Surface Mounted Breaker Panel hiding wires

[00si2]

I've looked around for some creative ways to hide the wires going to my breaker panel but haven't come across anything.

I have a 200 amp panel with 40 spaces surface mounted on a block wall and have 12' ceilings. My only 2 thoughts at this point are to either frame out a space above the panel or try to pull all the wiring through a 2-1/2" conduit running from the box to the ceiling.

Any other thoughts?

 

[mrb]

youre going to have derating issues from bundling if you shove all your romex in one pipe. Frame out a chase, maybe with a removable plywood cover so you have easy access for moves/adds/changes

 

[Big N8]

Run three large conduits down. That will look great. Plus plenty of room to add runs in the future.

I am going to be running all exposed conduit for my garage. I like the way it looks and love how easy it is to upgrade.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Run three large conduits down. That will look great. Plus plenty of room to add runs in the future.

I am going to be running all exposed conduit for my garage. I like the way it looks and love how easy it is to upgrade.

This goes back to what mrb said, you can easily run into fill/derating issues whether you use one conduit or three. Other issue is that if Romex is used, there is a requirement that the wire be clamped at the entrance to the panelboard, and this won't happen if you run large conduits. As noted, simply build a chase, and put a screw on or hinged front on it for future changes.

Charles

 

[Stuart in MN]

A common solution is to build a chase. It can be made of wood, but I think it looks better to get a piece of sheet metal bent up in a simple U-shape, and screw it to the wall. Make it the same width as the panel and paint it to match.

 

[rabidsquirrel]

Shoving the romex down the pipe would lead to a massive pipe size, something greater than the size your panel could hold. Get a trough and enter all the romex into that, and the appropriate sized conduit or conduits into the panel. Pull all the circuits up to the trough so you won't have to go back into the panel.

Or build a trough.

 

[rodm1]

I've seen them drill holes for each individual wire threw backer board into chase. Lookes good but not shire if complies with code.

 

[Falcon67]

youre going to have derating issues from bundling if you shove all your romex in one pipe. Frame out a chase, maybe with a removable plywood cover so you have easy access for moves/adds/changes

I'll be setting mine in drywall, but I will do the same thing - access panel over the box and one on the ceiling. There's always a need to route a new feed.

 

[Kevin54]

A common solution is to build a chase. It can be made of wood, but I think it looks better to get a piece of sheet metal bent up in a simple U-shape, and screw it to the wall. Make it the same width as the panel and paint it to match.

That was my thought. Either wood or sheetmetal. This would allow you to run any wires in the future if need be. To put it in conduit, you would have to disconnect and reconnect each wire.

 

[tdkkart]

You can see mine here:

Just some 2x4's stood on edge, and then a piece of plywood over top. I hinged the plywood so that any future wiring can be done easily by simply removing the panel cover and swinging the plywood door open. Not the most elegant solution, but it works very well. I suppose a coat of paint would do it some good too, although it matches teh rest of my bare plywood which I sorta like the looks of.