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I am in the middle of remodeling my basement. From the beginning I always assumed I had two open spaces in the breaker panel to add new circuits based on the fact that visually, you could clearly see there was two open spaces.

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Fast forward to today. I pull the cover off and see two open spaces. I proceed to wire up the new breaker and finally go snap the breaker into the panel itself only to notice that the metal bar that the breaker snaps into is missing in the two remaining open spaces. It appears to be by design. I have no idea what to do at this point. Is there someway I can still use these two open spaces? What am I missing? Thank You!

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Here is the label from the panel

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    It certainly looks like that isn't a location for a breaker. We can answer definitively if you add a picture of the label from the panel with the type information.
    – KMJ
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 21:07
  • @KMJ I will add that to the post now. The breaker location looks identical to all the others and also has the grooves as well, it is very odd to me they would design it to look exactly like a breaker space if it wasnt.
    – After_Sunset
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 21:10
  • @KMJ Also, just look at the first picture, there is clearly marked knockouts for this spot.
    – After_Sunset
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 21:13
  • Front panels are used for many similar panel models. The fact that there are knockouts there doesn't indicate that the location is usable.
    – isherwood
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 22:12
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    There's a better duplicate here someplace. Anyway, they save money by making the same boxes and covers but offering the "save the price of a coffee" crowd shorter bus-bars, thus fewer actual breaker slots.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 22:17

1 Answer 1

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As evidenced by the fact that the manufacturer has removed the bus-stab material on the right-hand side, those are clearly not breaker spaces. You cannot install breakers there.

The fact that knockouts and rails for the clips on the other end of breakers exist doesn't change that. Manufacturers simplify their production lines, NRTL testing, and distribution/stocking by minimizing the number of different parts they make. In this case, they've used the same cover, box, and internals (except for the bus) for both a 12-space main-breaker panel and a 16-space main-lug panel.

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  • i see, thank you very much for the answer. i guess ill either have to combine a circuit or put in a subpanel, thanks again!
    – After_Sunset
    Commented Dec 16, 2023 at 12:25
  • I mean, your other option is to simply replace the panel with one that hasn't been cheaped out.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Dec 16, 2023 at 14:49
  • @Huesmann this isn't a case of being cheaped out, it's a case of the top 2 rows are entirely needed for the main breaker. The limiting factor is bus stab limits. The only thing you could really put across from the main is a surge suppressor or a generator interlock.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 2:15
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica fair enough. But given that the OP seems to already have a number of tandems, perhaps it still makes sense to simply replace the panel with a bigger one.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 13:22

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