What's wrong with these panels?

[Eric Hyde]

Hopefully these pics are big enough to see the details. This main disconnect actually feeds 4 panels. The two included here are the ones I was most suspicious of. The one sub-panel is double tapped at the mains and the mains. What else do you see?

Thanks for any input.

[mthomas2]

At first, I though this might have been a rubber band, but I guess it's "just"copper wire.

[mthomas2]

Just for starters in this one little area of one load-side panel, in addition to what you have already noted:

1) What's separating (insulating) the bare copper wire from the one above where they cross over above the left-hand breakers?

2) For that matter, what's that bare wire doing connected to the grounded (neutral) conductors over to the left of the left-hand breaker?

3) In any case, is the left-hand breaker listed for that panel?

4) There is (at best) marginal connections at top of both left hand breakers.

And it's just what I can see offhand in this one corner of one panel... I would suggest deferring the entire electrical system to an exorcist.

[mthomas2]

BTW, what's the correct term for the device being used to split the connections the breakers?

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

The orange breakers are Zinsco's

[wsiegel]

Hard to tell, but I am assuming the box to the right is the service panel. Those breakers look like they are loose. There is also a white wire connected to a breaker (improperly identified). You could also not over bundling of the wires at the top of the box.
The other two panels look like they have incorrect bonding.
The middle box looks like copper and aluminum wires are tapped togehter

[Eric Hyde]

Originally Posted by mthomas2

Just for starters in this one little area of one load-side panel, in addition to what you have already noted:

1) What's separating (insulating) the bare copper wire from the one above where they cross over above the left-hand breakers?

2) For that matter, what's that bare wire doing connected to the grounded (neutral) conductors over to the left of the left-hand breaker?

3) In any case, is the left-hand breaker listed for that panel?

4) There is (at best) marginal connections at top of both left hand breakers.

And it's just what I can see offhand in this one corner of one panel... I would suggest deferring the entire electrical system to an exorcist.

Thanks for your imput mthomas2. I didn't catch the bare wire connected to the neutral. I think it was the grounding rod wire. Do you know the name of any good priests?

[Eric Hyde]

Originally Posted by jpope

The orange breakers are Zinsco's

What's the deal with Zinsco's? Are they just outdated or are they on the hazard list?

[Eric Hyde]

Originally Posted by wsiegel

Hard to tell, but I am assuming the box to the right is the service panel. Those breakers look like they are loose. There is also a white wire connected to a breaker (improperly identified). You could also not over bundling of the wires at the top of the box.
The other two panels look like they have incorrect bonding.
The middle box looks like copper and aluminum wires are tapped togehter

Thanks for the imput. Every bit helps.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Originally Posted by ehyde

What's the deal with Zinsco's? Are they just outdated or are they on the hazard list?

A suggestion would be to try the search feature and type in Zinsco and we have discussed MANY things on them....from the change-over to AL contact bars to problems with the dead fronts falling into the panel itself and causing issues and so on.

it's only a suggestion but in the MASSIVE amounts of posts here....you would be surprised at all the GREAT information that lurks and gets left behind as the message boards rolls on.......people sometimes simply overlook the GREATNESS of the search feature for specific learning topics.

http://www.inspect-ny.com/electric/Zinsco.htm