(submitted by Joe Tedesco)

It's a pity that whoever did this must have known better, (note the Touch-Plate relay) but just had no ethics.
It looks like someone pulled the feeder as a 1Ø, and then, when they realized that it was 3Ø, just tried to make it work.
This job stinks.

As in thinking it was a 120/240V panel? Sounds plausible from the feeders there. I don't know how long that feeder is, but how hard would it have been to just pull in another blue conductor and do the job properly?

Any idea what that transformer on the top of the panel is feeding? And what's that gizmo to the right of it?

Even if the xfmr secondary is low voltage, the open wirenutted splices outside the panel are still very messy and I don't think much of the mounting and wiring method.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 07-22-2004).]

Scott,
That would be my guess also... The plumbing fitting is a nice touch!
Pauluk,
The gizmo is a "Touch-Plate" relay.. Typically we find these in a pull can with about 20-30 other ones & a transformer to power them.... I've seen these things used here & there for all the switching in a house.. (Usually, a frustrated customer is asking to get rid of it!) Here's a link to their site... For the longest time, I thought they were out of biz.. I was wrong! http://www.touchplate.com

-Randy

If this is a 3phase panel then the green wire is being used as the grounded conductor, right? I like the set screw coupling on top too, the pipe must hav been a little short.

Touchplate looks like a new version of those GE home control systems from the 1950s.

Touchplate was a competitor with those old GE systems. They've been around a long time.
Go check out a new GE LV lighting control, and you'll see they use the same relays as they used then.

Touchplate has a ratcheting relay that advances on-off etc, each time it's given a signal from the momentary switch, so it only needs 2 wires to connect it.
The GE's need separate on and off signals from the switch, so require 3 wires.