A 320-amp residential meter feeds 2 150-amp service panels with 2 piecse of 2/0 SEU.
At the meter, each SEU is connected as Black=L1 and Red=L2. At the main CBs, each are connected as Red=L1 and Black=L2.
Although this seems OK, it just doesn't sit well with me.
On the other hand, it doesnt seem any different than randomly connecting a 240-volt load with no consideration to polarity.

I can't see it being a problem. At least there's still consistency between the two panels, i.e. L1 in one panel is on the same leg of the supply as L1 in the other panel.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 02-02-2006).]

It's okay to swap the supply legs if the receptacles are ground up.

-Jon

Don't you mean if they're ground down?

{Runs for cover.....}


Not that this would affect your specific case, but thinking about it some more, it seems that in the past such a random connection would not have been to code. From the 1971 NEC:


So presumably at that time, if you had black and red on the incoming feeder to the panel, you would then be required to match up your blacks and reds correspondingly on 240V branch circuits.

There seems to be no equivalent stipulation in the '02 NEC. In fact I can't even see anything which suggests matching colors on 3-phase anymore. Does that mean that however confusing it might be, it would now be to code to use black/red/blue for A/B/C at one point and then switch to blue/black/red or some other order elsewhere?

I would say it makes no real differece. I would keep L1 to L1 and L2 to L2 just for workmanship. Because the two are not what I would consider truely phased in the commercial sence they are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. The phasing is generated by the transformer not the utility. So in reality switching them would pose no issue in residential applications.

I would change them to be all the same straight through. Down the line, if someone has to troubleshoot they could be cursing your name.