Splices allowed in a panel board?

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stockexpert

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120/240VAC panel, 100A

Question - are splices of the power, neutral, grounding wires (for each individual circuit) allowed?

Panel condition - line wires to their respective points (bus/neutral bar/eg bar).
Circuits -
Neutral wires spliced (wire nut) at point of entry/exit to panel - from neutral bar there is one grounded (white) conductor to splice where two or three (can't remember) white conductors go out of panel with out-going circuits.
Grounding conductor - Same situation as neutral.

This can't be legal???!
 
Splices in panels are allowed as long as you have sufficient gutter space.

If you have a large "common" neutral that has smaller neutrals spliced onto it, that used to be legal as long as the ampacity of the fat neutral was above the sum of the connected neutrals (this could get you into trouble if you were assuming some neutral current was canceling and then someone later moves things around). The approach of a fat to multiple skinny neutrals is no longer allowed, but it was allowed until recently (perhaps until 2011)? Some generator transfer switches panels used that approach (one fat neutral to the xfer switch along with all the individual ungrounded's).
 
Here is the applicable code section to go along with the other posts.


312.8 Enclosures for Switches or Overcurrent Devices.
Enclosures for switches or overcurrent devices shall not be used as junction boxes, auxiliary gutters, or raceways for conductors feeding through or tapping off to other switches or overcurrent devices, unless adequate space for this purpose is provided. The conductors shall not fill the wiring space at any cross section to more than 40 percent of the cross-sectional area of the space, and the conductors, splices, and taps shall not fill the wiring space at any cross section to more than 75 percent of the cross-sectional area of that space.
Click to expand...

Roger
 
stockexpert said:
120/240VAC panel, 100A

Question - are splices of the power, neutral, grounding wires (for each individual circuit) allowed?

Panel condition - line wires to their respective points (bus/neutral bar/eg bar).
Circuits -
Neutral wires spliced (wire nut) at point of entry/exit to panel - from neutral bar there is one grounded (white) conductor to splice where two or three (can't remember) white conductors go out of panel with out-going circuits.
Grounding conductor - Same situation as neutral.

This can't be legal???!
Click to expand...

Are you saying all the 'hots' terminate under an individual breaker but 'whites' of different circuits and 'bare wires' of different circuits are pigtailed?
 
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