Can panelboards be to let conduits pass through

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cppoly

Senior Member
Location
New York
Can panelboards be used to let conduits for other panels pass through them? For instance, multiple floors have panels stacked right over each other so by having a conduit pass through the panel it will line up directly with the panel on the next floor, etc.
 
Are you asking about the conductors or the metal sheath? How would one disconnect voltage to all the circuits in the panel board? How would mark the disconnects to indicate which were needed to safe the panelboard? I think you would need to tie the feed disconnects together. If the conductors remain in the metal sheath how would it bond to the panel board?

Can panelboards be used to let conduits for other panels pass through them? For instance, multiple floors have panels stacked right over each other so by having a conduit pass through the panel it will line up directly with the panel on the next floor, etc.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
You can pass conductor not associated with the panel through the panel, but need to pay attention to cross sectional area of wiring space that is used by all conductors in that space.

Disconnection of those conductors is a design issue and not a code requirement
 

mopowr steve

Senior Member
Location
NW Ohio
Occupation
Electrical contractor
Yes, they make panels just for this purpose.
I believe there called riser panels where the guts inside are shifted to one side so to allow extra room in gutter space for additional feeder conductors to pass thru up to subsequent floors when stacked above each other.
 

jap

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrician
The Op is indicating passing a "Conduit with Conductors" through a panel.
That would be a pipe running through the interior of one panel to get to another,,,,, never seen an installation where the pipe ran through a panel to feed another.

JAP>
 

jap

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrician
Is an actual conduit allowed to run through a panel to feed another? All the Literature above indicates "Conductors" not "Conduit".

JAP>
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
I don't believe the NEC prohibits a conduit going through an enclosure. However, the NEC does require conduits to be secures to the enclosure. But going through it???

At any case it will be pretty hard, more time consuming and a bad design to to try to run a conduit through an enclosure VS using the enclosure as a junction point.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
I don't believe the NEC prohibits a conduit going through an enclosure. However, the NEC does require conduits to be secures to the enclosure. But going through it???

At any case it will be pretty hard, more time consuming and a bad design to to try to run a conduit through an enclosure VS using the enclosure as a junction point.

IIRC, it uses the word termination. I don't see how a conduit passing thru a PB is being terminated so maybe it can just pass though.
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
Can panelboards be used to let conduits for other panels pass through them? For instance, multiple floors have panels stacked right over each other so by having a conduit pass through the panel it will line up directly with the panel on the next floor, etc.

Can we get a little more information on what you're dealing with?
 

cppoly

Senior Member
Location
New York
Can we get a little more information on what you're dealing with?

Working on a residential building where panels are stacked directly over each other on a floor to floor basis. So the question is do the conduits need to be bent in the slab on each floor to avoid running through the panels directly above or can multiple risers just go straight up through panels without any bends?
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
Working on a residential building where panels are stacked directly over each other on a floor to floor basis. So the question is do the conduits need to be bent in the slab on each floor to avoid running through the panels directly above or can multiple risers just go straight up through panels without any bends?

You would not have enough space to run "multiple risers" through the panels. These conduits need to be routed outside of the panel space.
 

hbendillo

Senior Member
Location
South carolina
Panelboards require wire bending space and are manufactured to provide space for the wiring that feeds and originates from the panel. I don't think they considered running conduit through the panelboards when they manufactured it. What size is this conduit?
 

Sierrasparky

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician ,contractor
Working on a residential building where panels are stacked directly over each other on a floor to floor basis. So the question is do the conduits need to be bent in the slab on each floor to avoid running through the panels directly above or can multiple risers just go straight up through panels without any bends?

If this is resi and each unit is individually metered I would think that there could be a issue with having another units metered power in the panel. If it is planned that an actual conduit pass within the interior of a panel I wouled think there is a listing problem. I have only seen the riser panels where the power is tapped for each unit.

We have not used conduit to feed individual units in years. SEC for 3 stories or less and MC for greater.
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
So far no NEC sectioned has been cited. So your only best bet is to ask your local AHJ but if they NO then make sure they give you a section that violates that installation.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
So far no NEC sectioned has been cited. So your only best bet is to ask your local AHJ but if they NO then make sure they give you a section that violates that installation.

I will cite two sections from 2014 NEC then:

312.7 Space in Enclosures.


Cabinets and cutout boxes shall have approved space to accommodate all conductors installed in them without crowding.


312.8 Switch and Overcurrent Device Enclosures with Splices, Taps, and Feed-Through Conductors.


The wiring space of enclosures for switches or overcurrent devices shall be permitted for conductors feeding through, spliced, or tapping off to other enclosures, switches, or overcurrent devices where all of the following conditions are met:


1. The total of all conductors installed at any cross section of the wiring space does not exceed 40 percent of the cross-sectional area of that space.


2. The total area of all conductors, splices, and taps installed at any cross section of the wiring space does not exceed 75 percent of the cross-sectional area of that space.


3. A warning label complying with 110.21(B) is applied to the enclosure that identifies the closest disconnecting means for any feed-through conductors.

Remember the assembly that contains the bus bars and breakers is the panelboard and a panelboard is typically installed inside a "cabinet".
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
I will cite two sections from 2014 NEC then:



Remember the assembly that contains the bus bars and breakers is the panelboard and a panelboard is typically installed inside a "cabinet".

If the conduit going through the cabinet does not violate the 40% and/or the 75% rule then it is OK?


What I am trying to say, there is no hard rule stating what the OP wants to do. At least I can't find it.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
If the conduit going through the cabinet does not violate the 40% and/or the 75% rule then it is OK?


What I am trying to say, there is no hard rule stating what the OP wants to do. At least I can't find it.
I'd say yes, may or may not be a wise design but is not a code violation IMO.

Will the engineer let you shift the panels over one stud bay on each floor?
If that can't be done maybe thicken the wall (if nobody cries about that) so the raceway's that pass thru can be run behind the panel on a particular floor, and just offset the one that needs to hit your current floor.
 
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