panel box wire routing question

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difowler1

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I installed a new residential outdoor 200amp panel box on a new construction house. It is in the county with no inspection. I ended up having 42 circuits on the house. The panel box only has 40 breaker spaces. I installed a 125amp subpanel routing 6/3 romex for the main lug to the subpanel, and I also routed my 2ea additional circuits through the same offset out the side of the main panel box into the subpanel. I had to extend the branch circuit wires using wire nuts and more romex to make them long enough to reach the subpanel.

Anything wrong with that method? I read at one time not to route wires from one panel box to another, but from my memory it was refering to service wires being routed from the meterbase thru one panel box to another panel box, not running wires from a main panel to a subpanel.
 
If it was new construction, why didn't you use a larger panel? If you're under the 2008 or later edition of the NEC, the number of circuits is restricted only by the panel's listing.
 
jumper said:
You seem fine.

What size breaker did you use to protect the 6/3 and the subpanel?

6/3 NM is only rated for 55A, so if you used a 60A OCPD the calculated load must be 55A or less.
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Not fine unless it happens to be 6/3 with Ground. :)


JAP>
 
jumper said:
My guess is that OP did not plan on so many circuits in the beginning when panel was chosen.

Op said:
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How do you not plan out something like this? I can't imagine circuiting on-the-fly is an efficient use of installation time.
Sounds like someone needs to review the six P's, unless there were a boat load of scope adds.
 
panel box routing

panel box routing

jumper said:
You seem fine.

What size breaker did you use to protect the 6/3 and the subpanel?

6/3 NM is only rated for 55A, so if you used a 60A OCPD the calculated load must be 55A or less.
Click to expand...

I used a 50amp breaker. My main concern is, can the wires be routed as I described. The HO's electrician uncle got involved, and now I need to change it if it is a code violation. One of the responses was, why didn't I use a larger panel box. I will do that next time.
 
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difowler1 said:
I used a 50amp breaker. My main concern is, can the wires be routed as I described. The HO's electrician uncle got involved, and now I need to change it if it is a code violation. One of the responses was, why didn't I use a larger panel box. I will do that next time.
Click to expand...

Yes you can route wires like you describe and there is nothing wrong with it. Electrons don't get jealous about folks from the next panel over coming through their space and there is no code rule against it.
 
gadfly56 said:
How do you not plan out something like this? I can't imagine circuiting on-the-fly is an efficient use of installation time.
Sounds like someone needs to review the six P's, unless there were a boat load of scope adds.
Click to expand...
It's called life and it's called doing the job instead of being the one who is always there to tell you what you should have done better.
 
difowler1 said:
... I installed a 125amp subpanel routing 6/3 romex for the main lug to the subpanel, and I also routed my 2ea additional circuits through the same offset out the side of the main panel box into the subpanel. ...
Click to expand...
I'm having a problem visualizing exactly what you did here.

Where exactly did you land the 6/3 in the 200A panel?

If you have need for 42 spaces and the 200A panel is a 40 space panel, one would typically take up two spaces for the subpanel feed... resulting in only 38 spaces available in the 200A panel and require the use of 4 spaces in the subpanel.

And you say you only ran two circuits from the main panel. If those two circuits are 120V, something is amiss... :happyyes:

FWIW, I would have looked into using a couple tandem breakers. :slaphead:
 
Smart $ said:
I'm having a problem visualizing exactly what you did here.

Where exactly did you land the 6/3 in the 200A panel?

If you have need for 42 spaces and the 200A panel is a 40 space panel, one would typically take up two spaces for the subpanel feed... resulting in only 38 spaces available in the 200A panel and require the use of 4 spaces in the subpanel.

And you say you only ran two circuits from the main panel. If those two circuits are 120V, something is amiss... :happyyes:

FWIW, I would have looked into using a couple tandem breakers. :slaphead:
Click to expand...

He put in a 40 circuit panel and had 2 circuits left with no place to land them so he installed a subpanel and put the 2 circuits he couldn't land in the main panel into the subpanel.
The subpanel could be another 40 circuit for all we know.
Must be a very large house or very many individual branch circuits I would think, otherwise a 40 circuit panel is generally more than enough spaces.
Regardless, running the 2 lonely circuits through the offset nipple that the feed to the subpanel in is not an issue as long as the fill is not exceeded.

I,like you would have looked into installing tandem breakers if need be, or, grouping circuits together that really don't need to be dedicated to begin with.

You never know what happened when the phrase "It's in the county and not under inspection" comes up in the conversation.

JAP>
 
ActionDave said:
It's called life and it's called doing the job instead of being the one who is always there to tell you what you should have done better.
Click to expand...

Roping an entire house doesn't strike me as the sort of thing you should tackle by throwing a few spools of 14/2, 12/2, and 10/2 in the back of your truck along with a bushel or two of receptacles and switches and showing up at the job site. And then looking at the plans. But if it works for you, go for it.
 
gadfly56 said:
Roping an entire house doesn't strike me as the sort of thing you should tackle by throwing a few spools of 14/2, 12/2, and 10/2 in the back of your truck along with a bushel or two of receptacles and switches and showing up at the job site. And then looking at the plans. But if it works for you, go for it.
Click to expand...

Plans. :(

:)

Generally its I want a recept and switch here,here, here, here, here, and also this and that and the other thing, over there, all the while the sheetrockers screwguns are buzzing in the background.

JAP>
 
jap said:
He put in a 40 circuit panel and had 2 circuits left with no place to land them...
Click to expand...
If you have a 40 space panel and have 2 (120V?) circuits left, you have to remove (2) 120V circuits or (1) 240V circuit from the 40 space panel to have the space for the subpanel feeder breaker... and thus require running 4 ungrounded conductors to the subpanel.

This does not jive with what he has posted and why I'm questioning where he landed the 6/3...
 
Smart $ said:
If you have a 40 space panel and have 2 (120V?) circuits left, you have to remove (2) 120V circuits or (1) 240V circuit from the 40 space panel to have the space for the subpanel feeder breaker... and thus require running 4 ungrounded conductors to the subpanel.

This does not jive with what he has posted and why I'm questioning where he landed the 6/3...
Click to expand...

He said he put in a 2p 50 in the main panel.
He's just asking if it was ok to run the 2 circuits that he couldn't land in the main panel through the same raceway with the 6/3 that he fed the subpanel with.

JAP>
 
I see what your saying about the (2) additional circuits, but I think we can speculate on what he was up against.

JAP>
 
Im more interested in knowing how the 42 circuits get from inside into the outdoor main panel. :)

JAP>
 
jap said:
He said he put in a 2p 50 in the main panel.
He's just asking if it was ok to run the 2 circuits that he couldn't land in the main panel through the same raceway with the 6/3 that he fed the subpanel with.

JAP>
Click to expand...
He didn't say he put the 50 in the main panel.

If he did, he would have had space to land the 2 "leftover" circuits had he not.
 
Smart $ said:
He didn't say he put the 50 in the main panel.

If he did, he would have had space to land the 2 "leftover" circuits had he not.
Click to expand...

True, but if what your speculating is what actually happened then this scenario is getting uglier by the minute. :D

JAP>
 
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