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Note the service entrance has only two hot wires and no ground.

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Update: Some suggest metal cover but the reason I can't use metal is the grills or all the iron and enclosure are not grounded. We only use the United States two hot wires and don't use any neutral or ground. None of our appliances have any EGC. This is the reason I prefer flame retardant nonconductive panel cover. Is there any non flame retardant plastic?

In our compound we have 5 townhouses with each meter serving a house.

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The panel is rusted and the cover gone. It would take us 3 weeks of power interruption to replace the whole thing because we have to apply for permit and it involves costs too and neighbors not willing. I initially thought of use cardboard to cover the breakers, but I suddenly thought what if someone would lit it with a match consindering it's outside in the street. Please suggest what kind of flame retardant nonconductive material to cover the open panel housing the breakers. Thank you.

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    In what country would that even be vaguely legal? You have exposed non-weather-resistant junctions & switches outdoors with tails running through unsealed conduits into the building. The wiring is a mess & not fastened down anywhere. No colour-coding & the Earth looks like 2A cable, tagged only to one of the 5 boxes. In fact I can see no earth going into the building at all. It's a death-trap. – Tetsujin Sep 14 at 11:18
  • Our country only use the United States two hot wires and we don't use any neutral nor grounding. This is why I can't use metal because this would just increase the surface area and instead looking for nonconductive material. – Jtl Sep 14 at 22:45
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    You don't get earth from the power company, you make your own where the mains comes into the building by hammering a large spike into the ground. The reason you colour-code the other two is for consistency, so you always know which side is switched & which is live. There is no neutral on AC, you just use one side as live, the other as return, by convention, so fewer people kill themselves. – Tetsujin Sep 15 at 7:10
  • What country are you in? – Nate S - Reinstate Monica Sep 16 at 19:01
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Sheet Metal

That's really the only choice. That was almost certainly what was there before.

Conductive is actually NOT a problem. If it is designed and implemented correctly, the metal will not be in contact with ANY wires under normal conditions. There is, obviously, a concern if somehow the metal is in contact with one of the hot wires and then someone touches it. The solution to that problem is related to the other concern about a panel cover - access. Basically, you want access to be possible (a) without tools and (b) without contact should that be a concern. An ordinary breaker panel will have a door that on hinges that can be opened/closed easily - that is essentially what you want to build here. If it is done right, you will, if needed, be able to open/close with an insulated item (e.g., a dry wooden pole) to access the breakers. But the cover itself metal. Probably some sort of steel, though aluminum may be more corrosion resistant.

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    @Jtl Metal is best: you connect it securely to the earth (ground) connection. If it was wood it could become live if it was raining and a live wire touched it. – Andrew Morton Sep 14 at 13:16
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    @Jtl -- you're in over your head. Stop before you kill yourself or burn your house down. – Pete Becker Sep 14 at 13:35
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    None. See the edited main post picture showing the service entrance with only two hot wires leading inside. We don't use ground. All houses don't have ground in the service entance because all our appliances are only two wires without any possibility of connecting any EGC. – Jtl Sep 15 at 2:30
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    See my comment above. You don't get Earth from the power company, you make it when you lay the foundations, before you pour the floors by banging a massive metal spike in the ground, or at worst after construction by doing the same just outside & tying it through the building using the water piping. – Tetsujin Sep 15 at 7:14
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    Earth ground wont trip breaker bec of high impedance of soil. You need low impedance path direct to transformer centertap to trip any breakers during ground fault. – Jtl Sep 16 at 2:21
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The problem isn't getting a cover, that whole panel is falling apart and the conduit and meter cans above it look really bad too, not to mention the gutter above them. Not sure where this is at but if it was in Florida, they'd be disconnected on the spot. You really need to think about getting this fixed.

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