Screwed up service

[kurt]

I looked @ a 4 flat today; total piece of crap.

Of particular interest was the electrical panels. The old fuse boxes had been removed, & new breaker panels installed by splicing into the mains & neutrals to get enough slack to tie to the new equipment.

In two of the panels, the old neutrals had been spliced to and then led through conduit to adjacent panels to become the neutral for those panels. IOW, the panels were sharing the main neutrals.

I can imagine several nasty things taking place w/ this installation, but don't want to overstate my observations. What sorts of specific bad things could happen in this scenario?

[Chad Fabry]

I thought about this some. I guess the potential to be electrocuted while working on a panel or in the home exists even with the mains off.

[Rob Amaral]

Sounds funky, Kurt. What was the 'ampacity' of the 'service entrance leading in from the exterior? Sounds like they should have gone to a new meter 'trough' (at exterior)where new feeders to the 4 in-bldg 'load centers' could be located or something like that. Where were the meters? Was there a disconnect ahead of the meters and the 'panels'? Not enough info here.

BTW, I found a multi-wire branch circuit (1/2 in breakers) with both 'sides' on the same hot leg of the service yesterday. Exactly what I was trying to point out in that photo on the ASHI candidate forum (or suspected I should say).

[kurt]

60 amp panels. The entire system should have been upgraded, as the meters, trough, & related components were all ancient.

Possibility for electrocution seemed to be paramount. There were plenty of other things to hang the entire building on; I was just curious.

[Rob Amaral]

OK. A lot of times in the my area, I'll be in a multi-family in a neighborhood packed with multis. Ages circa 1910 or so.. We'll find meters indoor and main disconnect for building upstream of meter and so forth. Sometimes, the demonstration of what they should be heading towards is visible on the house next door. Gets simpler and faster to 'get them there' as these ancient messes are constantly be upgraded now.