Messy main panel?

[jtbinvalrico]

This is the panel intend to feed my subpanel from. I need to enter the top of this panel.....This panel looks sloppy to me. It's functional, and the electricians' work passed inspection a year ago when the house was built. But I'm concerned about how cramped and sloppy it'll look to the inspector when I send my ser cable in there. I'm wondering if I should power this panel down and clean it up a bit - square things up, clean up overlapping wires, shorten some wires that are too long. Or should I leave this work alone and put new and tidy work on top of it:

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Thats nothing.

Ive had to clean up panels that were far worse.

And while its not that bad, it could use some cleaning up.

But i highly doubt the inspector would care.

 

[ard]

Totally agree.

You do it because YOU care. Not the inspector.

 

[American Locomotive]

That's a clean panel compared to what I've seen.

 

[gungatim]

that's a pretty neat panel compared to most I've seen. no need to be OCD if it is safe and passes, once the cover is on nobody see's it.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Thanks all. I'll leave it be.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Thats why I couldn't be a city inspector,I'd tag something like that for workmanship .
And yes I've seen much worse also.
This is my typical **** retentive ***** service install.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Here's a really good one that sticks in my head before I replaced it in a commercial bay,I'll have to get an after picture neXT time I'm over there.

 

[walrus]

Put the cover on it, how's it look now?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[sberry]

Totally agree, the electric don't know the difference.

 

[6768rogues]

I think it looks great, but you can make it look better if it will make you happy.

 

[grantw]

Here's a really good one that sticks in my head before I replaced it in a commercial bay,I'll have to get an after picture neXT time I'm over there.

uh huh.... like someone else said, put the cover on, it looks great!

lol @ the greens

 

[jrsulo]

Thats why I couldn't be a city inspector,I'd tag something like that for workmanship .
And yes I've seen much worse also.
This is my typical **** retentive ***** service install.

 

[Gmonkee]

That is a solid install even if the geometry is off on the wire bends some. Cover it and get to real work.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

I'd love to have to work with that. You folks should see some of the PLC enclosures I work in.

 

[sberry]

I regret not taking a pic of one I was working on, couldn't put the cover on as so much was sticking out, several cables ran in without connectors, some just in the panel so the cover couldnt be put on, about 50 wired sticking from the N bar, loose and doubled up, grounds not connected etc.
I am not the neatest in the panel, my own are kind of messy but once the cover is on no one can tell. Mine have had so many revisions and additions that a guy could make a short career of keeping it neat.
My own concerns are not skinning wires, using connectors, keeping damage to a minimum, some staples and tight secure wire nuts and careful stripping. A lot of things that don't show, no one sees unless there is a problem.
I see some poor connections done by contractors where speed is everything, I understand this but am quite careful installing wire nuts.
I was in a church a while back where the strip/connections were working but they certainly were not real fussy.

 

[reader2580]

If that first panel is considered bad I wouldn't want to post a picture of my own panel. My panel has now passed three inspections, but it is pretty messy compared to the pictures here. It is no worse than other panels I have seen.

It would be a lot easier to make it neat and clean if I had installed the panel from scratch. I have have now moved or replaced nearly every circuit in the panel, but I was working around circuits I didn't want to remove at the time.