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...I will be surprised if you can provide any good reason to place larger loads near the lug other than personal preference.

I was told to do it this way when I was an apprentice, but if you think about it, the whole bus has the same ampacity, right?

What good does it do to cluster the heavy loads in one place? If you have two large loads on the same stab, doesn't that double the heating on that particular stab? (This is more of a problem with stab-in breakers than with the NQOD shown here.) Furthermore, you are doubling the heating near the main lugs, one more place where resistance is possible. Why do this?

I say, run the heavy loads down one side of the panel (say, the left side), and the light loads down the other, or distribute the load in some other way.

I also question the value of perfectly-squared conductors. I've seen too many installers who will commit any atrocity as long as it's outside a panel, but obsess over perfect neatness inside. I do usually leave a small service loop, but if you overdo it, you get an unruly mess of wire.

I'd much rather see nice conduit work than perfectly-formed wires inside the panel.

My major pet peeve is the abuse of stair-step neutrals. Some installers use up the most accessible lugs first, leaving the service guy to thread wires and screwdrivers through tiny gaps. [Linked Image]

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With the feeder on the side I felt going bottom feed was better. The reason is any additional KOs will need to be drilled into the top, by bottom feeding the feeders are nowhere near the 'drilling zone'. This comes from the service guy in me.

Good thinking! This would not have occured to me, although I have certainly drilled into quite a few panels!

Nice work, Bob!