Do we need an electrician to fix this?

[jkogel]

Do we need an electrician to fix this? There is no other work to be done in the panel or the rest of the houes. I could say "Amateur workmanship on some of the wiring" or si this a more serious condition? Any fire hazard here? So how serious is potential loss of grounding on a branch circuit?

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

[Jim Port]

I would not say that you needed an electrician to fix this. Add a length of wire to this and properly terminate it in the ground buss.

The hazard is if there was a fault the path back to the panel is compromised and may not trip the breaker. This could lead to a fire.

Along with the wire not properly terminated on the correct buss the screw heads contact with the wire is poor and the paint was not removed from where the wire contacts the case.

[Doug Edwards]

I personally always recommend an electrician for repairs and any upgrades especially for any work inside a panel. If the homeowner decides to do this themselves and get their yoyo knocked into their watchpocket or worse I want to be on record as saying "hire a licensed electrician" in my report. Most people do NOT know what they are doing when it comes to electrical, even home inspectors. Just that environment is a dangerous place to be putting your hands. Just because something is seemingly small or minor does not mean it can't kill you. Always take any scenario to the next logical conclusion and ask yourself....What if?
What they do after I have told them what should be done is up to them but I am secure in knowing I told them to do it the right way.

[Marc D. Shunk]

In addition to that ground wire non-compliantly terminated under that deck screw, there's other weird stuff going on there. I see a piece of flex armor at the top of the pic, inside the panel, which is just plain weird. There's no compliantly terminated flex that could ever be inside the panel.

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by Marc D. Shunk

In addition to that ground wire non-compliantly terminated under that deck screw, there's other weird stuff going on there. I see a piece of flex armor at the top of the pic, inside the panel, which is just plain weird. There's no compliantly terminated flex that could ever be inside the panel.

Thanx Marc. It is not actually coming into the panel, but just resting over a missing knockout , which we chose to ignore for this rhetorical (sorry, 4 sylabbles) question.

[mjones6]

Hey, those are square d breakers aren't they required to be double tapped?

Just kidding, Thought I would start a electrical argument I haven't seen before.

[Frank P. Newman]

Originally Posted by mjones6

Hey, those are square d breakers aren't they required to be double tapped?

Yes, but if you really needed only one wire, you have to put a wire nut on the other one !

[Jae Williams]

[quote=Jim Port]I would not say that you needed an electrician to fix this. Add a length of wire to this and properly terminate it in the ground buss.

quote]

I agree...and if you need financial advice, ask a panhandler.

[klott]

What about that #10 on the 10 Amp breaker? All that sheathing inside the box and the wire on the left, the splice with no wire nut and taped all the way across. Other than that, it's a real cherry.

[Jim Port]

Originally Posted by klott

What about that #10 on the 10 Amp breaker?

This is not a 10 amp breaker. Even if it was 10 amps the wires is protected under its rating.

All that sheathing inside the box,

And the harm in that would be?

and the wire on the left, the splice with no wire nut and taped all the way across.

From this pic it is hard to say if that is a splice or not. The tape could be re-identifying a white conductor used as a hot.

Other than that, it's a real cherry.

There is the open knockout at the top that you didn't mention either.