20 year old Murray 200A panel

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T

The new guy

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electrician
I have encountered an old Murray LC240pc 200A panel with an overheated bus. The 15KW heat unit was bad and melted the breakers. The unit has been fixed but the bus has become soft and now you cannot snap in a new breaker without bending the terminals over and needs to be replaced. I would like to replace the interior without having to tear out the can. Does anyone know of an interior (Murray or Siemens) that will fit in this panel can?
 
I have replaced the "guts" on a few Murray panels. Usually all I have to do is re-drill the holes for the cover/door. The center holes usually line up but the top/bottom holes don't.
You may need to measure everything and look up a new Siemens or Murray panel and get the specs on it to see if it will fit.
 
I have always wondered when you replace the guts of the panel, doesn't that in itself violate the UL approval of that panel ?
 
Thank you for your reply. The mounting posts for the guts have the slide lock clips and if they don't line up with a newer interior can i drill and tap the can to fit the new?
 
Little Bill said:
No, the panel is the "guts", the can is just a can.
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I have never done that, always replaced the old panel with a new one.
In my experience the old panel didn't have the wiring space needed with the newer panel.
Yes, the new panel was larger and required some modifications of the studs.
 
mtnelect said:
I have never done that, always replaced the old panel with a new one.
In my experience the old panel didn't have the wiring space needed with the newer panel.
Yes, the new panel was larger and required some modifications of the studs.
Click to expand...
It's not always the best to just replace the guts but sure is better in some cases.
 
Little Bill said:
When I said drill for the cover, I meant to drill the existing can so the holes in the door line up.
Click to expand...
I am just exploring to see if anyone had run into a similar problem because I would like to save these good people some money in replacing the interior and not the entire panel. I was figuring, after my search through the supply houses have brought no luck, I would not be able to find something to fit and would have to replace the whole panel anyways but wanted some other electricians experience on the matter before i double my time involved.
 
This is 1 200A panel in a 600A service with all 3 panels side by side so I also didnt want to junk up the space with a new panel next to the others.
 
mtnelect said:
It is just me, because I am a permit nut.
I have always felt that cutting corners exposes yourself to liability.
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I never said not to get a permit. I always got a permit and inspection on the panel guts that I replaced. Only had one comment from an inspector. He wanted to see that the new door/cover fit appropriately.
Why would you think I meant to do it without a permit? I never even hinted at that!
 
Little Bill said:
I never said not to get a permit. I always got a permit and inspection on the panel guts that I replaced. Only had one comment from an inspector. He wanted to see that the new door/cover fit appropriately.
Why would you think I meant to do it without a permit? I never even hinted at that!
Click to expand...
I apologize ... You are correct. I just don't like shortcuts.
 
It's all good, thank you both for your responses. I know that I need to find a whole panel that is equivalent to what is existing, because I don't want any UL listings void and nothing unsafe installed. I will pull a permit and except that I cannot find a 20 year old panel replacement to match the other 2 panels. Thank you both for your help as for a bit I thought I had the country stumped.
 
I will say to mtnelect that it is perfectly legal and not cutting corners to change panel interiors. As Little Bill said the panel is the interior and the can is just an enclosure for it. Surface mount commercial panels come as all separate components (enclosure, guts with dead front, and door/cover) and are installed in different phases of the projects, so that is not any different than a residential panel that comes as an all included unit.
As I said before, thank you both. Have a great evening!
 
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