AFCI/GFCI Breaker Pigtail....

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CuriousHomeInspector

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Little Rock, AR, USA
"The AFCI breakers should have the excessive wire lengths cut to proper lengths to connect to the buss bar screws. Excessive wire lengths is a fire hazard condition and that type of installation doesn't meet manufacturers installation specifications. Write it up for safety concerns."

I had someone mention that lately... I know of no prescriptive data (code or manufacturer's info) that would support that. I could be wrong. I thought I'd ask some electricians.

5 inches of properly rated wire is not a "safety concern" in my eyes...

What say you?
 
Wait. What?!

Who is this "someone?"

I was about to ask if this was a "home inspector" who couldn't find anything. But your handle would suggest otherwise, and someone is asking YOU to write it up. What is their relationship to you? Are they telling you to do it for your report?

Most electricians would say something like: "Presence of AFCI breakers. Recommend replacing them with standard breakers for a reliable trouble-free installation."
 
MAC702 said:
Looking at the quotation marks, now I'm wondering if this is in some kind of manual for how to do a home inspection...
Click to expand...

Not from a manual. Just a quote of an opinion (which I disagree with) from a single inspector.

And to be fair.. .there are some good home inspectors, and some bad ones... Just like there are some good electricians and some bad ones...
 
But all AFCIs are bad. :D

Anyway, to answer your question, the pigtail presents no more danger than any other conductors in the panel. Some electricians didn't know what to make of them (early GFCI breakers had them also) and thought they were coiled up for a reason. (Yeah, so they fit in the box.) So they just unwound enough to connect it to the neutral bus. While this, to me, looks horrible and takes up space there is no danger in it. You'll probably see that from time to time.

As to excessive length, whose to say what that is? I like to dress my wiring in panels with enough slack to allow future changes. Others are straight and to the point with no slack or service loop at all. Neither is wrong.

If the manufacturer of the breaker felt that a long neutral pigtail would be a problem why would they give you that much wire to begin with? :lol:

So you can see that this guy's advice is all wet.

-Hal
 
The same logic means you should write it up if breakers are in positions in the panel that cause wire to be longer than necessary.

Oh, and that cable run in the attic that didn't take the most efficient path....
 
CuriousHomeInspector said:
"The AFCI breakers should have the excessive wire lengths cut to proper lengths to connect to the buss bar screws. Excessive wire lengths is a fire hazard condition and that type of installation doesn't meet manufacturers installation specifications. Write it up for safety concerns."

I had someone mention that lately... I know of no prescriptive data (code or manufacturer's info) that would support that. I could be wrong. I thought I'd ask some electricians.

5 inches of properly rated wire is not a "safety concern" in my eyes...

What say you?
Click to expand...

Unless someone can provided a specific set of manufacturer's instructions that state this (I don't think that you'll find it) it's not true. The circuit breakers already come from the factory with the end of the pigtail stripped for insertion into the neutral bar without altering the length.

As far as a fire hazard have this person explain what is hazardous about it. If the neutral bar were located so that you needed the entire length of the pigtail would the panel burst into flames?
 
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