ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Violation Photo Forum Panel in a Pantry

(submitted by Joe Tedesco)

Is that another panel behind the Goldfish and Ritz crackers???

It looks like there was an existing panel in the wall, which has been covered by the pantry cabinet, with circuits extended to the new panel, probably to make it (marginally) more accessable..

The pantry cabinet looks old, as do the shelves..

I only see one piece of flex, is everything including the feeder in there?

clearance? we don't need no stinking clearance.. (or workspace..)

How would you fix this, besides ripping out the pantry cabinet?

The "fix" would be to relocate the new panel (it has a surface-mount cover already) and extend the circuits to a location outside the pantry.

It looks to me like the 90° flex connector is attached to a hole that's been drilled in the panel door

Yeah Randy, looks like a flex 90 coming out of the face of a panel.

For those not in the know... San Rafael is Marin County. The big joke among many EC's in the Bay Area is: "Inspections?! Permits?! It's Marin!" Thought it was funny until I went looking to actually pull a permit a few times. Some areas are unincorporated, and only need an inspection for services. The one guy who was covering the county at the time, gave me an inspection over the phone once. Made it seem like 'why are you even bothering...' I think they have hired more people since then. But even in the incorporated areas, inspections are done by multi's and third parties, if at all.

I don't work up there as often as I used to, but to see some of the shoddiest handy man work done, go for a visit. A panel in the pantry, or in under-cabinets, or my favorite, in a crawl space, are typical. As this pre-dates Home Destructo in that area, I'd say this has a tag from Yardbirds, or Goodmans stuck to it somewhere.

What the....???!

My first impulse is to observe that panels were once routinely placed in pantrys, cupboards, closets, etc. It often seemed imperative to hide the panel, and was permitted by code. Even today, there is no general rule against this; we don't even define "closet."
We do have a definition of working space, and prohibitions against placing panels in shower spaces ,and closets "such as clothes closets."

A better perspective was when I realised that folks' would have had a different attitude toward their panels if electrical systems weren't so reliable. The fact is, a home's electrical system is largely forgotten about- until something goes wrong.

This site alone has documented hundreds of still-functioning systems that are older than the occupants. My own house has a system essential unchanged since 1940. Likewise, we see countless examples of truly incompetent "improvements" that somehow seem to work for years without problem.

What these facts tell me is that sparkys have been doing a exceptional job, for a very long time.

"The fact is, a home's electrical system is largely forgotten about- until something goes wrong."

Yeah, just like us poor electricians!

Larry, LOL!
I posted some photos of bad French wiring last week. The owner decided to come over yesterday with his caravan, but the electrician isn't due to make it safe till am tomorrow. I phoned him Friday, told him the situation and said 'DON'T turn the power on on Sunday, it's NOT SAFE. He phones me last evening, saying he had arrived, and seconds later lets out bloodcurdling yell! JHC! I thought he'd electrocuted himself!, but no- he'd been stung in the neck by one of the giant wasps/hornets we have here. Advised him to get to the MDs office straight away, as these are dangerous sobs.
An hour later, my wife sends me out to see if he's ok, and when I pull into his drive, all the lights are on in the house, and nobody is home! Go to the cafe, and there he is, after a shot of cortisone, sipping a cognac for the 'shock'.
"You turned the power on!"
"Yeah, well, I need the lights to find the caravan in the dark"
I bloody give up!!
Alan