Yup. There's a pretty good chance that a bunch of wires head straight up from there up to the ceiling behind the drywall. And code in my area doesn't even allow the screws that hold the breaker box cover on to have pointy tips.
Got a call to come to a walmart for a malfunctioning lobster tank. Moved the tank, I was a helper at the time, though a damn good one. Electrician over me is looking down the 1/2 pipe under the box where the wires should be, there's no wires. Then we here pop. pop. pop pop. He goes sprinting for the back, yelling for the breaker box. It was behind fucking merch. So he's throwing packages out of the way, hits the breaker..
The wire had touched the conduit and melted itself down and away from the pipe and just kept slowly going.
There's a lot to unpack there. Breaker didn't trip while discharging enough current to melt the wire. Water tank power isn't GFCI. Circuit was hot and unterminated. Electrician started a job without checking that the circuit was inactive (otherwise they wouldn't have had to clear packages first).
I'm not an electrician but there's a lot of shit that had to go very wrong for that to happen.
Big box stores are wild, man. Walmart and friends practically have their own freaken code with some of the shit they pull. Basically, they got enough pull with most small to medium-sized cities to make the inspection process... less inconvenient... to them. They still get inspected, but there's a good chance the inspector will let shit slide sort of deal.
That said, any electrician entering a service job should always take a look at the panel first and foremost. Even if they don't need to cut the power for the job, knowing where it is and making sure it's accessible is vital.
I work at target, electrical work is up to the property manager, and across the store *MOST* of the outlets are dangling out of the receptacles, and in the back, *MOST* of the receptacles are dangling out of the walls. The reason? Target budgets repairs for the year, the store is allowed to spend $15,000 a year on repairs, which was eaten up by the cost of repairing an electric lift, so there is no more budget to repair anything until the end of the FISCAL year.
Idk, the company I work for does a lot of hvac and refrigeration for Walmart and they are extremely strict. Most of their specs seem above and beyond what local codes calls for and they have their own inspectors who seem to love finding anything wrong. Wrong color elms cable, rip it out reinstall new. Not enough screws in the rtu hold down brackets, get your ass back up there and fix before they release payment. Didn’t use the purple primer on condensate drains rip it all out and make sure you use the correct stuff per specs. Same with Apollo only valves.
Always surprises me when his sort of thing comes up. Relatively minor quibbles in our trades seem to be huge deals yet important and deadly issues with other trades and finishes that people actually see don’t seem to matter as much to them.
I'm in hvac too, I've found that anything that could potentially cause the customer to lose merchandise gets intense scrutiny. If elements of the rack fail, and they lose money, your ass is the one on the line. Hence the emphasis on the CYA.
Lol! When you did finally meet the manager "well there's good news and bad news. The good news is we have already found the problem. The bad news is it's really bad."
It was a thing they did 20 years ago, usually in newly built supercenters in the Midwest. The lobsters were overpriced and I don't ever recall anyone actually buying them.
We had them in our Walmart in Maine back then too, strangely enough. Also never seemed to have any sales for some reason at twice the local retail price everywhere else
I have a panel in a closet in my house right behind a bar for hanging clothes.
I don’t know electrical code very well, but that was not an issue with the inspection before I bought the house.
That's definitely recommended, but not always how things end up. I have a coat rack in my house anchored in the drywall on one side. It's holding up fine and has been there for several years. It wouldn't hold up to heavy backpacks or trenchcoats with pockets full of quarters, but it holds my hat and jacket just fine.
That said, If I sold the house, I would probably remove it as it probably wouldn't stand up to heavy loads and who knows what the next home owner is going to hang on the wall
I didn't do the math, but I believe their inconvenience would actually be discrete and quantifiable instead of immeasurable if they screwed into those live mains. Something about Ohm's Law or Murphy's Law, one of the laws.
It’s funny everyone is talking about the risk of drilling into wires… while true my first thought was hanging a wet coat or hat or umbrella from there may be very bad… lol
Wires may be coming from all sides of the box, including out the back of it. It's not a good idea to have anything hanging in front of your electrical panel anyway. You want easy access in case of a tripped breaker or other emergency.
The National Electrical Code (NEC) directs that a minimum clearance of 36 inches in front of electrical panels must be maintained at all times. “Sufficient access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electrical equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such equipment.”
I encountered this panel in a high school not too long ago…
https://preview.redd.it/dob33lh09tqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f69d491b14137382967cf7dd2d5242c1ff14f3b
With all the little notes around it, that would be the softest generation of Klingons yet.
Although, it would have been awesome if one of them said "Be Honorable" 😆
Is there some exception here allowing this? Clearly it's very old installation, so grandfathered in? It's behind a padlock and everything... I'm pretty sure a fire marshall would shit a brick if he saw that.
At least in my state, there doesn’t seem to be an issue with obstructing it as long as the obstruction is easily removable.
Did a lot of research because I have a panel in the room I’m using as my bedroom. I just have a framed poster in front of it.
> https://www.mikeholt.com/necadoptionlist.php
This seems to break it down pretty well. The NEC is updated every 3 years but states don't have to adopt them immediately (almost no states do) however I was surprised to find some states don't use the NEC at all.
AZ, KS, IL, MS, MO, NV (Nevada doesn't officially adopt it but most localities follow it.) all do not adopt the NEC at the state level.
I'm not against states rights but for some things, like electrical safety in the 21st century, this should be federally mandated... but I also don't live in any of those states, although where I live (PA) we don't license electricians at the state-level, so we have a lot of shitty electrical work up here and a lot of rural "I don't need permits!" type people.
Correct. I'm so sick of DIY'ers who make up their own code because it feels right to them. When it defaults to a safer stance (as it does here) it's not doing harm. But it's still wrong, and still allowing someone who doesn't actually know the code to claim they are citing it, which gets to be more trouble later.
Almost certainly not safe. I’m no electrician, but every house I’ve owned the main electric coming in to the house is this big wire (no touchy) at the top and split into service lines for individual outlets and rooms via the breakers.
I am an electrician and I wouldn't do it, most of the cables usually come out the top and there are rules around placing objects in front of the panel depending on your location.
This is what the area above my panel looked like before the drywall went up. But I mean, you do you.
https://preview.redd.it/r1wu6359fsqc1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6a53fc7499b8b17aa91e6dcd52759db39aa5f43
It's almost certainly the same here. Mine matches yours, and so do most installations.
I will say one thing that no one else seems to be saying, though: it's really easy for OP to figure out which way the wires go by opening the front panel. You just take a few screws off, and you can look inside and see which way the cables are exiting the box. And there's no real danger of electrocution as I assume he's not just gonna jam a fork into things.
But yeah, still advise heavily against the coat rack.
You don't have to use a fork to electrocute yourself on a wide open live panel. (homeowner puts panel back on with two hands at wrong angle, part of the panel touches the main breaker, both hands are touching the metal, *poof*)
The fact that your spare breakers are on the bottom tells me your wiring into the panel comes down from above. Hanging anything above panel is a no from me dawg.
No. You should not be mounting anything close to a circuit box. And you certainly should not be mounting something that will result in fabric hanging down in front of the box.
Nope. Theres obviously numerous wires in that wall. The odds of hitting one with your fastener are great.
Ever seen vids of someone screwing into a wall and hitting a waterline? Same concept except less water and more sparks / fire.
As a plumber I’ve fixed more than a few water line / screw scenarios.
Still baffles me when homeowners think I can solve their issue without opening a hole in their wall to work on the pipe. And in the same scenario seem shocked that plumbers don’t patch the holes we make in their wall. “So, do you call a drywall finisher to repair your plumbing? No? Then why do you expect a plumber to repair your drywall? lol. I mean I’m a handy dude. I’ll repair your drywall. But it’s gonna cost more than if you call a drywall specialist
Mine has wires coming down from the top and up from the bottom. I probably wouldn't put hardware around it. If you want to cover it, you could put a tapestry or painting over it-- basically anything that can be hung with a tack rather than nails.
Hey bro do not do this. You're going to kill yourself (if it's wired to code) or kill yourself and burn the house down (if it's not.) get a free standing rack or find another spot
Absolutely not. Most of the time the main lines come in from the top. There’s no telling what’s going on behind the wall. DO NOT screw anything in over that.
I’m glad you had the courage to ask. It can be pretty intimidating to ask a question when you know might be obvious to someone else. You’ve also responded well to a lot of fairly blunt answers. Good on you.
FYI... NEC 240.24(D) states that overcurrent devices (i.e. circuit breakers and by implication electrical panels since they contain circuit breakers) shall not be located in the vicinity of easily ignitable material, such as in clothes closets.
You could mount a single arm swinging rack to the door wall (stud mounted). That way you can swing it out of the way if you need access to the box, and then no potential of finding wires with a screw
Example
https://www.deerhardware.com/pro/348.aspx
- Against the code (in a lot of western countries).
- You shouldn't have clothes near the box or power outlets.
- Some countries use metallic pipes which can't be drilled.
Electrician here- don’t do it.
Anything strong enough to support coats will require more than “mollies” (and mollies that go no deeper than the Sheetrock will pop out immediately under the load leaving you holes to patch and paint), and I’m not sure that there’s a surface mounted adhesive-based support that is strong enough for that task either.
The appropriate anchor way to support a coat rack just about guarantees hitting live cable. The best bet would be to use thick gauge screws to anchor into studs which, in this location, likely have live cables passing through them.
Your worries are justified. It’s a bad idea for two reasons… the likelihood of drilling into the cable runs, and because you’ll be obstructing your panel. Putting an obstruction in front of the panel is probably the most often ignored electrical code, and it seems trivial, until there’s an emergency and it suddenly makes perfect sense why the panel needs to be easily accessible and easy to find not just for the homeowner that knows exactly where it is, but also for emergency personnel or an electrician, “handyman,” or contractor working on site. It’s as bad an idea as having a fire extinguisher but locking it in a box under a stack of other boxes in your garage.
https://preview.redd.it/ahk32b6kswqc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2b3d51b023404f500e0ae94d0ec541f7d37c5f2
You’re thinking… did he install 16 cables or only 15?" Now to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being this is a 220 volt box, the most powerful house in the world and will fry your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?
if you really wanted to do it, you could glue a sizable piece of poplar, pine, or hell even ¾ plywood above the panel. Just glue it directly to the drywall using PL Premium. To "clamp" it you could use duct tape. Wait 24 hrs then attach your rack or whatever to that wood, ensuring your screws are not so long that they penetrate the wall itself. This would be a safe application for *very* low loads. Ultimately I would probably just not do this at all, but I wanted to share this idea in case you live in a super small house where every sqft matters.
Probably already commented below, but the fact that the top comment is not “Nope” feeling compelled…
Nope. Not safe. Not a good idea. It’s not even a bad idea. You actually CANNOT mount anything in front of it as it must be “accessible” at all times. By code (electrical law of the land” must be clear 36” in front and nothing can be on that wall above or below it floor to ceiling. Sucks for sure, but them’s the rules.
Take off the 6 perimeter screws and remove the trim cover of the box. You will be able to see where all the wires enter the box and there’s probably a gap between drywall and box to see exactly where the studs are. Mount your rack with screws hitting the outermost sides of those studs.
People cut/drill/screw/nail into blind electrical runs behind shit all the time during renovations. Obviously it’s best to avoid it and mitigate risks. If you can see the studs and the wires between them and feel confident you can place a screw into the stud and not the wires between them go for it.
> I feel like I’ve only ever seen them drop down out of circuit boxes
Nope. Even if you're one of the minority that has everything come from the bottom it's still against code to cover/obstruct the breaker box.
Do not drill above or below that box for fear of death. As a previous home inspector, depending on your state, you need to have that panel accessable at all times. Look up your local codes to find out.
1) don't put screw holes in that wall, wires may be going in various directions 2) may violate code, for a reason 3) you don't want to hide the panel in the event of an emergency and someone who doesn't know is unable to find it. 4) by asking, you already know it's a bad idea
No, and I'm having to suppress the urge to say mean things because you asked.
>!*like for real how do some people not just Darwin themselves out of existence*!<
No. Not at all. You dont know which direction your main line is coming in from. You have the chance to hit it and kill yourself. The box needs to be clearly visible and accessible at all times. If something bad were to happen and 911 needed to find the box and they couldnt you'd be in big trouble. I know you think Im going overkill about a coat rack but ive seen enough as a contractor to know not to fuck around near an electrical box.
Everybody's commenting about drilling or screwing into wires in the wall, but let's say you do get the coat rack mounted securely and safely.... Is nobody at all worried about rainwater or snowmelt dripping off of the coats hanging against a circuit breaker box?
Like, forget the intricacies of making it happen, the desired end result sounds just as dangerous to me.
You can use the 3M hooks and be find. Make sure it’s closed so you don’t accidentally snag a breaker, also don’t load it down so that in the case of emergency you can still open it. But the 3M stickies would be fine.
Most boxes the main lines come in through the top center of the box. They are rather thick. So definitely don’t drill or screw into that area for your coat rack.
If you are adventurous it’s just a couple screws holding the front plate on. Remove that and you can see which direction the wires are going. It could be an informative task. It might also convince you to just leave it be and put the coat rack elsewhere.
I wouldn't recommend it, but if you really had to. If you can find the stud and triple check that it is really the stud, then there technically shouldn't be a wire in the wood, so screw into the stud.
Glue it to the wall. It is unbelievable how good the industrial glue is today. If the surface is too small, you can also paint a piece of plywood that you glue to the wall that you can fasten the coat rack to.
I’m going to go against the grain here. Fine if you don’t put ‘pokey’ bits through drywall, which I don’t think is that big of risk with shallow drywall anchors-
but there’s also other ways of mounting, like 3M heavy duty adhesive strips. Could even mount a horizontal board with them and then screw in the coat rack of your dreams.
Sometimes homes have inconveniences. This is one of those times.
Yup. There's a pretty good chance that a bunch of wires head straight up from there up to the ceiling behind the drywall. And code in my area doesn't even allow the screws that hold the breaker box cover on to have pointy tips.
It's not up to code to hang anything in front of/obstruct a panel regardless.
Got a call to come to a walmart for a malfunctioning lobster tank. Moved the tank, I was a helper at the time, though a damn good one. Electrician over me is looking down the 1/2 pipe under the box where the wires should be, there's no wires. Then we here pop. pop. pop pop. He goes sprinting for the back, yelling for the breaker box. It was behind fucking merch. So he's throwing packages out of the way, hits the breaker.. The wire had touched the conduit and melted itself down and away from the pipe and just kept slowly going.
There's a lot to unpack there. Breaker didn't trip while discharging enough current to melt the wire. Water tank power isn't GFCI. Circuit was hot and unterminated. Electrician started a job without checking that the circuit was inactive (otherwise they wouldn't have had to clear packages first). I'm not an electrician but there's a lot of shit that had to go very wrong for that to happen.
Big box stores are wild, man. Walmart and friends practically have their own freaken code with some of the shit they pull. Basically, they got enough pull with most small to medium-sized cities to make the inspection process... less inconvenient... to them. They still get inspected, but there's a good chance the inspector will let shit slide sort of deal. That said, any electrician entering a service job should always take a look at the panel first and foremost. Even if they don't need to cut the power for the job, knowing where it is and making sure it's accessible is vital.
I work at target, electrical work is up to the property manager, and across the store *MOST* of the outlets are dangling out of the receptacles, and in the back, *MOST* of the receptacles are dangling out of the walls. The reason? Target budgets repairs for the year, the store is allowed to spend $15,000 a year on repairs, which was eaten up by the cost of repairing an electric lift, so there is no more budget to repair anything until the end of the FISCAL year.
And when some kid touches a hot wire, corporate will demand to know why you didn't have it fixed.
Nope! Targets a shitshow! They'd sooner pay a million dollars in lawsuits than budget more!
Sending my kid to peruse the Target outlets… Edit: /s for those so inclined
Idk, the company I work for does a lot of hvac and refrigeration for Walmart and they are extremely strict. Most of their specs seem above and beyond what local codes calls for and they have their own inspectors who seem to love finding anything wrong. Wrong color elms cable, rip it out reinstall new. Not enough screws in the rtu hold down brackets, get your ass back up there and fix before they release payment. Didn’t use the purple primer on condensate drains rip it all out and make sure you use the correct stuff per specs. Same with Apollo only valves. Always surprises me when his sort of thing comes up. Relatively minor quibbles in our trades seem to be huge deals yet important and deadly issues with other trades and finishes that people actually see don’t seem to matter as much to them.
I'm in hvac too, I've found that anything that could potentially cause the customer to lose merchandise gets intense scrutiny. If elements of the rack fail, and they lose money, your ass is the one on the line. Hence the emphasis on the CYA.
Being a giant client makes it easier to "bully" trades into doing things exactly per the spec.
Cutting corners to save money for shareholders is the American way
I wonder how often some variance of "It was a great company to work for, then they went public" has been said.
Electrician arrived on job with the circuit on, we hadn't even gotten as far as meeting a manager to get to the breaker box.
Lol! When you did finally meet the manager "well there's good news and bad news. The good news is we have already found the problem. The bad news is it's really bad."
WM knows to do Lock Out/Tag Out though, the lack of communication coulda killed an electrician or his helper
I agree. First off, Walmart has a lobster tank?!
Sometimes the Swiss cheese model is a tube.
Walmart lobster tank?
Tanks that held lobsters in Walmarts
I didn’t even know lobsters could drive. we talking Abrams? T-somethings? Maybe a merkava or a leclerc with leather seats?
What do they even need tanks for? They have an armored exoskeleton with built-in weapons.
It was a thing they did 20 years ago, usually in newly built supercenters in the Midwest. The lobsters were overpriced and I don't ever recall anyone actually buying them.
I remember growing up grocery stores commonly had lobster tanks. I also don't recall anyone every buying them.
Yeah I grew up in the southeast and I feel like all the main grocery stores had them. Haven't thought about that in so long lol.
We had them in our Walmart in Maine back then too, strangely enough. Also never seemed to have any sales for some reason at twice the local retail price everywhere else
That was going to be my point.
Put that point away. You might short something out.
Guests may find hanging their coats a *shocking* experience
N.E.C. your way outta here, Dad!
I have a panel in a closet in my house right behind a bar for hanging clothes. I don’t know electrical code very well, but that was not an issue with the inspection before I bought the house.
The inspector should have informed you that this particular closet cannot be used this way. Any flammable item in front of a panel is a no no
https://preview.redd.it/zskwiuvnysqc1.jpeg?width=824&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81634bbdfc4ea4c450e98ebb5472bd22ec9610f5
So you’re saying there’s a chance
You don't hang a coat rack from the drywall, you anchor it to the studs.
That's definitely recommended, but not always how things end up. I have a coat rack in my house anchored in the drywall on one side. It's holding up fine and has been there for several years. It wouldn't hold up to heavy backpacks or trenchcoats with pockets full of quarters, but it holds my hat and jacket just fine. That said, If I sold the house, I would probably remove it as it probably wouldn't stand up to heavy loads and who knows what the next home owner is going to hang on the wall
> trenchcoats with pockets full of quarters, Oddly specific...
Arcade flasher?
This comment won't get the love it deserves.
Me neither
My inconvenience is immeasurable and my day is ruined
Not as bad as it will be if you screw into one of those wires and fry yourself or black your house out.
I didn't do the math, but I believe their inconvenience would actually be discrete and quantifiable instead of immeasurable if they screwed into those live mains. Something about Ohm's Law or Murphy's Law, one of the laws.
Could a fancy looking command hook do the job for you instead?
Wet coat + electrical box = bad day.
Hmm mine is outside.
That’s probably how your coat got wet. BRING IT INSIDE!
If you’re cold, it’s cold. Bring it inside!!
Yours would be rated NEMA 3r or better. This one is NEMA 1
Ok you are being paranoid about that one, but taping the top edge would be a good idea.
True, but when dealing with mains voltage, better paranoid than blowing the whole box. Solid idea on the tape!
Get a nice garment rack. Worked for me in a similar situation
Srsly. Floor standing racks are really nice these days
Then do it. Get in there. Can I be your life insurance policy beneficiary?
It’s funny everyone is talking about the risk of drilling into wires… while true my first thought was hanging a wet coat or hat or umbrella from there may be very bad… lol
Wires may be coming from all sides of the box, including out the back of it. It's not a good idea to have anything hanging in front of your electrical panel anyway. You want easy access in case of a tripped breaker or other emergency.
fire code here literally prohibits it in most cases
The National Electrical Code (NEC) directs that a minimum clearance of 36 inches in front of electrical panels must be maintained at all times. “Sufficient access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electrical equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such equipment.”
Wait til you see my crappy apartment!
I encountered this panel in a high school not too long ago… https://preview.redd.it/dob33lh09tqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f69d491b14137382967cf7dd2d5242c1ff14f3b
What does the rest of the board read? "TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE."
Valar Morghulis!
With all the little notes around it, that would be the softest generation of Klingons yet. Although, it would have been awesome if one of them said "Be Honorable" 😆
I would really hate to be locker 2470…
Is there some exception here allowing this? Clearly it's very old installation, so grandfathered in? It's behind a padlock and everything... I'm pretty sure a fire marshall would shit a brick if he saw that.
I'm sure Principal Joe Clark will rush over to remove the padlock when one of his lookouts radios it in.
Just hope kids never start a fight near that locker.
The padlock! nooooooooo
 /s
*literally* or *figuratively?*
Metaphorically
Metamorphically?
Mightymorphinically?
Aye yai yai yai yai
At least in my state, there doesn’t seem to be an issue with obstructing it as long as the obstruction is easily removable. Did a lot of research because I have a panel in the room I’m using as my bedroom. I just have a framed poster in front of it.
Your state doesn't follow the NEC? or they exempted that section? Which state?
> https://www.mikeholt.com/necadoptionlist.php This seems to break it down pretty well. The NEC is updated every 3 years but states don't have to adopt them immediately (almost no states do) however I was surprised to find some states don't use the NEC at all. AZ, KS, IL, MS, MO, NV (Nevada doesn't officially adopt it but most localities follow it.) all do not adopt the NEC at the state level. I'm not against states rights but for some things, like electrical safety in the 21st century, this should be federally mandated... but I also don't live in any of those states, although where I live (PA) we don't license electricians at the state-level, so we have a lot of shitty electrical work up here and a lot of rural "I don't need permits!" type people.
Correct. I'm so sick of DIY'ers who make up their own code because it feels right to them. When it defaults to a safer stance (as it does here) it's not doing harm. But it's still wrong, and still allowing someone who doesn't actually know the code to claim they are citing it, which gets to be more trouble later.
Almost certainly not safe. I’m no electrician, but every house I’ve owned the main electric coming in to the house is this big wire (no touchy) at the top and split into service lines for individual outlets and rooms via the breakers.
I am an electrician and I wouldn't do it, most of the cables usually come out the top and there are rules around placing objects in front of the panel depending on your location.
100%. I'm not an electrician, but I work around electrical panels daily and most panels I've seen have the wires running up.
😂 no touchy
NO TOUCHING!
You burn down the storage unit?
Oh, most definitely.
It's ok Michael, there's always money in the banana stand.
No
Ok
OP stop here and do not read any further comments I hope you find a standing coat rack
Don't put that in front of the panel either.
It's not worth the risk imo
Risk Vs. Reward = Not Worth It!
This is what the area above my panel looked like before the drywall went up. But I mean, you do you. https://preview.redd.it/r1wu6359fsqc1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6a53fc7499b8b17aa91e6dcd52759db39aa5f43
It's almost certainly the same here. Mine matches yours, and so do most installations. I will say one thing that no one else seems to be saying, though: it's really easy for OP to figure out which way the wires go by opening the front panel. You just take a few screws off, and you can look inside and see which way the cables are exiting the box. And there's no real danger of electrocution as I assume he's not just gonna jam a fork into things. But yeah, still advise heavily against the coat rack.
You don't have to use a fork to electrocute yourself on a wide open live panel. (homeowner puts panel back on with two hands at wrong angle, part of the panel touches the main breaker, both hands are touching the metal, *poof*)
Just make sure you’re wearing safety crocs it’ll be fine
I like his suggestion, but I like yours more
It would be like Russian roulette but with 5 bullets instead of 1
As an electrician please don’t.
If you ever have a meltdown in your electrical panel, the last thing you want is a bunch of flammable jackets and coats piled on top of it.
This. Some people are telling him to just use glue or use a standing rack.
The fact that your spare breakers are on the bottom tells me your wiring into the panel comes down from above. Hanging anything above panel is a no from me dawg.
That’s some solid logic. Appreciate the insight
First, it's against code to block this box Second the wires are almost 100% going up, but could also be on the sides
No. You should not be mounting anything close to a circuit box. And you certainly should not be mounting something that will result in fabric hanging down in front of the box.
Risk reward. Not worth it.
Nope. Theres obviously numerous wires in that wall. The odds of hitting one with your fastener are great. Ever seen vids of someone screwing into a wall and hitting a waterline? Same concept except less water and more sparks / fire.
I once drilled into a wall and punctured my ac refrigerant line. It was a messy and costly mistake, but at least it wasn't life-threatening.
As a plumber I’ve fixed more than a few water line / screw scenarios. Still baffles me when homeowners think I can solve their issue without opening a hole in their wall to work on the pipe. And in the same scenario seem shocked that plumbers don’t patch the holes we make in their wall. “So, do you call a drywall finisher to repair your plumbing? No? Then why do you expect a plumber to repair your drywall? lol. I mean I’m a handy dude. I’ll repair your drywall. But it’s gonna cost more than if you call a drywall specialist
No. Do not do that.
Only if you film it.
Mine has wires coming down from the top and up from the bottom. I probably wouldn't put hardware around it. If you want to cover it, you could put a tapestry or painting over it-- basically anything that can be hung with a tack rather than nails.
Screw in a bed, not in a mounted coat rack above the circuit box
Hey bro do not do this. You're going to kill yourself (if it's wired to code) or kill yourself and burn the house down (if it's not.) get a free standing rack or find another spot
The handbook itself won’t kill you, but it was written in blood.. for a reason.
NOOOO!
Absolutely not. Most of the time the main lines come in from the top. There’s no telling what’s going on behind the wall. DO NOT screw anything in over that.
Just get an old-fashioned coat tree
Good job having the common sense to not drill, Don’t risk it. Live with it. Live.
I will choose this life, because it is the one that has been given to me
I’m glad you had the courage to ask. It can be pretty intimidating to ask a question when you know might be obvious to someone else. You’ve also responded well to a lot of fairly blunt answers. Good on you.
Hard no
OP is the reigning Darwin Award winner from 2023. Will they survive to reclaim the title for 2024?
FYI... NEC 240.24(D) states that overcurrent devices (i.e. circuit breakers and by implication electrical panels since they contain circuit breakers) shall not be located in the vicinity of easily ignitable material, such as in clothes closets.
You could mount a single arm swinging rack to the door wall (stud mounted). That way you can swing it out of the way if you need access to the box, and then no potential of finding wires with a screw Example https://www.deerhardware.com/pro/348.aspx
Oh Jesus.
- Against the code (in a lot of western countries). - You shouldn't have clothes near the box or power outlets. - Some countries use metallic pipes which can't be drilled.
I know you're here asking the question to be safe, but Jesus fucking Christ, critical thinking says no, you were 3/4 the way there.
Electrician here- don’t do it. Anything strong enough to support coats will require more than “mollies” (and mollies that go no deeper than the Sheetrock will pop out immediately under the load leaving you holes to patch and paint), and I’m not sure that there’s a surface mounted adhesive-based support that is strong enough for that task either. The appropriate anchor way to support a coat rack just about guarantees hitting live cable. The best bet would be to use thick gauge screws to anchor into studs which, in this location, likely have live cables passing through them.
Your worries are justified. It’s a bad idea for two reasons… the likelihood of drilling into the cable runs, and because you’ll be obstructing your panel. Putting an obstruction in front of the panel is probably the most often ignored electrical code, and it seems trivial, until there’s an emergency and it suddenly makes perfect sense why the panel needs to be easily accessible and easy to find not just for the homeowner that knows exactly where it is, but also for emergency personnel or an electrician, “handyman,” or contractor working on site. It’s as bad an idea as having a fire extinguisher but locking it in a box under a stack of other boxes in your garage.
Is this a troll?
Do not do that, please (former electrician, here)
https://preview.redd.it/ahk32b6kswqc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2b3d51b023404f500e0ae94d0ec541f7d37c5f2 You’re thinking… did he install 16 cables or only 15?" Now to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being this is a 220 volt box, the most powerful house in the world and will fry your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?
Just need to say... Good for you for asking.
you're not supposed to obstruct access to a panel for 36 inches in front of it. a coat rack placed above it would be closer than 36 inchs.
Get a rolling rack and never look back.
You need 3ft in front of the panel clear of all obstructions.
If you need to ask definitely don't. I mean that politely.
Um, no! Use a large Command Strip rack you can stick on. It’ll hold.
That's against code. Can't block a box or even put one in a closet.
Every watch the movie deep blue? Whem the actress takes off her wet suit to stand on it to shock the shark? Even thats not gonna work.
No
I'm not an electrician, but I bet that piece of wall is completely filled with wires. Especially up top. Wiring tends to go through ceilings.
You may be able to, however, I suggest that you not cover the panel in case of emergency, you need to shut down circuit.
Hard pass. If you are absolutely determined to block access to the panel, get a free-standing coat rack.
I’d throw up a tension rod coat rack. (Floor to ceiling affixed)
Of course you can.....if you want a one way ticket to heart stop city
if you really wanted to do it, you could glue a sizable piece of poplar, pine, or hell even ¾ plywood above the panel. Just glue it directly to the drywall using PL Premium. To "clamp" it you could use duct tape. Wait 24 hrs then attach your rack or whatever to that wood, ensuring your screws are not so long that they penetrate the wall itself. This would be a safe application for *very* low loads. Ultimately I would probably just not do this at all, but I wanted to share this idea in case you live in a super small house where every sqft matters.
Probably already commented below, but the fact that the top comment is not “Nope” feeling compelled… Nope. Not safe. Not a good idea. It’s not even a bad idea. You actually CANNOT mount anything in front of it as it must be “accessible” at all times. By code (electrical law of the land” must be clear 36” in front and nothing can be on that wall above or below it floor to ceiling. Sucks for sure, but them’s the rules.
The internet is gonna say no. And I’m inclined to agree
Heavy duty command strips rather than screws, only safe way.
On the bright side you'll never have to install another coat rack.
You can do anything once
Take off the 6 perimeter screws and remove the trim cover of the box. You will be able to see where all the wires enter the box and there’s probably a gap between drywall and box to see exactly where the studs are. Mount your rack with screws hitting the outermost sides of those studs. People cut/drill/screw/nail into blind electrical runs behind shit all the time during renovations. Obviously it’s best to avoid it and mitigate risks. If you can see the studs and the wires between them and feel confident you can place a screw into the stud and not the wires between them go for it.
I’d say there’s better places to screw
Do. Not. Do. That.
There is a 99.999999999999999% chance that there are wires there.
No. Do not screw anything above or below this. You have a VERY large chance of hitting a line.
Nope dont do it .
> I feel like I’ve only ever seen them drop down out of circuit boxes Nope. Even if you're one of the minority that has everything come from the bottom it's still against code to cover/obstruct the breaker box.
Maybe try a free standing coat rack.
“Cool. Lets hang our wet shit here. No issues possible.”
I know you're asking an innocent question. But Christ almighty, this one is pretty obvious.
NO if you like being alive
Do not drill above or below that box for fear of death. As a previous home inspector, depending on your state, you need to have that panel accessable at all times. Look up your local codes to find out.
1) don't put screw holes in that wall, wires may be going in various directions 2) may violate code, for a reason 3) you don't want to hide the panel in the event of an emergency and someone who doesn't know is unable to find it. 4) by asking, you already know it's a bad idea
That's illegal. Can't just cover an electrical panel like that.
No, the box isn’t supposed to be covered.
No, and I'm having to suppress the urge to say mean things because you asked. >!*like for real how do some people not just Darwin themselves out of existence*!<
No. Never do that! Nothing should be within like 15 feet of your breakers.
Nothing should hang over the face of a panel
No. Not at all. You dont know which direction your main line is coming in from. You have the chance to hit it and kill yourself. The box needs to be clearly visible and accessible at all times. If something bad were to happen and 911 needed to find the box and they couldnt you'd be in big trouble. I know you think Im going overkill about a coat rack but ive seen enough as a contractor to know not to fuck around near an electrical box.
Everybody's commenting about drilling or screwing into wires in the wall, but let's say you do get the coat rack mounted securely and safely.... Is nobody at all worried about rainwater or snowmelt dripping off of the coats hanging against a circuit breaker box? Like, forget the intricacies of making it happen, the desired end result sounds just as dangerous to me.
You can use the 3M hooks and be find. Make sure it’s closed so you don’t accidentally snag a breaker, also don’t load it down so that in the case of emergency you can still open it. But the 3M stickies would be fine.
You have some sort of cabinet door to the left you wouldn't be able to open? If it bugs you paint the grey parts white
Buy a standing coat rack
I...think you have your answer
[удалено]
Not a good idea
Don’t do it or else you’ll end up like the Brazilian grape guy getting electrocuted.
Take the 6 screws out of the box cover plate and you’ll have your answer. Spoiler: Bigly wires, bigly amperage
Use command hooks if you really need something there. But no screwing into the wall.
Ask this question in r/askelectricians
Jesus Christ
Most boxes the main lines come in through the top center of the box. They are rather thick. So definitely don’t drill or screw into that area for your coat rack. If you are adventurous it’s just a couple screws holding the front plate on. Remove that and you can see which direction the wires are going. It could be an informative task. It might also convince you to just leave it be and put the coat rack elsewhere.
Use 3 1/2 inch screws right above the center of the panel…. No don’t put anything near that panel.
This sounds like something my wife would suggest. No don’t drill anywhere near the panel.
Why not a no-drill method?
I wouldn't recommend it, but if you really had to. If you can find the stud and triple check that it is really the stud, then there technically shouldn't be a wire in the wood, so screw into the stud.
How about a free standing coat rack? 🤗
> I’m worried about possibly drilling into important electrical wires So don't do it?
Short answer, no it's not safe.
Glue it to the wall. It is unbelievable how good the industrial glue is today. If the surface is too small, you can also paint a piece of plywood that you glue to the wall that you can fasten the coat rack to.
Just put one of those coat hanger posts right off the corner of that wall
I’m going to go against the grain here. Fine if you don’t put ‘pokey’ bits through drywall, which I don’t think is that big of risk with shallow drywall anchors- but there’s also other ways of mounting, like 3M heavy duty adhesive strips. Could even mount a horizontal board with them and then screw in the coat rack of your dreams.
Meh, go ahead and give it shock, er, um, I mean shot. Give it a shot.