Oops on sub panel install

[lqchar]

Help please! Adding a subpanel for a new garage build and thought we had enough wire pulled but its about 2-3 foot short. Its an underground feed that has already been backfilled. Are there any safe options for extending it?

 

[bczygan]

Conduit or direct bury?

Is the short end inside or outside?

Bill

 

[lqchar]

Conduit or direct bury?

Is the short end inside or outside?

Bill

Direct bury - short end inside garage

 

[bczygan]

Direct bury - short end inside garage

Splice new on, in a box?

Electricians on here will confirm details (Box type and size and mounting and splice connector type).

How far does it extend into the garage and how much further does it need to go?

What kind of wire?

Bill

 

[lqchar]

#6 wire - we have 5- 6 feet in the garage - need 2-3 more feet.

 

[theoldwizard1]

#6 wire - we have 5- 6 feet in the garage - need 2-3 more feet.

Junction box with a splice inside.

Not "better", but "neater". Dig up the feeder, cut it off outside, use an underground splice kit and add the appropriate length of wire.

 

[Jeffksf]

Can you Lower the subpanel box? might not be ideal but another option

 

[lqchar]

Junction box or lowering the box seem like good options. Blocks are about 2 ft high, then the studs. At 3 foot high, it would probably work. How low can it go? No inspection but may need to sell someday...

 

[Jess]

If there is enough length to get inside above the floor, protect the exposed part with PVC conduit terminating in a 10x10 junction box. **** splices or Burndy type clamps can be used to join the conductors in the box. If you use Burndy type split bolts, make sure you follow the correct taping and leave some slack in the box.

 

[matt_i]

10 feet extra wire @ $2/ft would have been cheaper than 4 split bolts, a roll of electrical tape, and a 10" square NEMA-1 box.

 

[lqchar]

Worst part is we had plenty of wire, just didn't pull enough through. Any rule on how low the panel box can go? That would be the easiest solution

 

[jlckmj]

Lower the box a little, and turn it over so the main lug connections are at the bottom.

Jim

 

[Jess]

Your code will probably have some mounting dimension limits. I would be cautious about setting it too low to avoid a splice. A comfortable height for the top breaker is about 5' and the lower at least 4' off the floor. I have a large Siemens panel in my shop, bottom feed and the top is set at 5 1/2 ft. Makes the panel easy to work on for branch wiring and easy to access.

 

[rlitman]

...Any rule on how low the panel box can go? ...

Not that I know of. There is supposed to be at least 6 feet of headroom, but commercial panels are routinely placed on the floor. Those panels however are usually quite large, so most work in them would not require bending over. In a smaller residential panel, I would not want it that low.

If there is enough length to get inside above the floor, protect the exposed part with PVC conduit terminating in a 10x10 junction box. **** splices or Burndy type clamps can be used to join the conductors in the box. If you use Burndy type split bolts, make sure you follow the correct taping and leave some slack in the box.

#6 wire can be spliced with wire nuts if you get the right size, though it's not necessarily something I'd be happy with. If you want to get fancy and not use lots of tape on split bolts, there are always Polaris connectors.

The cheapest box you could put near the floor would be a disconnect switch. Those come with terminals already, so you buy one unfused disconnect rated for your ampacity, and all you'll need are cable knockout clamps.

 

[Mason007]

I agree with Jim, drop the panel a bit and turn it upside down, will give you about 3 feet!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OzarkMan]

I would just cut the conduit under the panel and put in a splice box. lowering the panel will make it look like a hack job if you plan to sell in the future. Typically, the bottom of the panel is usually no lower than 36" above finished floor.

 

[nh_yota]

Did you pull a permit for this? Code specifies minimum and maximum heights for panels and disconnects. In addition you can only mount a panel upside down if all breakers including the main are mounted such that on-off is left-right. Off can't be in the up position which is why we can't mount our panels sideways like Canadians do.

 

[rlitman]

...Off can't be in the up position...

Modern panels have main breakers that move side to side, because they're expected to be able to be flipped.

With #6 wire, perhaps the OP is looking to install a main lug panel where this point is moot anyway.

 

[alfredeneuman]

Code specifies minimum and maximum heights for panels and disconnects.

The Code doesn't specify a minimum height for panels, just a maximum (2 meters, 6'7" to the handle of the uppermost breaker)
It could be mounted with just enough clearance from the floor to get the covers on and off if one wanted to.