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Joined: Oct 2000
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Just a non-critical response, in order:
Being exposed to free air, the wires can be smaller, but these do look a lot smaller. The POCO doesn't adhere to the NEC, and this was probably an upgrade.
The (what appears to be) old range cable is a big hint about this being an upgrade. Are there any obviously-older cables? The pic isn't clear at the top.
Other than most likely not being approved for two conductors (cured with a simple pigtail), the neutral will not be overloaded, since the two hots share a breaker.
My guess is that the black wire was on the breaker above the shared one; we can only wonder why. If the breaker nuisance-trips, you could try moving it back.
I'd have a bigger issue with the pump cable, whether it's hard-wired or connected through an extension cord. It should be on a dedicated, properly-wired circuit.
Don't be suprised if you have a problem with the lower phase of the stabbed-on main breaker some day. One last observation: they have a lot of baseboard heaters!
Larry Fine Fine Electric Co. fineelectricco.com
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Dang, there's quite a few breakers stuffed in that panel. I see one or two that aren't wired but still, I thought that there was a requirement for a few extra spaces. If not a requirement per say, a good idea none the less.
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Joined: Nov 2002
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I see 40 spaces which is ok under NEC. Also there's nothing in the NEC that would not allow the panel to be filled and max'd out. Actually you should be able to put in two tandem breakers to take things out to the allowable 42 breakers.
RSlater, RSmike
[This message has been edited by RSmike (edited 08-17-2005).]
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Joined: May 2005
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What I see is an awful lot of white wire that needs to be re-identified. I also see that the reds and blacks are swapped at the top left.
What I don't see is a grounding electrode conductor, or a bond at the service conduit.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Uhhh...what's with the piece of paper stuck between the plug and the extension cord tap in the last picture? I remember those round things used to have a cardboard (nowadays it's grey plastic) insulator disk over the pins, but jeeze. Also, how DID they manage to hook up Romex to such a small plug commonly used for lamps and small appliances? WOW! ![[Linked Image]](https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/eek.gif)
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Joined: Feb 2005
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"I also see that the reds and blacks are swapped at the top left."
You're kidding, right? I've never seen anything that requires the black be on "phase A" (on the top, left, etc.). One of my guys even used to say this is supposed to be done.
For that matter, all of the hot wires could be the same color, except for different voltages or a high-leg. White and gray, and green, are the only specifed colors otherwise.
Larry Fine Fine Electric Co. fineelectricco.com
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Joined: May 2005
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Not kidding, exactly. I know that NEC doesn't care whether the hots are turquoise or ochre. But black and red is such a widely used convention, and it's so easy to match 'em up, that it just bugs me to see the swap. Even the "B"-phase service wire has a red stripe!
A lot of man-hours get wasted every day troubleshooting "weird" installations, and I try not to contribute to the madness. Call it a quirk.
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