edtakken

It's hard to imagine that anyone in their right mind would have the breaker on with the black wire connected and then try disconnecting the return (white) wire. That's crazy. But OK, if that's a concern, the white insulation should go all the way to the lug.

The question is not for a sub panel. The question is not how many wires can go in one lug hole, or about grounding rods, or about isolation or bonding. This concerns the main breaker panel with ground, neutral and box all bonded together. I mistakenly stripped 6-9 in of the white insulation off the ground wires. This lets them electrically touch before they terminate in their respective grounding bar lug holes. That would be a clear no-no for a branch panel, but for a main panel I see no problem. My wiring did not pass inspection, though, because NEC says ground and neutral are to be terminated in the grounding bar. But how literally should this code be read for a main panel? The grounds and nuttrals aren't "terminated" where they might touch. Download Attachment: grounding.JPG 1519.6 KB