My house has a split-bus panel from 1979 (Square D box model QOB 30X200-3; interior model QON 26-614HA), providing 200 amp service. The panel is completely full.
I want to install a separate main panel outside (actually an 8-space meter-main box), to add a surge protector and prepare for future solar installation.
That means this panel needs to become a subpanel. My plan is to replace the current 3-conductor SEU cable from the meter with a new 4-conductor SER cable from the feed-thru terminals of the meter-main panel.
New panel door label:
Looking at the neutral/ground bars, I see that they are already all separated (except one neutral that can be easily moved). But there are three other issues:
- The neutral from the SEU cable looks like it can only connect to the lower part of the bar (i.e. the part where all the grounds are).
- The subpanel neutral and ground look like they can only connect to the upper part of the bar. (The lug on the lower bar where the ground wire is connected looks too small for the wire from the subpanel, so I can't switch them.)
- There does not appear to be a way to unbond the two bars from each other.
(Note: there does not appear to be any bonding between the neutral/ground bars and the enclosure.)
Close-up of neutral/ground bars
(I know that the correct long-term answer is to replace this panel with a modern one, but I would like to do that as a separate project. As I think other questions on this site have noted, a full replacement requires much more permitting hassle than effectively a "like for like" replacement of what will now be just a subpanel.)
Is it possible to retrofit this panel with a separate ground bar? Alternatively, is there a 2017 NEC-compliant way to argue that the existing install is grandfathered-in until I have time to replace the panel?
