Just finished my first electrical inspection training course. Thinking about removal of dead fronts and the potential issues you can run into. My question is, what do you do if you open a panel that isn’t safe Or it has a difficult to replace cover, etc. Eg. There are way too many wires in the box and it would be hard to replace the cover without pinching conductors.
Do you call the homeowner and tell them the situation? I’m worried about them saying “you broke this and need to fix it!”
It is a very good question! I purposely carry a piece of cardboard or box and painters tape in the truck for that very reason. I’ve encountered that even on new construction. What I do is to write the defect on the cardboard, tape it over the panel to close it off, and leave a note for the homeowner or Builder what was found that prevented replacing the panel. I also follow up with a call and email direct to the Builder for new homes and to the listing Agent to ensure they are aware of it asking they ensure the homeowner has it corrected.
There is no reason to jeopardize your life trying to get the dead front cover on with an unsafe condition that you suspect will cause damage or injury. As an anecdote I have attempted to remove the panel screws on new home builds just to find out when backing the screw out the wiring was not properly dressed and the screw threads cutting through the insulation and shorting an ungrounded (hot) conductor. Nothing gets your attention faster than an arcing conductor!
Also make sure you take lots of pictures for record displaying the condition and enter it as a defect in your report. Use a couple of those “lots of pictures” in the report as well. For those panels with improper and dangerous screws I carry standard and proper panel screws with me so I can safely replace the panel cover. The old screws are taped to the panel door, a picture taken, and again the notifications given. And yes even after replacing them it gets written up in the report with the explanation that I replaced them with proper screws for safety reasons.
Excellent advise by Mr Scanlan! The wrong panel screws are encountered a lot when inspecting older homes. You may come across other dangerous/safety issues during inspections.
I carry a roll of this caution tape also .
Good Luck with your studies, Jesse!
Only once I had a problem.
The cover came off fine. Many wires were neatly tied together.
I made sure there were no wires in the way to screw the cover back on.
Guess what. … …
The wire tie snapped open after 3 of 4 screws were in. No way to know this.
The final screw pierced #1cu & boom. The was an electrical explosion with the arc flash shooting out the panel over my head. Happened fast but my assistant saw the flash.
Main breaker did it’s job but had to be replaced. I paid for half the electrician fee (a friend) to keep the peace.
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