Upsidedown or not??

[Matthew Curtis]

Does it matter wich side of an electrical box is up? Does the main break need to be on top?

[Mike De Luca]

Not sure, but my old service was side fed with the main being in the center of the bus vertically...

[John Coloccia]

What reason do you have for mounting it upside down? When you open the panel, it will stick out at you at chin level as opposed to opening and clearing your head. I don't know about any specific code (though there may be one) but it seems awfully strange to do that. If you need to run wires out the top, you can always add a large conduit going to a large junction box and break out from there.

[Dan Hintz]

Doesn't the upside down numbering scheme and stickers bother you?

[Jay Maiers]

I had the same question when I instaled a sub-panel for my basement. I had a wire feeding / space issue that made it nearly impossible to get the wires in from the top. The inspector said no problem, but again that's for a sub panel.

IMO, you should call your local inspector and ask. They're the guys that will ultimately have the say-so. Mine were very friendly and helpful, even though I'm in a heavily populated area and called them about a dozen times...

[Matthew Curtis]

My main feed is coming in from below. why take that main feed and go to the top of the box, make a "U"turn and come down to conect to the lugs and breaker? Why not just come into the bottom of the box and directly to the breaker and lugs?

[Don Jarvie]

No issue. When I put my panel in the garage the feed came in from the bottom and the electrician who helped me said it was no issue whether the main breaker was at the top or bottom of the box.

[Thomas Bank]

My shop has an underground feed, so the main breaker is on the bottom. House has an overhead feed, so the main breaker is on the top. No problem.

[russell lusthaus]

of course, the door will open the other way, which is the reason why I mounted my sub upside down.

[Gary Chester]

I asked my inspector the same question 2 weeks ago and he said it was fine.

My panel, from HD, is designed to be installed either way.

I'm pretty sure the little electrons don't care...

[Dan Hintz]

I'm pretty sure the little electrons don't care...
You run the risk of the lazy electrons collecting on the bottom of the feeders, slowing down the electrons who are just trying to do their jobs. All of that shoulder-rubbing will cause a higher-than-usual amount of friction, and as we all know, friction leads to heat, heat leads to higher resistance, which leads to a loss of power.

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

I would install an electron bar near one edge of the feeder, which would have the effect of getting the lazy electrons over to one side and out of the way of the dutiful electrons. The choice of drinks served at the electron bar is left up to the installer.

[Callan Campbell]

You run the risk of the lazy electrons collecting on the bottom of the feeders, slowing down the electrons who are just trying to do their jobs. All of that shoulder-running will cause a higher-than-usual amount of friction, and as we all know, friction leads to heat, heat leads to higher resistance, which leads to a loss of power.

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

I would install an electron bar near one edge of the feeder, which would have the effect of getting the lazy electrons over to one side and out of the way of the dutiful electrons. The choice of drinks served at the electron bar is left up to the installer.
Ok Dan, it's clear you've been reading too much of Glenn Bradley's posted "Theory on Electrical Magic" again. Don't let him see your post, as he'll only unwind and pontificate on electrons for hours....;););)

[ray hampton]

my mine breakers are on the bottom but the stickers are right-side up and the doors open to the right to the wall

[Thomas Bank]

of course, the door will open the other way, which is the reason why I mounted my sub upside down.

On mine, the door is separate from the cover for the breakers - so it can be set up to open to the left or right with the main breaker at either the top or the bottom.

[Rollie Meyers]

It depends on how the main breaker is configured, if "ON / OFF" is side to side like is common on newer loadcenters, then top or bottom feed does not matter. If the main is vertical mounted then bottom feed is a no-go because if a breaker is mounted vertical then "ON" must be the up position ( See NEC 240.33, this same article prohibits here, the Canadian practice of mounting panels sideways).

Newer loadcenters are commonly made for top or bottom feed, and are marked to do so.