Changing a Water Damaged Panel

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DBoone

DBoone

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Location
Mississippi
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General Contractor
I have a residential interior service panel that has water damage inside. Water was leaking around the roof boot and following the conduit down into the panel. I tried posting a picture but kept getting an error message. Maybe I can get one later.

A lot of the breaker terminations are rusted badly and many of the wires are green on the surface where they terminate at the breaker. Some slight discoloration of the conductor at some terminations.

I am am planning on swapping out with a new panel next week but want to ask about solutions to clean the conductor ends. I'd rather not splice if it can be avoided.
 
if you clip off the exposed copper and re-strip you will probably find mostly untarnished copper under the insulation. Scraping the tarnish with your razor knife should remove most of the rest.
 
Assuming the conductors are copper, I'd use something like a 120 grit paper on the exposed conductor.

Aluminum would be a wire brush and fresh NoAlOx.
 
When I need to clean solid (not stranded) copper oxide from wires, I dip the endd into ferric chrloride, being sure to not imers the insulation to avoid it wicking up inside the insulation.

After 15 or 10 seconds, wipe off with damp cloths and you have nice clean copper. If stranded wire, the cleaning a is bit more thn just wiping off, need to rinse in a can of water, etc.
 
DBoone said:
I have a residential interior service panel that has water damage inside. Water was leaking around the roof boot and following the conduit down into the panel. I tried posting a picture but kept getting an error message. Maybe I can get one later.

A lot of the breaker terminations are rusted badly and many of the wires are green on the surface where they terminate at the breaker. Some slight discoloration of the conductor at some terminations.

I am am planning on swapping out with a new panel next week but want to ask about solutions to clean the conductor ends. I'd rather not splice if it can be avoided.
Click to expand...
Copper we use a steel brush. They usually clean up well
 
Great, thanks everyone. Now I just hope the SE conductors will reach the new lugs. Really do not want to have to disconnect at the weatherhead and re-feed down through the pipe.
 
With stranded cable you will probably find the water has travelled up the cores due to capillary action. It’s up to you as to how far back you chop the cable. If you have to splice the cable there’s an old cable jointers trick, solder the joint solid and then cover with adhesive lined heat shrink. The solid section will stop any further capillary action.
 
DBoone said:
Tried to copy/paste a picture
Click to expand...

The file size is probably too large. The forum does not allow normal resolution pictures because of tis file size restrictions. Try changing the resolution to 1024x768. I think that will work. If not try 640x480.

In any case the forum does not support copy/paste of pictures like many forums do as far as I know. You have to upload.
 
DBoone said:
I have a residential interior service panel that has water damage inside. Water was leaking around the roof boot and following the conduit down into the panel. I tried posting a picture but kept getting an error message. Maybe I can get one later.

A lot of the breaker terminations are rusted badly and many of the wires are green on the surface where they terminate at the breaker. Some slight discoloration of the conductor at some terminations.

I am am planning on swapping out with a new panel next week but want to ask about solutions to clean the conductor ends. I'd rather not splice if it can be avoided.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with splicing wires in a panel. However, if the wires are too short after you cut them back simply move them all up or down in the panel a breaker space or two and then splice the last one (or two).

for cleaning wires or copper I have a piece of 400 grit sandpaper on the truck but really the easiest thing is to carry a Emery nail file in your toolbox they weigh nothing and take up no space keep on your belt.

Someone mention ferric chloride. I got a chuckle out of that they use it at Wastewater plants. It's used to remove phosphorus. AKA pickle liquor, it's basically rust dissolved in acid. Be aware this stuff will instantly and permanently stain any clothing you may be wearing, as well as any porous surface
 
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JFletcher said:
There is nothing wrong with splicing wires in a panel. However, if the wires are too short after you cut them back simply move them all up or down in the panel a breaker space or two and then splice the last one (or two).

for cleaning wires or copper I have a piece of 400 grit sandpaper on the truck but really the easiest thing is to carry a Emery nail file in your toolbox they weigh nothing and take up no space keep on your belt.

Someone mention ferric chloride. I got a chuckle out of that they use it at Wastewater plants. It's used to remove phosphorus. AKA pickle liquor, it's basically rust dissolved in acid. Be aware this stuff will instantly and permanently stain any clothing you may be wearing, as well as any porous surface
Click to expand...

Great idea on moving all branch conductors up a space and then splicing the last few. Just for convenience I'd rather not have to splice the SE conductors.
 
DBoone said:
Great idea on moving all branch conductors up a space and then splicing the last few. Just for convenience I'd rather not have to splice the SE conductors.
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Thank you and yes, I don't like splicing those either. If those are too short to reach the terminal blocks in the new panel, I usually move the panel closer to the SE cable a few inches. Wire nuts are a lot cheaper than Polaris connectors.
 
panel 1.jpgpanel 2.jpg



Got it changed yesterday. I couldn't do it exactly how I like to because of what I had to work with. I like to keep the neutral and EGC of each circuit together as I land them on the neutral bus...egc/neutral/egc/neutral (one per terminal). I could not do that here because the original installer had so much difference in length between each pair. Also I like to keep all of my double pole breakers grouped together but I had to move some doubles to make room for some shorter 12/2. I like to keep my A/C breakers together but I had to move one to the other side and lower.


In the end I got paid and everybody is happy and safe. :thumbsup:
 
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