400A Main temp relocation?

[bodyguy16]

Hello everyone, i am in the process of planning to insulate my garage and would like to know if i can safely temporary relocate my main fuse box during the process. I would like to just unscrew it from the wall along with the ground wire and cable, bring it over to the other side and leave it until the wall is finished. Can this be done safely by myself and what are the necessary precautions i need to take? Here are some pictures of the said box.

I will be re-framing and insulating both exterior walls then closing with osb.

 

[MTW]

How would you swing it over to the other side when you have some #2/0 supply conductors coming into it from the bottom back knockout?

What do you plan to do with the flex conduit running across the header area?
Drill holes in the cripple studs and route it inside the wall cavity ?
Or take it down and reattach to the outside of the OSB?

Another issue is with your supply conductors entering from the bottom. They are entering the lugs from the bottom and appear to be resting on the fuseholder clips, not a very good situation.

Do you have it in the budget to replace the old fused switch with a new circuit panel and gain some additional flexibility?

And lastly it also appears that you are lacking a insulated neutral conductor feeding in with the supply conductors. Looks like your running on a bare ground wire that is taped up with some white tape. It also appears pretty small compared to the line conductors.

If it were me correcting the above issues would be a priority before covering up the wall with some OSB.

MTW Ω

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

That's a 200a service disconnect,not a 400. Where is the panel located that is being used as a disconnect for?

 

[bodyguy16]

The idea was to basically unscrew the box and wires move it to the other side (last picture) once the wall finished i wanted to reinstall over the osb as it was.



The breaker box is located approx 20 feet from the last picture, it is in our walk-in closet

What could your above recommendations cost? Should it all be replaced? I was not aware that there were any issues with the current set up.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Can you post a picture of whats on the opposite side of wall from the disconnect?

 

[bodyguy16]

Yes i can..... not untill tonight though. I dont know how i overlooked the fact that the hydro (electric company) meter is on the other side! We moved in less than a month ago and ive been scrambling to get things done before winter hits. So heres the updated question: do i need to get an electrician to remove and re install on top of the new wall or can i frame around it close the wall and the box will be recessed in about 2inches around. Is it safe for fire hazard? Or even insurable?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[fnsane]

Check the conductor size. My tired old eyes don't see 200 amp rated wire but do see 200 amp fuses

 

[roscoe2000]

It would be hard to frame around it as the handle needs to push down to open the box. Since it has a surface mount case, and since it is for service disconnect your option are limited.

For your case ideally you would need a recessed disconnect, it's handle is on the face of the box.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Fix those bare white taped reduced neutrals.

Does one of them come off the meter pan?

Looks like one of them is coming through the back of the disconnect.

Do u have a grounding electrode? Where does it terminate at?

Thats a hack job...

What size are the black cables?

 

[rburke65]

Ya a little confused here. The cable in the photo......near the garage door spring and roller......is that the feed to the top of the disconnect? And if that is the case, is there a cable or wire or conduit leaving the disconnect?

 

[brewchief]

What size are the black cables?

I swear I can read 2/0 on the cable on the lower left.

Looks like copper but not 100% sure. Hard to say for sure from a thousand miles away.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Ya a little confused here. The cable in the photo......near the garage door spring and roller......is that the feed to the top of the disconnect? And if that is the case, is there a cable or wire or conduit leaving the disconnect?

The feed into the disconnect enters through the back near the bottom.

I swear I can read 2/0 on the cable on the lower left.

Looks like copper but not 100% sure. Hard to say for sure from a thousand miles away.

Thought the same thing. Looks like 2/0...

 

[bodyguy16]

Yes its 2/0 gauge and copper. Here are some more detailed pics to answer some questions. I answered mine as for the relocation... not gonna happen. The electric company meter feeds into the box by pvc? And the large loom goes all the way into my breaker box in the walk in. Any suggestions as what to do are appreciated. Its on the old 4x4's and a ply wood and the wall will be reframed on 2x6

 

[tfi racing]

Leave it alone moving it to try gain a R or two is way more grief than it would ever be worth,looks like you can stuff 3-4" of insulation(batts,board,whatever) behind it,build a nice cabinet around it if you like and carry on with the rest of your project.

 

[MTW]

Re: 200A Main Disconnect relocation?

bodyguy16, Here are some more detailed pics to answer some questions. I answered mine as for the relocation... not gonna happen. The electric company meter feeds into the box by pvc? And the large loom goes all the way into my breaker box in the walk in. Any suggestions as what to do are appreciated. Its on the old 4x4's and a ply wood and the wall will be reframed on 2x6

The Pics don't show for me... What does this service feed? house, garage, both ?
What is the budget for fixing it ? It could be relocated outside next to the meter if inside space is a premium. The switch would need to be 3R rated (raintite). Or as suggested earlier replace the 200A switch with a 200A loadcenter with a 200A feed-thru buss to feed the downstream loads. Having a loadcenter panel in the garage would be considered very handy for most folks on this forum. Could even put in a generator transfer panel while your at it for those times you might need that. The existing feeder to the downstream loads might be relocated overhead, and spliced to extend to a new panel in the wall or on the outside of the wall.

Find a licensed sparky in your area to have a look at it and give you a quote for fixing it. Way cheaper to fix it before you bury it in the wall cavity.