How was this Passed?

[1stYearElectrican]

My sister asked me about upgrading her Fuse panel to a Breaker panel. I went up to to have a look and this is what I saw. She recently purchases the place and the electrical was PASSED by an Inspector. He must of been a heavy drinker :roll:

On this Note, I searched around and did not see alot of BAD wiring or really shotty jobs pics. I think they are quite interesting as we all specualte on how the person got away with this type of work.

Or is there a section I missed here on shoty Jobs?

~FyE~

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

What do you think is wrong with it?

 

[quogueelectric]

A fifty in the receptacle count envelope.

 

[TOOL_5150]

I see a few things that I know are NEC violation. On a side note, I have never seen blue romex!

~Matt

 

[iwire]

What do you think is wrong with it?

All that really jumps out at me are the feeders related to the small sub panel.

 

[TOOL_5150]

Noone has an issue with romex being poorly supported, or romex being exposed under 8'? How about red wires being terminated to the grounded bus?

~Matt

 

[iwire]

Noone has an issue with romex being poorly supported, or romex being exposed under 8'? How about red wires being terminated to the grounded bus?

~Matt

If your asking if it's ugly I agree. :grin:

The larger blue / gray SER looks like it has citable support issues along with the black NM

Remember code minimum support of NM is within 12" and no more then 4.5' after that. Most of the original cables look like they meet that.

What NEC rule prohibits NM exposed under 8'?

 

[quogueelectric]

Note to notice the small subpanel run in thhn and a ground wire tapped off the main breaker. Looks like #4 thhn X2 plus short ground wire Jutting up on a 15 degrees from vertical.

 

[quogueelectric]

Note to notice the small subpanel run in thhn and a ground wire tapped off the main breaker. Looks like #4 thhn X2 plus short ground wire Jutting up on a 15 degrees from vertical.

Ground breaker filter on cable line with cable run disconnected screams grounding issues with the service from first glance.

 

[peter d]

This looks Canadian to me, eh?

Notice the separate compartment for the main breaker. And the non-standard colors for the NM cable.

Therefore no NEC violations.

 

[jrannis]

Quick!
Put the cover back on!!!
Looks like a typical rope job to me

 

[Rampage_Rick]

Ground breaker filter on cable line with cable run disconnected screams grounding issues with the service from first glance.

Looks to me like it might just be a locking device/terminator. i.e. you paid for 3 outlets so that's all that you get.

On a side note, I have never seen blue romex!

Up here it's practice to use blue jacket for the bedroom arcfault circuits (makes it easy to follow the path visually) Still doesn't explain THAT mess. The larger sizes with the light blue jacket date back to the '70s

First thing that jumps out to me is the small Siemens panel. You've got a pair of 4ga? conductors and a 8ga? ground wire (which would appear to land on the neutral bar) Something tells me that those box clamps aren't rated for that combination of wires. What is that circuit for anyways? You'd think they'd need a noodle, and why not use some 4/3 NM?

I'm still pondering the bottle of shampoo. Hopefully there's not a shower head just out of frame :grin:

 

[Minuteman]

My sister asked me about upgrading her Fuse panel to a Breaker panel. I went up to to have a look and this is what I saw. She recently purchases the place and the electrical was PASSED by an Inspector. He must of been a heavy drinker :roll:

Just because it passed a home inspection does not mean that it is code compliant. Home inspectors that are hired at the time of a sale are not the same as code enforcing building inspectors.

 

[Sierrasparky]

Are those edison fuses?

 

[iwire]

This looks Canadian to me, eh?

Notice the separate compartment for the main breaker. And the non-standard colors for the NM cable.

Very good point Mr D.

 

[1stYearElectrican]

Dang where to start???

1st thing I noticed was the conductors for the 240V Dryer, (red, Bk) running across the middle of the panel, over the 4 hot bus bars!! (2 per side). Conductors should be routed around the perimeter of the panel not thru.

2nd thing was the exterior 70 amp sub-panel that attached to the two hot bus bars underneath the 200A main breaker. Of hand I can not tell you the AWG size but that it not rated for 200A that for sure. There no protection for the conductors that lead to the sub panel, which BTW is for the water heating system( not a hot water tank) for the house is heated by water.

3rd, there are multiple nicks and cuts (although not shown) on the conductors jackets before terminating on the fuse blocks.

4th, Red color conductors on the Neutral Bar

I guess the shampoo bottle is the evidence that the inspector and electrician made a CLEAN get away with this Frisco. :grin:

After seeing this told my sister to run quickly to the Grocery store and stock up on marshmallows and wieners for the BBQ she about to have.


~FyE~

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

Are those edison fuses?

Yes, and it wouldn't suprise me if Edison installed them himself!

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

Dang where to start???

1st thing I noticed was the conductors for the 240V Dryer, (red, Bk) running across the middle of the panel, over the 4 hot bus bars!! (2 per side). Conductors should be routed around the perimeter of the panel not thru.

I'd say nothing wrong with that. Those conductors are insulated from those bus bars just as effectively as they're insulated from the grounded metal panel perimeter.

2nd thing was the exterior 70 amp sub-panel that attached to the two hot bus bars underneath the 200A main breaker. Of hand I can not tell you the AWG size but that it not rated for 200A that for sure. There no protection for the conductors that lead to the sub panel, which BTW is for the water heating system( not a hot water tank) for the house is heated by water.

Tap rule. These conductors are protected from overload by the panel they serve. Just like the potential ampacity of the conductors feeding this whole mess are protected by the main, not the transformer out on the pole.

3rd, there are multiple nicks and cuts (although not shown) on the conductors jackets before terminating on the fuse blocks.

4th, Red color conductors on the Neutral Bar

I'd like to know why...

I guess the shampoo bottle is the evidence that the inspector and electrician made a CLEAN get away with this Frisco. :grin:

After seeing this told my sister to run quickly to the Grocery store and stock up on marshmallows and wieners for the BBQ she about to have.

~FyE~

I hope she took that advice with a grain of salt. I'd like to point out that this installation has existed in this form since before you, (and hopefully I) were even born. It's lasted this long, why would you expect a meltdown tomorrow?

 

[charlie b]

. . . and the electrical was PASSED by an Inspector.

Unless there had been some recent work done on the electrical system, there would be nothing for an inspector to pass or to fail. In particular, a Home Inspector is not authorized to pass or to fail any electrical, plumbing, HVAC, structural, or other aspect of a house. The limit of the HI's authority is to report the present condition of the house, to recommend upgrades and repairs, and to recommend further inspections by specialists. If you are now suggesting that the HI should have included comments in the report, comments about the condition of this electrical panel and wiring, I agree. Perhaps your sister should ask for a refund of the money she paid to have the inspection performed. I once heard, and cannot confirm, that the limit of liability for a HI is a full refund of the inspection fee. Perhaps this may be even stated in the contract. But a HI is not going to pay for an upgrade to the electrical (or other) system simply because they did not comment on something that you now believe should have been included in the report.

 

[LarryFine]

That's one of the coolest fuse panels I've ever seen.

How do the left buses get their power?