Is it OK to install an exterior panel this way?

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gary

gary

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Retired electrical contractor / general contractor
A box has been built below this surface mounted 100 A service to enclose circuit conductors that run down the wall to a crawlspace. A few additional circuits enter the back of the box through the wood siding. There is a 3' wide eve at the top of this 8' wall but I imagine this service is exposed to driving rain from time to time. The back of the panel does not appear to be caulked to the wall to prevent water entry.

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This house is wired with Romex cable, but all of the original homeruns were sleeved with 1/2" flexible steel conduit up to the first outlet box. I have never seen anything like this before. I've been asked to upgrade the service to 200 amps. The simplest way to do that would be to shorten the soffit by whatever amount is necessary to accommodate the new panel and hook everything back up more or less the way it is now except that I would use a OH only panel designed to allow circuit entry across the entire bottom of the can. There is a stud bay directly behind this old panel and although it would be a little more difficult I think this whole mess should be replaced with a new semi-flush panel. What would you do?

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Someone ran Carflex under the house with a set of #6 CU conductors with the apparent intension of installing a spa, but then found there was no access to the panel.


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As of today NEC 2008 NM cable can not be sleeved in a conduit that is installed outside. But then again the conduit is behind the panel and it would be a call of the AHJ to determine if behind the panel is a damp location.
Other items that i see that may be an issue is working platform in front of the panel and the FMC is not strapped properly.
 
highvolts582 said:
What is poking out from receptacle on right. Looks very naughty. Nice picture.
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There are two small low power wall warts plugged into the receptacle. They are being used to power two nearby water softener controllers.
 
edward said:
As of today NEC 2008 NM cable can not be sleeved in a conduit that is installed outside. But then again the conduit is behind the panel and it would be a call of the AHJ to determine if behind the panel is a damp location.
Other items that i see that may be an issue is working platform in front of the panel and the FMC is not strapped properly.
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The condition of the FMC is quite good which would seem to indicate that the interior of the box has remained dry. I hadn't really noticed the working space issue. Thanks for pointing that out!
 
Insulation

Insulation

gary said:
There are two small low power wall warts plugged into the receptacle. They are being used to power two nearby water softener controllers.
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Is the insulation of the wall warts rated to be exposed to sun light is where I was going with that one. :D
 
I have no problem with this install, I'm doing a job now where I have no choice but to run all my new NM circuits down the existing outside wall of a garage to be boxed in at a later date by the carpenters....
 
I believe you're actually required to maintain a space between the panel and the wall when you surface-mount it in a wet location. That would ban your caulk idea.
 
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