I do as well.
Nope. I’m cross threading the closest fitting one in and it will be the black sheep, lol.
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Oh, so it was you who put all those oddball screws in those panels in Fuyong! ( I kid you not, every panel was missing at least one, not a single screw was the same!!!)
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Yeah well, they don’t give panels screws away for free in my area, lol. No way is someone getting 6 of them, unless I drop all six of their originals. 
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Well, you do get 5 of the other kind.
We decommissioned so many panels, I had a plastic Folgers can full of all the varieties. It is into this well, that I dipped for my oddball stash. I did buy a few packs of whatever I could find on Amazon, but it grates against me to know I have hundreds of the damn things just sitting there, 1000 miles away in Jersey.
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Before I started carrying extra screws, one time I was forced to find a “compatible” screw in the homeowners hardware stash and then had to use his grinder to shorten it and give it a nice blunt tip, lol. I think I went to the hardware store the next day to get me some extras.
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The last one that I didn’t pull was an exterior combo main/distribution panel that was full of very active wasps.
Deferred that one to an “electrical professional!” 
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I have one also. And carry spare screws.
Just finished reading all the other responses. Everyone is spot on. The panel is one of the places where a mistake is not allowed. So stay in your comfort zone and respect it for what it is. Personally I have extensive industrial experience with panels up to 440v. After opening I photograph full panel, top, bottom, right & left. Then the breaker connections. After that I view with my flashlight and give a little pull on each leg wire. You will be surprised how many are loose. Then I will take pictures of any issues found, put the dead front back on and take a final picture.
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Along with that 1/4” SAE socket!
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After touching the panel cover with the back of my hand, I remove each screw and place it on a magnet I have on my belt(front). I have never lost a screw. I carry extra in case someone uses pointed screws and I replace them instead of reusing them. I make sure all my electrical pictures include the pointed screws and the extra service I offer by replacing them.
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You should re-think that action, for a number of reasons.
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Hi Dominic. If your going to call me out you really need to elaborate. I do the very best for my clients while staying whiten my limits. If your limits are deferent that is fine. Remember. We don’t even have to remove the panel cover (dead front).
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Hi Kurt,
I quoted the part of your protocol that I was calling out.
I thought the liability & danger of tugging on electrical wires inside a panel was obvious and didn’t need too much follow up, but those are a couple of good reasons to reconsider your protocol.
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I have found more good reasons to be as through as I am. Regularly I find loose wires and ones that easily pull out of the breaker. Again I am not recommending others to do as I do. You have to know your limits and ability. I do avoid most cloth wrapped and the service wires.
reaching in the panel and tugging on wires seems foolhardy at best unless You are a qualified electrician who has been hired to do so…This practice may very well bite You some day…
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If you’re going to do a less thorough inspection then so be it. If you’re uncomfortable with electricity, that is also fine, but don’t act all high and mighty criticizing inspectors who go above and beyond the mininum service you’re willing to provide to find safety and fire hazards that you cannot visually determine. I’ve found various loose hots, neutrals, grounds for various individual circuits AND loose SERVICE and FEEDER neutrals at panels on new construction all the time by checking various connections.
The city inspector and previous home inspector that inspected this 2018 home followed the just look don’t touch anything protocol that you guys share. How do I know? Because the wires are so loose that just nudging them with a stick would have indicated the wires are loose. You don’t even have to tug on the wires to figure it out. Talking to the homeowner also revealed that the previous dryer breaker kept tripping and burnt out due to the same problem. This easily identifiable problem should have been caught before closing, but hey 5 years later and here we are. Please tell me how you are going to look for burnt insulation, arcing marks, or any other visual signs of a loose connection when the new house is empty pre-closing and there is little to no load on any of these circuits.
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That’s funny, go ahead and tug on all the wires you want.
That’s not a prudent action for any inspector.
Well, then why are you promoting this odd inspection protocol?
That has nothing to do with tugging on wires in a panel.
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There are plenty of inspectors using insulated screwdrivers or other methods to check connections in the panel. Also, I think you have the wrong idea what “tugging” on the wire means. It does not mean yanking the wire hard but just wiggling it or a light tug. If the wire/connection comes loose from that, then it’s a very real hazard and the connection was not properly torqued.
If you’re performing a worse electrical inspection then just accept that fact and stop trying to compensate by pointing out only the negatives such as safety when checking the electrical panels. The positives imo significantly outweigh the negatives for experienced inspectors who are more comfortable with electricity. The NACHI SOP or any State SOP can’t require inspectors to stick their hand or tools inside the electrical panel because there is a real hazard. The SOPs also can’t require inspectors to walk on roofs either, which is along the same reasoning. The take away is a lot of problems can’t be identified by just staring at the panel and each inspector has to find his sweet spot with regards to risk and thoroughness of inspection. For new inspectors, they should just stare at the electrical panel.
However, it does makes me sick that those of you who perform a less thorough inspection have the balls to tell people who perform a better inspection that they are the ones doing it wrong.
Nope, not as “odd” or “funny” of an inspection protocol as you erroneously believe.
https://www.ncosfm.gov/electrical/11014-tightening-torque-inspection-and-responsibility/open
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I would never do that! Nope!
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I thought only Ohio home inspectors were allowed to remove panel covers.
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