Are these grounds ok?

[jodil]

This maybe perfectly acceptable, however I havent yet seen an older fuse panel with newer grounded wiring. All of the grounded wires (which are much smaller in size than normal) are twisted together and stuffed under one lug... Is this ok?

(and yes I see the tap off the main) thank you

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[John Dirks Jr]

1. Was there any other smaller unused ground terminals available?

2. Was there any labels on the panel equipment that may have given instructions or guidelines?

3. Do you know what brand of panel it is?

I havn't been in the inspection business for very long but I have never seen or heard of this configuration being used. Maybe it's an indication of an overloaded panel. Do you have any wider pictures of the entire panel?

[Brian G]

Hi Jodi. No, that isn't right.

A. You can bet those lugs aren't rated for 17 #12's, or whatever the actual count is.

B. There's no way to know if any one of those wires is or isn't getting a good connection, and they all need one. Lord Katen once said that this type of arrangement wasn't like a rope, where all the strands started in one place and ended in another; these all go to different places.

Odds are nothing bad will ever happen on account of that improvisation, but if anything does happen you don't want to be the one who endorsed it.

There was a neutral bar in the panel, right, at least a small one? A "technically proper" fix is more or less impossible. You could add a neutral bar, which would be a definite improvement based on having wires in proper terminals alone, but you won't get one *designed and built* for that panel.

Tell 'em what's wrong with it, and recommend getting a smart electrician to handle it. Case closed.

Brian G.

Drop Back & Punt [:-footbal

[Tom Raymond]

Is there a better view of this panel? You said it was fuses but the panel itself looks as new as the wiring. If it isn't a newish panel then where are all the old wires?

Tom

[msteger]

Originally posted by Brian G

Hi Jodi. No, that isn't right.

A. You can bet those lugs aren't rated for 17 #12's, or whatever the actual count is.

B. There's no way to know if any one of those wires is or isn't getting a good connection, and they all need one. Lord Katen once said that this type of arrangement wasn't like a rope, where all the strands started in one place and ended in another; these all go to different places.

Odds are nothing bad will ever happen on account of that improvisation, but if anything does happen you don't want to be the one who endorsed it.

There was a neutral bar in the panel, right, at least a small one? A "technically proper" fix is more or less impossible. You could add a neutral bar, which would be a definite improvement based on having wires in proper terminals alone, but you won't get one *designed and built* for that panel.

Tell 'em what's wrong with it, and recommend getting a smart electrician to handle it. Case closed.

Brian G.

Drop Back & Punt [:-footbal

Ditto to what Brian said. It looks like a hornets nest of wires and should be called out for further review by a licensed electrician.