How to Inspect an Electrical Panel
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- www.homeinspectioncarolina.com In this video Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina takes you through an Electrical Panel Inspection during a normal Home Inspection. If you need a home inspection in Charlotte or Raleigh or Charlotte NC call 704-542-6575 www.askthecharlotte.com
So the neutral on the ground bar was not a problem, and there was no mention of checking the ground bar to panel can bond.
Sub fed panel , cannot have neutrals on the ground bar
This is a great video, actually explains it in a way that’s useful and not theoretical. Thanks!
Thanks Charlotta
Hello, during some masonry work, it was revealed that a ground wire was disconnected and had been for a while. How can I ensure that my main box is properly grounded? I have checked many outlets with a receptacle tester and it showed they are all good. Thanks for any help
In a home with a 100AMP service, how do I determine which bus bar is for the ground and which is for the nutural . Especially when electricians used both bars for both the nutural and grounding systems? Why would they do that? They have both the nutural and ground wires from different circuits going into the same bus bars. Wouldn't it be simpler and more professional looking to keep them separated (a cleaner install)?
Hi. My house had an addition years ago and the breaker panel was moved from one garage to another. The old one is still there. I want to activate it with a 60 Amp breaker for my air compressor. How do I do this?
Thanks
If breakers wiggle at all....do you call them out...or only if it's significant?
Thank you...
Well explained
At top left it looks like two unused conductors enter the enclosure and are not connected to anything. Is that really okay?
Mr hows the color code and where is bus bar protection
Good Info Preston. Good Stuff
Thank you brother and I love the stuff your doing.
I once had a client that used pointy screws when that screw came out that breaker went off. I don't know how I didn't get shocked.
Since you're in NC, are you a bluegrass music fan? If so, who are some of your favorite bands?
Yes I am ......Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs og course......Earl is from right up the road in Shelby
Nice video, a few comments, not sure what you meant by adding up the circuit breaker sizes and comparing that to the panel ampacity, that doesn't really tell if the panel is overloaded or not. The only true test would be to perform a load calculation. Also you missed the big white neutral conductor on the equipment ground bus. ; )
Good to know. Also I’m curious what happens if the ground and neutral are not isolated in a sub panel.
Objectionable current flow, that's what happens. Geez......
The ground becomes a path for current to return to the source.
Is that a neutral white wire on ground bar right side?
So no humming noise?
How about using a sniffer instead of your fingers
Omar Rohoman. He was feeling the wires to see if they are loose on the screws, not if they have power, can't do that with a sniffer or tester.
How would you know if the wire is the right size .? Also do you have to touch the wires as an inspector.? And is it required or recommended to flip those switches on the breaker that you flipped.?
No way my friend. We are not suppose to touch those hot wires. And as inspectors we are not even required to remove the dead front cover according to standards of practice. Most inspectors who are comfortable enough, remove the panel to check
@@Mel007ize and most of them dont know what they are doing.
no PPE? gloves, safety glasses. panel height is irregular low
Thanks for the video. I'm a new guy learning the ropes. Your quick and concise instructions pack in a lot of useful info, like about tension on the wires, which I'd never learned before. Thanks!
Do you know the wire gauge just by looking at the wire?
Lee Sales , after looking at enough wires you can naturally tell but if you get lucky you may be able to see the small writing on the wire that tells you the size. If you’re lucky you’ll see a 14 AWG or 12 AWG. 14 is a 15AMP breaker and 12 is a 20AMP breaker.
No older wire had more insulation that wire, all wire will be labeled if properly installed. AWG THEN A NUMBER
I am dog sitting and gremlins started attacking. Panel is at 480 with another 80 amp panel wired off the 225 amp rated. Good enough seldom is. Thanks for the knowledge.
going a little fast on some of the points, e.g., box rating and "you can find that riiight there" .. ??
No mention of aluminum wiring?
Dallas Mobile Notary Services. Aluminum wire is not illegal when used to feed the panel, only illegal for branch circuits (output side of breakers).
Bebo May , Aluminum wire isn’t illegal at all, and to think people are going to rewire the entire house is crazy. It has its issues but can be managed at a price to the home owner. Aluminum wire must be noted if it is a solid conductor in a branch circuit but not required to be mentioned if on the line side feeding the panel. If it is a solid wire in a branch circuit you make note of it, have to confirm it isn’t corroded and can recommend it be coated with anti-oxidation coating to stop galvanic corrosion or add a pig tailing connector that separates the two different metals. I just did an inspection on a house with a lot of aluminum wire and had to re-learn all the specifics as well.
@@hispeed69 I was responding to someone else's comment about aluminum wire. Aluminum wire "is" illegal for branch circuits, they don't even sell it anymore! Good luck getting insured, if it's found out you have it.
so, you said that the amount of breakers don't go over the amount of the box. Box is 200 amps, and I saw more then 400 amp worth of breakers. Not that you will even pull that through a panel.
main breaker is 200 so it cant pull ore than that
@@SuperInspector you can have more amps worth of breakers than your panel is rated for.
@@danrichardson4559 what do you mean? circuit breakers can handle only 80% of their amperage. a 100-amp panel can handle just 80. you can't draw more than 80 amps on a 100-amp system
@@whith5184 you are wrong it can pull the full 100 amps and if it does for more then 3 hours then the breaker has to be rated continuous duty. Which main breakers are.
why not move the 50amp lower on the box that should give you more slack and perhaps do away with the parts that are pinch or cut !!!
1:26 😂
Ground and neutral should be separate
This guy is a nut job, personal preference does not necessarily mean it's illegal!
Bebo May that’s mainly an inspection on a home. He flagged the one wire and another inspector may not have. He probably didn’t flag some thing in plumbing that someone else could have inspected the home and they would have flagged it. That’s why for a home owner, inspections are really a joke and you fix the red flags and move on. Iv sold a couple homes and I usually can laugh at the report. Things that don’t matter are flagged and things that I know need to be fixed didnt even get flagged.
@@heathersterner4810 You are correct, he didn't even flag the hot wire rubbing on the ground wire! Totally useless! This guy was probably bagging groceries a week ago!
Bebo May , that is an issue based on assuming the edge of the ground wire being sharp. Had I seen that I would’ve just pushed it up to get a bit of clearance between the two. As for your personal preference issue/ illegal issue, when you have a human doing something you must take into account the human factor and what they consider important and how they do things.
@@hispeed69 No, he's being paid to find possible problems before they happen, hot wire rubbing on bare wire = problem! If the inspector is finding things wrong or dangerous you "don't have to take into account the human factor", if the human did it wrong, get it corrected!
Bebo May Agreed- get it corrected.
you’re wrong and dangerous on much of this. The total on the breakers will almost always exceed the main, otherwise I and most others would need 600 amp service. Not a problem. The breaker will never “pull” too much voltage. Voltage isn’t pulled and you”ll never exceed 240 VAC on that panel, if so, call the service provider. The basic function of the breaker is the prevent overcurrent, which overheats wires. Current and voltage are often misunderstood, but you are supposed to have basic knowledge.
You also demonstrate unsafe practices, not to mention contributing to the padded and exploitive insurance business.
Rubber gloves maybe?
Why do Home inspectors seem to be less knowledgeable than the actual electricians that do the work?? Wtf?
Wtf