conductor. I also would not sweat knowing exactly what a parallel conductor is and would not try to hang your hat on that one to justify double lugging a neutral in a residential application. We’ll leave that one for another day.

From the 2002 National Electric Code: the purple information in brackets is the NEC commentary.

408.21 Grounded Conductor Terminations.

Each grounded conductor shall terminate within the panelboard in an individual terminal that is not also used for another conductor.

>>In accordance with their listing and the requirement of 110.14(A), conductor terminations are suitable for a single conductor unless the terminal is marked or otherwise identified as suitable for more than one conductor. This requirement applies only to the termination of grounded conductors in panelboards. The use of a single termination point within a panelboard to connect more than one grounded conductor or to connect a grounded conductor and an equipment grounding conductor can be problematic when it is necessary to isolate a particular grounded conductor for testing purposes. For example, if the grounded conductors of two branch circuits were terminated at a single connection point and it was necessary to isolate one branch circuit for the purposes of troubleshooting, the fact that the circuit not being tested remains energized can create an unsafe working condition for service personnel disconnecting the grounded conductor of the circuit that is being tested. There are panelboard instructions that permit the use of a single conductor termination for more than one equipment grounding conductor. See 408.20 for the requirements on panelboard terminations for grounded and equipment grounding conductors. <<

Exception: Grounded conductors of circuits with parallel conductors shall be permitted to terminate in a single terminal if the terminal is identified for connection of more than one conductor.

GROUNDED CONDUCTOR – A system or circuit conductor that is intentionally grounded.

GROUNDING CONDUCTOR – A conductor used to connect equipment or the grounded circuit of a wiring system to a grounding electrode or electrodes.

I don’t know if it helps you at all, but it sure helped me when I asked Douglas Hansen about this and he confided that surely it is wrong, but on his list of 100 items we could make an issue of, this would be very low priority on the list. From our conversation I decided that it was something that is wrong and that I would document it on all future inspections. The reason that it is wrong is due to the safety issue it poses for a future repair person. And since it is so easy to identify I wasn’t going to let it go unreported and have another inspector come along behind me and make others wonder why I did not report it. I also do not over report it to make others feel like the house was set to burn down until the repair is made.

Hope this helps! Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah

Neutral Terminal Bars - They can have only one neutral wire (proper term “grounded conductor”) per terminal. However, they can have one, two or three grounding conductors (proper term “grounding conductors”) per terminal, depending on the size of the conductors.

TYPICAL LABEL IN PANEL - CAN YOU DECIPHER THE LAST PRAGRAPH?

There are two reasons for this. First, having more than one neutral wire on a lug makes it impossible to isolate the two circuits when working on them. It’ll be necessary to de-energize both circuits instead of one. Worse yet, if one serves a multi-wire circuit, then inadvertently disconnecting it will have the effect of putting 240 volts on each of the 120-volt halves of the circuit. The second reason has to do with the physical integrity of the connection and the build-up of heat if this connection isn’t secure. These terminals are only listed and labeled to secure a single current carrying conductor. Neutral wires are intended to carry current during normal use. The grounding conductors only carry current when there’s a problem and only for a short time so heat build-up at the terminal shouldn’t be an issue. Double tapped grounded wires (neutrals) are incorrect for exactly the same reason as double tapped ungrounded wires (hot wires) are.

In case you’re interested, UL 67 has always required the one-neutral-per-terminal rule but the NEC has only specifically articulated that requirement since 2002. (See the attached code panel log.)

Log from the NEC Code Panel, regarding the new clarifying language in the Code.

(Log #3287) 9- 113 - (384-21 (New) ): Accept

SUBMITTER: James T. Pauley, Square D Co.

RECOMMENDATION: Add a new 384-21 to read as follows:

384-21. Grounded Conductor Terminations. Each grounded conductor shall terminate within the panelboard in an individual terminal that is not also used for another conductor. Exception: Grounded conductors of circuits with parallel conductors shall be permitted to terminate in a single terminal if the terminal is identified for connection of more than one conductor.

SUBSTANTIATION: This revision is needed to coordinate the installation requirements with a long standing product standard requirement. Clause 12.3.10 of UL 67 (Panelboards) states “An individual terminal shall be provided for the connection of each branch-circuit neutral conductor.” The requirement has been enforced in the past by a close review of the manufacturers markings and by NEC 110-3(b). However, since it is a rule that specifically effects how the installer can make connections, it is important that it be in the NEC. Even with the manufacturers markings, inspectors still indicate that they see a number of panelboards installed with two (or more) branch circuit neutrals under one terminal or they see an equipment grounding conductor and neutral under the same terminal.

There is very good rationale for the requirement in the product standards. Doubling up on the neutrals creates a significant problem when the circuit needs to be isolated. In order to isolate the circuit, the branch breaker is turned off and the neutral is disconnected by removing it from the terminal. If the terminal is shared with another circuit, the connection on the other (still energized) circuit will be loosened as well. This can wreak havoc, particularly if the neutral is part of a 120/240V multi-wire branch circuit. Also, the neutral assemblies are not evaluated with doubled-up neutrals in the terminals. The connection of a neutral and equipment grounding conductor creates a similar issue. One of the objectives of the particular arrangement of bonding jumpers, neutrals and equipment grounds is to allow circuit isolation while keeping the equipment grounding conductor still connected to the grounding electrode (see UL 896A - Reference standard for Service Equipment). When the neutral is disconnected, the objective is to still have the equipment ground solidly connected to the grounding electrode. If both the neutral and grounding conductor are under the same terminal, this cannot be accomplished. This addition to the NEC does not change any product or permitted wiring arrangement from what it is today. It will however, it will help installers to avoid wiring the panel in violation of 110- 3(b) and then have to contend with a red-tag from the inspector. The code language is proposed in a fashion to allow consistent enforcement of the provision by the AHJ. Although the UL wording is adequate for the product standard, it is important that the NEC language is as clear and unambiguous as possible. This is the reason for specifically noting that the terminal cannot be used for another conductor. Furthermore, the code requirement has been worded to make sure that both branch circuit and feeder neutrals are covered since it is not uncommon to have feeder breakers as well as branch breakers in the panelboard (the issue for the neutral is the same regardless of branch or feeder). Also, the term “grounded conductor” is used to be consistent with the code terminology and to recognize that not all grounded conductors are neutrals. An exception has been proposed to avoid any confusion relative to parallel circuit arrangements. In these instances, multiple neutrals could be in a single terminal if the terminal has been identified as acceptable for multiple conductors.

PANEL ACTION: Accept.

NUMBER OF PANEL MEMBERS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE: 11

VOTE ON PANEL ACTION:

AFFIRMATIVE: 11

bus bar n. Electricity - A conducting bar that carries heavy currents to supply several electric circuits.

busbar n : an electrical conductor that makes a common connection between several circuits; "the busbar in this computer can transmit data either way between any two components of the system" [syn: bus]

buss n : the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof) [syn: kiss, osculation] v : touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.;

When I started inspecting I also misused these words. Doug Hansen is the one who straightened me out. After a flagrant stutter with my “S” key he responded... “Excellent, except it isn't a "buss" bar. The word buss means kiss, and electrical panels shouldn't have any of that kind of bussing goin' on. Just because of Bussman brand Buss fuses we get all this funny misuse of the term.” DH

When questioned, Gary Holzbauer responded... “I have never heard that there was supposed to be an "LP" in their "signature knot". The knot is just a way to identify their composite products. Gary Holzbauer - Junction City, OR