Home inspector flagged multiple neutrals on single lug in breaker panel
- Thread starter nwjones18
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Yeah I have thought about just moving them myself, my only concern is there is no slack on a lot of them and I'm not sure there is enough to actually get them all to a separate lug.. I told my realtor I wasn't particularly interested in messing with something that had been working for 35 years.. Will see what she says. The buyer is getting a VA loan and this was just the initial home inspection, there is a good chance the VA appraiser comes through next and finds other things I could potentially be on the hook to repair which makes me nervous.
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Will depend on what the purchase offer says. The ones I have signed say something to the affect that if its a functional or safety issue the seller either has to fix it, or the buyer can walk and rescind the offer. If its just cosmetic then its supposed to be different.
Seller can say no either way. It is then up to the buyer if they want the house or not.
You would need to figure out the electrical code for that local at the time this was built. I am not an electrician, but the codes I have looked at do not allow this - one wire per screw. It doesn't look like it would be that hard to fix. I think you can get a terminal bar extension. I would get a price before you decide.
Isn't there another empty row right below it that looks like it's also unused (hard to tell, and only in the right side.)? If so, you wouldn't need to lengthen as many conductors as you think.
Very true, you will be lucky if they dont require repairs in order to lend the money. If you had other offers did you take into account what the other buyers source of funds would have been?
Something is missing from this panel (left side half buss bar). There should be an equal number of available lugs on the ground and buss bars as there are circuit breaker numbers. If this is a 24 or 28 slot box, you should have that many spaces for neutrals and grounds as well.
Looks like the right buss bar is a double stack, inside and outside short bars but the left side of the box is missing a buss bar.
But the key is here, you stated the buyer requested a licensed electrician. You will need to provide the receipt.
(licensed is a reasonable and typical request)
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From what I can see in your pic, that's my concern there. Not enough wire to work with.
Not required on Main load center with disconnect, only sub panel. Split phase 240vac center tapped N and GND are tied here.
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I saw that . Looks like a buss could be added to the left side also by bolting to the open left side N buss lug hole. It's not rocket science. Then you can reach without much trouble.
Main load centers are pretty rickety garbage for what they cost. You don't want to/or can't pigtail N's 3 to 1 here - and re-wiring all those circuits is out of the question. Center chosen was almost too small to begin with.
I know I just had a meter socket replaced - a couple months after three master electrician and the power co. were out sniffing around - they didn't diagnose - but I found it. Likely happened when they put the new meter into the old socket a couple years ago causing brown outs and flickering on one leg of the 240. I did get a new (smaller VA!) pole Xformer and all new feed to the mast from the power company during the diagnoses. I was all over my load center and breakers - but all was sanitary - except for a couple old breakers.
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I'm not an electrician but do remember back probably in 70's there was a huge problem with aluminum house wiring.
They move around a lot with max load and and oxidized aluminum becomes a ceramic insulator. The conductive area becomes small at bonds over time and then you get hot spots on the resistive connections.
I had my master abrade, clean and apply Noalox to the feed lugs in my old panel when I recently got a new mast. He said CU was prohibitive and not done for residential 200a/ 240v split phase.
The comments in this thread are all over the map (many incorrect).
Your house was built to an older code and everything I see in the panel is typical from a house this age.
Your home inspector isn’t an electrician or code official. I’ve expressed my opinions on most home inspectors in other threads.
I would not do anything to the panel myself. I would tell the homebuyer fix it if they want. I would not try to “correct” anything yourself.
Your house was built to an older code and everything I see in the panel is typical from a house this age.
Your home inspector isn’t an electrician or code official. I’ve expressed my opinions on most home inspectors in other threads.
I would not do anything to the panel myself. I would tell the homebuyer fix it if they want. I would not try to “correct” anything yourself.
It is definitely worth finding the installation manual for your load center. It may allow multiple connectors under one screw, who knows?
Also find out the code for your jursidiction in 1981-- it might not be the then-newest NEC, but maybe a version from 1975 or so.
It wouldn't be a huge project to stretch a few wires down to some open spots and wire nut six or eight remaining into short little extensions. It would be ugly and inelegant but legal.
But then what would you do with the information? You may have evidence it met code when it was built, but who would believe you. Do you want to pay to fix it or not? This might be a good "idiot filter" and you can tell this "buyer" to look elsewhere.
Also find out the code for your jursidiction in 1981-- it might not be the then-newest NEC, but maybe a version from 1975 or so.
It wouldn't be a huge project to stretch a few wires down to some open spots and wire nut six or eight remaining into short little extensions. It would be ugly and inelegant but legal.
But then what would you do with the information? You may have evidence it met code when it was built, but who would believe you. Do you want to pay to fix it or not? This might be a good "idiot filter" and you can tell this "buyer" to look elsewhere.
If the home inspector said “code violation, lack of AFCI protection on breakers” would the perspective buyer be demanding you pay $1,500 to have an electrician update the breakers to AFCIs? The combination neutral and ground bars are a violation now too. But this home wasn’t built in 2020. They can pay for updating that on their own dime. The panel isn’t dangerous.
A home inspector has zero license and no liability (read their legal mumbo jumbo). Welcome the perspective buyer to hire a licensed electrician on their own dime to inspect the panel if they’re worried.
A home inspector has zero license and no liability (read their legal mumbo jumbo). Welcome the perspective buyer to hire a licensed electrician on their own dime to inspect the panel if they’re worried.
This too.
Where is the bonded ground lug strip anyway? Does the mfr allow for an aux grnd strip?? (easy peasy)
No because a GFCI outlet only cares about whats on the load side of it.
There is no need as long as that main panel is the FIRST unit with a disconnect( IE main breaker) shut off of the wire coming from the power company's pole or underground run. New code mandates has shut off disconnects on the meter box or after the meter box, THEN the main panel is treated as a sub panel and then you would need the neutral and grounds segregated and the bonding screw would have to be pulled as part of the segregation.
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