Problem: Square D “QO” panel. Lots of breakers; limited space. Length of AFCI & GFCI breakers adds to the crowding and hinders routing of the wiring.
Solution: Would like to add an additional grounding bar at the lower end of the panel. This would allow me to strategically relocate some of the longer breakers and still keep the curly neutrals within reach of a fastening location.
Questions: Will it meet NEC? Is it preferable to splicing extensions to curly neutrals? Would an additional grounding bar attachment screw need to be supplemented with a jumper wire connected to the primary neutral/ground buss?
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Replies
I'm no electrician but have done a lot of residential electrical over the years.
You may be able to purchase a longer ground bar from the manufacturer and mount it using the mounting holes in the panel.
I never use wire nuts in the panel box.
The layout of the breakers should be thought out before cutting any wires. There is room for neatly organized wire bundles. It should look like the inside of an old stereo when finished, super clean.
I use a 2/4 or 4/8 sub panel to mount AFCIs and GFCIs when there's limited room in the main panel.
OB
I believe Home Depot sells ground bars for Square D panels.
Tim
You ccan buy ground/neutral bars at any electrical supply house or maybe even the big boxes (haven't looked myself). It needs to be bonded to the panels original bar with a jumber wire or a bonding bar (a short U shaped bar that goes under the lugs on the old and new buss).
There is no restriction in the NEC agianst using wire nuts in a distribution panel. However the panel may not be used as a chase for routing any circuite fed from another source through it. Any wire spliced in the panel box must terminate in the box either on a breaker, ground, or neutral buss.
You don't need to leave the curly cue wire on a GFCI breaker curled up. Before installing the breaker straighten the twist out of the wire and you should have plenty of wire the reach the neutral buss.
>>You don't need to leave the curly cue wire on a GFCI breaker curled up...... straighten the twist out of the wire....... should have plenty of wire the reach the neutral buss.<<
Just completed a SquareD QO, 200A service panel installation as part of a service upgrade. 40 position panel.
Added 3 AFCI breakers to the bedroom circuits, with pre-planning on the neutral bar, position #33 is about the maximum reachable with the factory pig-tail straightened out. This leaves 3 slots below #33 which are unreachable with the factory wire alone.
That being said, there is not a problem with a few wire nuts inside of the panel. Obviously, the fewer the better.
JimNever underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.