Old home new panel

[mathew stouffer]

This place had a 100 amp service. As you can see new and old wiring in the distribution panel. There are a few missing clamps, but I was not sure what was going on with the cable in the lower right. It looks like they spliced into the cable and connected to the neutral bar. Any thoughts.

[Bill Kriegh]

This cable has a bare neutral or ground, can't tell which without knowing what it goes to. The bare conductor is individual strands of bare wire wrapped around the 2 insulated wires. Common practice is to wind the strands together at the point the jacket is removed from the cable to form an uninsulated stranded wire. It appears someone did this, then wrapped the cable with tape at the spot the jacket was removed, then wrapped the bare conductor.

If the bare wire is used as a ground it shouldn't be taped. If it's being used as a neutral it's not legal as neutrals have to be insulated. I suspect this is a neutral and was taped to appease an inspector who bought off on it as long as the neutral was "insulated", as this is usually the case with this type of tape job.

[Jerry Peck]

What does that breaker go to? That is likely the key to the answer.

If that circuit is a 240 volt circuit ONLY and that is a ground, then looks like it was taped to keep it off the bus bars. In which case it SHOULD NOT go to the neutral terminal bar.

If that circuit is a 120 volt / 240 volt circuit in which the ground is being used as a neutral then it is not allowed because, as Bill said, the neutral is required to be insulated, in addition there would not be a ground now.

If that circuit is to a range or clothes dryer, then that probably was originally the service equipment and running the range and clothes dryer off the service equipment with that cable was allowed back then and is allowed to remain, however, as that panel IS NOT service equipment now (regardless that it may have been before), that cable is no longer allowed to supply that range or clothes dryer.

[mathew stouffer]

It is a 40 amp breaker for the range.

[James Duffin]

Another thought is that you don't have to rewire a house just because you swap out a panel. If you are not comfortable with it get an electrician to look at it.