Removal of Front Panel Cover

Specific Inspection Topics Electrical Inspections
21

Protective glasses at the very least could help save an eye.

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22

Joshua, I always wear my safety glasses when removing a dead front. When I inspect large industrial/commercial panels I use large hand magnets to help hold the cover to reduce chances of loosing my grip and hitting a live conductor in the panel. 480V and over I wear Class 0 gloves.
Note that a 240 volt panel still has a potential for arc flash.

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23

That sure makes sense to me Larry (as well as proper footwear and gloves).

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24

Only the competent inspectors open panels.

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25

Other tidbits to consider include:

  1. Take a picture of the dead front (door open) to show the breaker positions before you proceed. Things which are off, are very quick, hmmm what’s going on here. Don’t, don’t, don’t even think about turning them on. Note them.
  2. In additional to the plethora of things you can find visually, if you have an IR tool, use it too (you will learn and find things with this tool). Take a picture too (normal and IR if available).
  3. While “it may not required by code at the time on installation”, if the system does not have a ground rod, I’m noted it too. Some of the “older” homes can have grounds to water lines which are a significant distance away (I’ve seen 30+ ft). The not so fun experience is anything electronic which is closer to the panel in distance than the ground connection can be impacted by transient voltage (ie lightning strike) (even if the home has a TVSS at the panel).
  4. Take a picture after you have reinstalled the cover. This is a nice CYA, as it shows the breakers are still in the same position as when you arrived. Avoids topics of " you turned off the sump pump, you turned off the heat, you turned off the AC…"

You will find lots of great information from the members of these forums!

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27

Lol … got it :slight_smile:

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Thanks so much Michael, invaluable info!! :slight_smile:

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P.s. do you locate the home’s ground rod by tracing back the ground from the electric meter?

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Thanks for the encouragement. The course material is excellent, and there are a lot of very helpful home inspectors in these forums!

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Makes sense to me!

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Hi again Stephen … sorry to bug you, but I am wondering if inspectors might first trip the main breakers to de-energize the panel? I can see home occupants getting upset if they have to reset clocks, alarms, etc…

33

Tripping the main does not cut power to the service entry conductors.

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Hi Michael … I was wondering if (some) home inspectors might first trip the main breakers to de-energize the panel? I can see home occupants getting upset if they have to reset clocks, alarms, etc…

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No. Don’t intentionally trip any breakers (other than GFCI) in an occupied home. Trip only GFCI and AFCI in an unoccupied home.

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36

Thanks Chuck!

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Thanks David.

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Always. And photo of the panel in place, and photo with panel removed. Then they get one of my sexy stickers on the inside of the panel door :grin:

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Martin, just keep in mind that anyone can post a video on YouTube and when it comes to electrical work a huge majority of those videos contain misinformation. If you see something that you’re curious about post it here, there’s a great deal of knowledge on this forum with plenty of guys who want to help.

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Love it, super marketing … I’ll have to get me some sexy stickers, lol!

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Thanks Robert … I tend to watch videos from contractors who do it for a living versus DIY videos :slight_smile: