Dead front has gap.

Hey everyone,
Well I’m sitting here a bit disappointed.

In response to swapping in my dead front, good idea, but it took some convincing to just use their ladder at the supply warehouse to get close in to get photos.
And I didn’t have 2 hand fulls of breakers to snap on into the buss anyway.
Yes the display panel is about 8 feet above the floor.

So I’ve miked the DF and it’s good.
My conclusion is the buss bar assembly is set too far back in the enclosure.
About 4 tenths of an inch.
I can put spacers in the lower assembly mount area but the top bolt/bracket is directly behind the 2 connectors/lugs.
So I would have to kill the power, remove the connectors, install the spacer and retorque the 2 lugs.
The installer Contractor who met me here is more interested in making money than helping me.
She suggested that she would buy another panel and swap in parts if necessary. Then return it if that isn’t necessary.
So I see her position, and my position is bye bye. She is obviously here to help herself and not me.
https://imgur.com/a/b6Y7ubU
 
I think she saw a big meal ticket, charge me hourly to take it all apart. She wouldn’t even walk up to the panel and look at it.
I would put spacers between the buss assembly mounting bracket and the enclosure.
This solution is now back to the Eaton techs and an Eaton engineer.
I didn’t want to put spacers between the buss assembly and the bracket. Too hokey, would probably work, but no.
 
UL allows gaps in enclosures, but they need to be less than 1/4" (?). They expect the breakers to stay in place, connected to bussing.

Did this pass final inspection?
 
It did pass final inspection.
But I was not there for the final.
But I’m betting on an inspector that did not (actually inspect) look inside the DF.
Would have had a fit about where the neutrals are landing if he had. And probably didn’t flip any breakers either. If he had, one or more breakers would have certainly popped out of the DF.

So I will not bother the city for a revisit.
Nor will I bother the installer for any help with this.
Eaton will review my most recent conclusion. I’d rather get their blessing on the adjustment/repair. I’ll send one more juicy photo, everything that was inside the FPE panel is now inside the new panel enclosure.
A master electrician friend looked at this and scoffed.
Nothing labeled,
Nothing neat
Hand written labels.
He’s brilliant, but too grumpy.
He stopped by for a consultation on removing the knob and tube. So I just had him take a quick look at the new panel.
House built in 1908.
https://imgur.com/a/Z6TTvyO
 
To my eye, the jumpers should be turned over with the marks still showing.

They look like they are offset in the wrong direction.

At least loosen them and see whether that's what holding the breaker out.
 
LarryFine said:
To my eye, the jumpers should be turned over with the marks still showing.

They look like they are offset in the wrong direction.

At least loosen them and see whether that's what holding the breaker out.
Click to expand...
It sure looks that way, but the picture he took at the supply house shows the same configuration. Maybe a bunch of them were manufactured incorrectly?
 
My take after reviewing the photos you submitted and the ones provided in post #17 by @tthh from a wholesaler.

I think there is a sheet metal fabrication mounting or positioning problem.

Green digger said:
So I’ve miked the DF and it’s good.
My conclusion is the buss bar assembly is set too far back in the enclosure.
About 4 tenths of an inch.
I can put spacers in the lower assembly mount area but the top bolt/bracket is directly behind the 2 connectors/lugs.
So I would have to kill the power, remove the connectors, install the spacer and retorque the 2 lugs.
Click to expand...

Green digger said:
This solution is now back to the Eaton techs and an Eaton engineer.
I didn’t want to put spacers between the buss assembly and the bracket. Too hokey, would probably work, but no.
Click to expand...

From what I see, the Main breaker as well as the branch circuit buss assembly are all mounted on a single back plate. Fixed with no adjustments possible. That sub assembly is screwed directly to the enclosure, with fixed standoff brackets. So I don't think that the main breaker mount or it's bus bar connections have much to do with the issue. Since the dead front measures to the specification sheet, I doubt that that is the problem either.

What I think is is. must be the mountings of the dead front, placing it too far outward in the enclosure. The gap between it and the branch breakers appears to be even all the way down the panel on both sides. The main appears to be protruding from the dead front cutout, but may not be enough. When assembled look at the side notch on the left side of the dead front made for the main, does it fully fill the side notch to full depth? Does the main protrude like the one shown here, from the wholesaler photo?
1747823589868.png
None of the photos show the mounting method of the top of the dead front, I would assume it slip fits in some way or is screwed in. The bottom is attached to a spot welded bracket with a screw.

There is some discrepancy between yours and the wholesalers photo on the bottom dead front mount.
1747826703810.png

1747826737259.png

I would suggest that you closely examine the mounts for the dead front, and ensure that there is no restrictions along all sides, preventing it from going back far enough to retain the breakers.

Beyond that I would assemble the dead front and pull out some of the breakers loose from the bus connections and provide that photo to the Eaton support, so that they can see what the actual problem is, besides telling them that the dead front don't fit.

Beyond the problem of live parts being exposed when the breakers pull out from the bus, this repeated movement of breakers on the bus stabs will make poor connections and cause the bus stabs and breakers to overheat and burn when there is load placed on the connection.
 
retirede said:
It sure looks that way, but the picture he took at the supply house shows the same configuration. Maybe a bunch of them were manufactured incorrectly?
Click to expand...
Looks like the main breaker is bent where it attaches to the buss jumpers, could be a big recall for Eaton if the jumpers are installed incorrectly, so they will probably denie there is a problem.
 
It looks to me like it may just be a bad design. That's a long, skinny sheet of metal for the dead front, and I don't see any supports or screws anywhere in the middle. Could you maybe bow the cover inward? That probably won't keep the breakers in place when flipping the handle off, but it might alleviate the gap.
 
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