GE "Sub Panel" - Are Grounds & Neutrals Isolated?

[Bruce Breedlove]

This property has a "main panel" mounted on a pole that serves two buildings that each have their own "sub panel" (or whatever Jerry calls them ). See my other thread for other questions about the "main panel" and the other "sub panel".

Building B has a General Electric "sub panel". The ground wiring and neutral wiring are attached to separate bus bars but my concern is whether the grounds and neutrals are really isolated. The two bus bars appear to be connected by a bar that is located at the top of the breakers. (See photos.)

Do I need to recommend a repair for this "sub panel" to isolate the grounds and neutrals? If so, how can this panel be modified to isolate the two bus bars?

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[John Dirks Jr]

I see a bunch of neutrals on the right side and only 3 grounds on the left.

Are the rest of the grounds connected at the clamp where the cables enter the panel? If so, those ones are already isolated.

Take the grounds that remain on the terminal bar and ground them at the clamps where their corresponding cables enter the panel.

Or, just call it out and let the electrician decide how to fix it. Home inspectors shouldn't be designing the repair anyway.

[ken horak]

The grounds and neutrals are not isolated from each other in your pictures. Yes they should be, as this is a sub-panel. The grounds and neutrals should be bonded together at the service equipment only. (In this case that is the panel on the pole.)

The panel manufacture should sell a ground bar kit that can be installed in the panel and the grounds should be terminated to that. Then remove the bond screw from the original terminal bars and use them just for the neutrals.
Like John said in his post - there are only 3 grounds. Is this a conduit situation or NM cable ?
This would be the proper way to correct the problem. Altering the factory set up will violate the UL listing of the panel board

[Jim Port]

Take the grounds that remain on the terminal bar and ground them at the clamps where their corresponding cables enter the panel.

Terminating the grounding conductors on the cable clamps is not a proper method. This method has not been used since the very early versions of NM cables.

[Jerry Peck]

See my other thread for other questions about the "main panel" and the other "sub panel".

Bruce,

The first one (with the main service disconnect) is the "service equipment", or, if you prefer, the "service equipment panel".

The other one, as Fred calls them and seems quite properly descriptive, is a "remote panel" in that it is simply a "panel" and it is "remote" from the "service equipment".