Panel Cover Latches

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jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
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Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
I got into a really foul mood this week. Had a tall GE panel with latches on cover. I HATE all latches and GE are in a class by themselves. Do everything right, line up the notches, do screws about halfway, etc, etc. Latches did nothing but mess up. Took 2 of us, holding slimline screwdriver in to keep latch aligned while other tightens screws. These didn't appear to be missing pieces as is often the case, but still just wouldn't do right. I have sometimes ripped out latches and drilled the cover for regular 1/4 x 20 bolts, the sensible way to do it. This cover was very thick and we didn't have time to drill the holes, didn't have any threaded clips either.

I dream of meeting the guy who invented these latches. It will not go well for him. The only plan I can repeat here is that I will tie him up with barbed wire and drag him around town behind a truck. That is after the more severe torture that I can't describe. :rant:


OTOH, I will buy a steak dinner for the guy who came up with hinged panel covers. A few of them have minor problems but most work well.
 
jmellc said:
..I will tie him up with barbed wire and drag him around town behind a truck. That is after the more severe torture that I can't describe. :rant:
Click to expand...

Try it after several layers of remodel paint covers the screws.

My Dad used to swear,
"the guy who designed this should be strung by his balls"
Now a frequently find myself repeating after him.
 
jmellc said:
I got into a really foul mood this week. Had a tall GE panel with latches on cover. I HATE all latches and GE are in a class by themselves. Do everything right, line up the notches, do screws about halfway, etc, etc. Latches did nothing but mess up. Took 2 of us, holding slimline screwdriver in to keep latch aligned while other tightens screws. These didn't appear to be missing pieces as is often the case, but still just wouldn't do right. I have sometimes ripped out latches and drilled the cover for regular 1/4 x 20 bolts, the sensible way to do it. This cover was very thick and we didn't have time to drill the holes, didn't have any threaded clips either.

I dream of meeting the guy who invented these latches. It will not go well for him. The only plan I can repeat here is that I will tie him up with barbed wire and drag him around town behind a truck. That is after the more severe torture that I can't describe. :rant:


OTOH, I will buy a steak dinner for the guy who came up with hinged panel covers. A few of them have minor problems but most work well.
Click to expand...
I take it you are talking about those clamp type cover attachment devices that have been around forever and have been used on nearly every brand out there at some time? Don't you love it when you weren't paying close attention to conductors inside and get one under the clamp and it faults when tightening? Or the ones where you loosen them and cover still won't come off the box, loosen them a little more and you went too far and they fall apart.
 
I'm rarely in a commercial panel these days, but just ran into one of those only a couple days ago!

By chance, I started on the latch screw in the middle left. As soon as I turned it a quarter turn, the entire heavy panel front cover fell on me.
 
Its not just panel cover latches.....

Its not just panel cover latches.....

jmellc said:
I got into a really foul mood this week. Had a tall GE panel with latches on cover. I HATE all latches and GE are in a class by themselves. Do everything right, line up the notches, do screws about halfway, etc, etc. Latches did nothing but mess up. Took 2 of us, holding slimline screwdriver in to keep latch aligned while other tightens screws. These didn't appear to be missing pieces as is often the case, but still just wouldn't do right. I have sometimes ripped out latches and drilled the cover for regular 1/4 x 20 bolts, the sensible way to do it. This cover was very thick and we didn't have time to drill the holes, didn't have any threaded clips either.

I dream of meeting the guy who invented these latches. It will not go well for him. The only plan I can repeat here is that I will tie him up with barbed wire and drag him around town behind a truck. That is after the more severe torture that I can't describe. :rant:


OTOH, I will buy a steak dinner for the guy who came up with hinged panel covers. A few of them have minor problems but most work well.
Click to expand...

Its in FACT a whale of a lot of badly engineered hardware that everyone has somehow taken for " normal " when its everything but.
What these kinds of things do is waste time, money, and attitudes which would otherwise be conserved in a sane world.
The other thing that has to go is the terrible trends in " Documentation " and the use of Metrics in the USA.
The METRIC SYSTEM HAS TO GO, and should be violently resisted at every turn by all Americans involved.

Star
 
ramsy said:
Try it after several layers of remodel paint covers the screws.

My Dad used to swear,
"the guy who designed this should be strung by his balls"
Now a frequently find myself repeating after him.
Click to expand...

kwired said:
I take it you are talking about those clamp type cover attachment devices that have been around forever and have been used on nearly every brand out there at some time? Don't you love it when you weren't paying close attention to conductors inside and get one under the clamp and it faults when tightening? Or the ones where you loosen them and cover still won't come off the box, loosen them a little more and you went too far and they fall apart.
Click to expand...

Yes, that too! Square D had a panel I've only seen in 1 place, that had extra long latch clamps with sharp points. Wire had to be tie wrapped back to stay clear of them. I was lucky to never pinch a live wire but it could happen next week.
 
MAC702 said:
I'm rarely in a commercial panel these days, but just ran into one of those only a couple days ago!

By chance, I started on the latch screw in the middle left. As soon as I turned it a quarter turn, the entire heavy panel front cover fell on me.
Click to expand...

It was the only latch holding the cover on. I've had that happen too. Hope you didn't get hurt too much.
 
StarCat said:
Its in FACT a whale of a lot of badly engineered hardware that everyone has somehow taken for " normal " when its everything but.
What these kinds of things do is waste time, money, and attitudes which would otherwise be conserved in a sane world.
The other thing that has to go is the terrible trends in " Documentation " and the use of Metrics in the USA.
The METRIC SYSTEM HAS TO GO, and should be violently resisted at every turn by all Americans involved.

Star
Click to expand...

Yes, many things could be made more practical. Belly pan clips are another fine example. I've dropped a thousand when they won't come loose, then fall out a moment later. They bend easily and don't always lock in.
 
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