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Homeowner watched me work for an hour, then asked if I could 'just zip tie' the whole panel
Last month in Phoenix I was doing a panel swap for this older guy who kept hovering. He pointed at the new breakers and said, "Can't you just zip tie all the wires together to make it look cleaner?" I explained the whole code thing about derating and separation, but he got quiet and walked off. Later he came back with a six pack and told me his last electrician did exactly that and the panel ran hot for years. So my question is, how do you handle clients who think zip ties are a fix-all without sounding like a jerk?
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patb861mo ago
Man, zip ties for wire management in a panel is like using duct tape on a broken leg. Sure, it holds stuff together but it ain't doing the job right. The real issue is heat buildup and derating, and your gut feeling about that guy's old panel being wrong is spot on. I usually just tell people straight up that zip ties are for bundling wires outside the panel, not inside where airflow and separation actually matter. If they keep pushing, I show them the code book page and let them read it themselves, that usually shuts it down without me sounding like a know-it-all.
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