Shoddy Shelving Installation
Well, getting into this panelboard will certainly be a chore. We’ll need to bust out our carpentry tools and disassemble the shelving. Of course, in an emergency, we could always grab a hammer and smash it out of the way. In either case, it could slow us down if we need to reach those breakers in a hurry.
On the bottom left of the photo, you can also see a receptacle and cord for an electric dryer. The electric dryer was actually placed directly underneath this panelboard, making it even more difficult to gain access to the breakers. In addition to smashing the shelf out of the way, you would need to climb on top of the dryer or pull it out of the way in order to reach the breakers.
We can cite two Code references here.
1. Section 240.24(A) requires overcurrent devices to be readily accessible, but this shelf installer clearly paid no attention to this rule.
2. For working space, Sec. 110.26(A) requires a minimum of 3 ft of depth, 30 in. of width, and 6½ ft of height to be kept clear in front of this panelboard. This allows workers to easily gain easy access to this equipment.
Placing the shelf and dryer in this location was a bad idea that should have been shelved from the start.
Installer Should Be Grounded!
This overcrowded lug — filled with multiple sizes of both solid and stranded wires — can lead to poor connections and possible loss of grounding and bonding for the equipment. In fact, one of the green stranded wires has actually slipped out of this connector. All of these poor connections can elevate the shock and fire hazard at this location.
This job would have been better served by installing an equipment grounding terminal bar, as permitted by Sec. 250.8(A)(2), instead of just cramming all the wires in one footlug, which is not designed for this purpose. Terminals are designed for connection of only one conductor unless identified as required by Sec. 110.14(A).
Upon closer examination, you can also see what appears to be a white wire stuffed into this lug. If this white wire is a neutral, then we have a violation of Sec. 200.2(A), since continuity of the grounded conductor cannot depend on connection to a metallic enclosure. If this white wire is being used for an equipment ground wire, then there is a violation of Sec. 250.119, which requires insulated equipment ground wires to be identified with a covering of green or green with one or more yellow stripes.