Posted on: November 7, 2016
By: Alan O'Neill
Posted in: Electrician
Electrical wires can become loosened due to a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is temperature fluctuations that occur with the changing seasons. Since most electrical panels are located outside the home.That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your home’s electrical panel and have it regularly inspected and maintained by an electrician.
This video shows how to wire an Electrical Panel.
To install the electrical panel, you must first knock out the knockouts to install the feeder pipe. Look at the electrical panel top, bottom, and sides. Locate the round punched knockouts that are provided for your convenience. These knockouts can be removed easily with a hammer and chisel, pliers, or linesman pliers. Once the knockouts are removed, install the electrical connectors into the panel and install a lock-nut to hold it in place.
If you’re using metal pipe, place a plastic bushing over the connector threads.Once all of your wire connectors and conduits are installed, you are now to install the electrical panel. Level the electrical panel and insert screws through the holes provided in the back of the panel. If the holes don’t land on the studs behind the panel, drill holes to accommodate the installation or you can mount a piece of plywood to accommodate the panel.
Using a fish tape, push the tape through the conduit from the electrical panel to the electrical box you are trying to feed. Connect the wires to the fish tape and wrap the end with electrical tape. Pull the electrical feeder wires through the feeder pipe while having someone feed the wire into the electrical box.Pull the wire until you get the wire into the panel but leave enough wire to get to the opposite side of the panel.
Bend the two black wires to shape them for easy installation to the main breaker. In this photo, the main breaker is located at the top right of the panel. Strip the wire only enough to make the connection to the main breaker terminal lugs. Excess bare wire leaves a safety hazard where the wires can come in contact with other wires and cause a short circuit.
Connect the neutral wire to the neutral buss. The neutral buss is located on either side of the breakers. It is a silver-colored bar with many smaller screws and connection points. It also has a larger hole for the feeder neutral wire. The neutral wire is the wire marked with the white phasing tape.
to install branch circuit wires, use a fish tape to pull in the wires. In the event that you are pulling many wires together or the wire pull is really long, you may need to use wire pulling compound to make the wire pull easier. If you are installing NM wiring, install NM connectors to the electrical panel and secure the wires with the two screws on the straps. Strip the outer sheathing to expose the conductors.With the use of a special stripping tool, you can rest assure not to damage the wire strands within.
Using a razor knife is often the choice but can be an easy way to cause damage to the individual wires within. Even the most experienced electricians can damage a wire using the wrong tool, but I must admit I use a razor knife after 30 years of electrical work. I suppose repetition has aided me in being able to strip the wires without damage.
Connect all of the green and bare copper wires to the ground buss bar. Connect the white neutral wires to the neutral buss. I like to get wire numbering kits that identify which neutral wire goes with what circuit number. This makes removing a circuit later easier. If you bend the wires ahead of time, you’ll have a nice, neat wire installation that looks uniform.
Next, install the circuit feeds to the branch circuit breakers. The black and red wires are the feeder wires in this photo with the black wires being one of the hot feeds and the red wires being the other. Connect the appropriate sized wire to the correctly rated breaker. Bend the wires so that they keep a neat appearance when the installation is complete.
Electrical wires can become loosened due to a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is temperature fluctuations that occur with the changing seasons. Since most electrical panels are located outside the home, variable extremes of heat and cold often cause wiring connections to expand and contract, which can result in their loosening over time. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your home’s electrical panel and have it regularly inspected and maintained by an electrician. Call (713) 812-7070 us for your home service and repair needs.
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