Indoor flush mount load center

[Jpflex]

We received a 100 ampere flush mounted indoor load center but when I opened the box I noticed there is no way to separate neutrals from grounds.

There is a ground strap between neutral and ground bus which has the neutral connector permanently attached to it

I don’t see anywhere on the box stating this is only for service equipment etc. all it says was it’s an indoor load center and all other panels I had provided an option to separate grounds and neutrals

Power is coming from service disconnect to underground feeder to this indoor panel to serve a building

I obviously cannot have the neutral bus to ground bus bonded on the load side or downstream of service disconnect equipment

I was thinking of removing the ground strap between them but I won’t have a large enough connector for neutral bus since it is permanently connected to it

Any ideas? It is crazy hard to get supplies out where we are due to distance

When would homeline make load centers like this?

 

[Jpflex]

Box description says nothing about this only serving as service equipment

 

[wwhitney]

Both bars on the left and right are neutral bars and are isolated from the case. Ground bars sold separately and mount directly to the case. IIRC the internal label has the ground bar part numbers. Neutral ground bond is I think a separate screw shipped loose to install if you need it.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[OldBroadcastTech]

Are you absolutely sure the RH side of that neutral bar (between the two busses) is not removeable ? It appears to be mounted with 2 plastic extrusions thru it on the left side but not the right.

Just a S W A G on my part.

 

[Jpflex]

Are you absolutely sure the RH side of that neutral bar (between the two busses) is not removeable ? It appears to be mounted with 2 plastic extrusions thru it on the left side but not the right.

Just a S W A G on my part.

I removed the ground strap between left and right busses which separated the neutral and ground buss

However I have not found a suitable way to connect neutral square terminal onto the neutral bus without it being wobbly and loose

The ground strap does have a ground screw to bond it to case as an option but regardless of that I still can’t wire this up with neutrals and grounds having continuity

 

[Jpflex]

I removed the ground strap between left and right busses which separated the neutral and ground buss

However I have not found a suitable way to connect neutral square terminal onto the neutral bus without it being wobbly and loose

The ground strap does have a ground screw to bond it to case as an option but regardless of that I still can’t wire this up with neutrals and grounds having continuity

Are you absolutely sure the RH side of that neutral bar (between the two busses) is not removeable ? It appears to be mounted with 2 plastic extrusions thru it on the left side but not the right.

Just a S W A G on my part.

I was able to remove ground strap but large neutral square connector cannot connect to either bus without being loose and wobbly

 

[Jpflex]

I was able to remove ground strap but large neutral square connector cannot connect to either bus without being loose and wobbly

This is loose if screws to either bus

 

[wwhitney]

I removed the ground strap between left and right busses which separated the neutral and ground buss

That's not a ground strap, it's a neutral strap connecting the two neutral bars, and is not intended to be removed in the field, I suggest reinstalling it after looking up the factory spec for the torque on the connections.

The ground strap does have a ground screw to bond it to case as an option but regardless of that I still can’t wire this up with neutrals and grounds having continuity

Correct, you need to buy the separate ground bars. PK??GTACP, where ?? is the number of holes in the bar. I see homedepot.com lists 9, 15, and 23 hole bars; there may be other lengths available.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Jpflex]

W

Both bars on the left and right are neutral bars and are isolated from the case. Ground bars sold separately and mount directly to the case. IIRC the internal label has the ground bar part numbers. Neutral ground bond is I think a separate screw shipped loose to install if you need it.

Cheers, Wayne

Well ok so both busses are for neutral that makes sense but why is there no description that a separate ground bus would have to be purchased separately and installed and if I do I’ll have to scrape off the cabinet paint

I never had to buy a separate bus for EGC ground before

 

[augie47]

Looks like SquareD and in all probability that neutral bar is isolated (you can check with an ohm meter to verify).
Square D panels normally require the addition of an equipment grounding bar for grounding connections.

Normally there is a nameplate somewhere that provides the part # for a grounding bar.

 

[Jpflex]

Looks like SquareD and in all probability that neutral bar is isolated (you can check with an ohm meter to verify).
Square D panels normally require the addition of an equipment grounding bar for grounding connections.

Normally there is a nameplate somewhere that provides the part # for a grounding bar.

Yes there is a separate green ground screw for bonding the neutral to the cabinet case if this were being used as a service


However I never had to order a separate ground bus when buying a load center. All others had a ground strap at the bottom connecting both left and right busses

I guess I’ll have to look for a bus here at the job and screw it on to cabinet after scraping off paint

It would be too hard to ask company to order another part and they’ll just likely tell me to terminate grounds and neutrals to the supplied busses

 

[augie47]

That $10 ground bar might force them into bankruptcy
The factory bar will likely come with mounting screws that align to the factory mounting points in the loadcenter. It's kinda a no-brainer.

 

[Jpflex]

That $10 ground bar might force them into bankruptcy
The factory bar will likely come with mounting screws that align to the factory mounting points in the loadcenter. It's kinda a no-brainer.

It the distance that is the problem. We’re at a mine 3 hours away from anything

 

[MattG0311]

. . . if I do I’ll have to scrape off the cabinet paint

Pretty sure the threading action of the mounting screws will provide sufficient contact to clear a fault without cleaning off paint. Someone more versed in grounding and bonding may be able to elaborate.

 

[brantmacga]

That’s a Plug-On-Neutral bus. It’s not intended for grounds, and its not intended for you to separate.

You need to put that bar back in, torque to factory spec, and install a ground bar kit. No need to remove paint, the threaded machine screws that come with the ground bar will provide a path to the cabinet.

 

[LarryFine]

I had one of those years ago. I actually cut an inch out of that bar, leaving the lug connected to one part of the bar, and screwed the bonding screw through the other part.

 

[jim dungar]

For some 30+ years now, Square D load centers with main breakers are shipped without separate ground bars, while main lug only ones are shipped with ground bars. Look for the "G" in the catalog number.
I don't know about other brands.

 

[suemarkp]

True for other brands too. You have two neutral bus bars and no ground bar. Go add one or two.

 

[Jpflex]

I had one of those years ago. I actually cut an inch out of that bar, leaving the lug connected to one part of the bar, and screwed the bonding screw through the other part.

Lol I actually thought about this as an option but decided not to because of the cutting modifying aspect

 

[Jpflex]

True for other brands too. You have two neutral bus bars and no ground bar. Go add one or two.

I actually did and found a square D panel I was able to remove matching ground bus