weird panel install

Status
Not open for further replies.
Coppersmith

Coppersmith

Senior Member
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I was called to quote a panel change. It's a 150 amp NEMA 1 panel installed flush on the outside wall of a manufactured home with an independent weatherproof door installed over top of it. The door is hinged at the top. The panel is only 12" wide and the cover is 14.25" wide. No current panel product will fit in there and I haven't found a retrofit guts kit that works either.

Question 1: I'm curious if the installation the way it is is code compliant.

The best solution I can think of is to use a NEMA 3R panel mounted flush in the wall. I would put a piece of plywood behind it to make it stick out enough for the weatherproof door to open and close. I would seal it with silicone. I would punch KO's in the top for the cables coming from the top.

Question 2: What's your solution?
 
Not saying I'd do it, but I'd at least look at the option of putting a NEMA 3R surface panel over the top of the existing flush one, and bring everything in the back.
 
Here are some pictures. Anybody ever see an install like this?
 

Attachments

  • cover.jpg
    cover.jpg
    73.6 KB · Views: 4
  • panel.jpg
    panel.jpg
    95.4 KB · Views: 4
Coppersmith said:
I was called to quote a panel change. It's a 150 amp NEMA 1 panel installed flush on the outside wall of a manufactured home .

Question 2: What's your solution?
Click to expand...


I would "guess" that the panel at one time was facing the opposite direction and was an interior panel.

What would be the situation if the panel were turned back into the interior of the home?

Not even making a suggestion just asking if it's possible.
 
growler said:
I would "guess" that the panel at one time was facing the opposite direction and was an interior panel.

What would be the situation if the panel were turned back into the interior of the home?

Not even making a suggestion just asking if it's possible.
Click to expand...

Based on what I can see it was never turned toward the inside. I made that suggestion to the HO and was flatly rejected. She doesn't like the look of the electrical panel and doesn't want it inside.
 
Could the existing wiring be brought into a 4×4x24" 3R wiring trough that's surface mounted, and then connected with conduits to a 3R panel surface mounted below it? Obviously any gaps left would need to be covered.
 
Coppersmith said:
Here are some pictures. Anybody ever see an install like this?
Click to expand...

Crouse-Hinds when they had the Murray line, offered a cover like the OP's although the panel is a "Zinsco II" (Bryant/Westinghouse BR), because there is not much of a choice of locations on a trailer for the panel, it keeps it out of whatever room is on the other side of the wall, and to answer the question, have seen it before.
 
synchro said:
Could the existing wiring be brought into a 4×4x24" 3R wiring trough that's surface mounted, and then connected with conduits to a 3R panel surface mounted below it? Obviously any gaps left would need to be covered.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea. I could use the existing panel as a j-box and pipe over to a surface mounted 3R panel. Piping out would be a challenge since the existing panel is flush mounted. I don't want to tear up the siding and be responsible for leaks. Multiple pipes would be required to avoid derating. A maximum of 6 feet away or I have to put AFCI breakers on a lot of circuits. Using a trough would be problematic due to the maximum of 30 CCC's before derating.
 
Big, like 24x24", surface NEMA 3R j-box on top of existing, then put the NEMA 3R panel right next to it with several close nipples. Existing box remains accessible through the big cover on the j-box. On the outside is two NEMA 3R enclosures, one for accessibility, the other a panel.
 
How about cutting in a panel next to this one, with a weather-tight cover, and a couple of nipples between them inside the wall?
 
Looks like a conventional indoor loadcenter to me with either a custom made cover or maybe there was one listed for such application.

Is there a inner "dead front" so when you lift the door there are no exposed live parts?
 
It looks like most wires are coming in from the bottom. You should be able to pull the old box out and install an out door panel in the same place. You may have to put a WP -JB above it for the wires coming from above. Maybe some slight alterations to the sheet metal. But it should go fairly easy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top