On Feb 8, 11:40*am, wrote:
Folks:

More a style question than a code question.

Do you feel it is preferable to pull the service conductors into the
panel
and run them right to the lugs, or cut them long and form them into
a loop?

The loops add a little more flexibility, and give you some extra wire
if somewhere down the road the end should corrode or burn, but at
the same time, they take up a lot of space in the box, especially if
you're using larger gauges.

What does everybody think?

Another question: when trimming boxes, I tend to measure 8" or
so along the cable jacket, then staple it at that point on the cable,
but closer to the box, leaving a standing loop. *I feel this helps
relieve potential strains, and allows the cable to be pulled into the
box at some future time if more wire is needed, or the box needs
to be moved slightly. Does anybody else do this? What do you
think of this practice?

Cordially yours:
A P

I don't leave loops in panels because there is a 40 per cent fill
limit in the side gutter spaces. If there is a need for extending the
conductors in the future which generally is very unlikely, crimp
splices can be applied to pig tails.
For boxes, the rule is 6 inches of free conductor is required measured
from where the conductor enters the box. Again, leaving excess slack
in the box can be a problem since there are code rules on box fill.
As a matter of fact there is a specific rule on slack introduced in
the 2005 NEC that requires that if the looped conductor is not less
than twice the free length required in 300.14 it counts as two
conductors when determining box fill. REF: cited below:

2005 NEC 314.16
(B) Box Fill Calculations. The volumes in paragraphs
314.16(B)(1) through (B)(5), as applicable, shall be added
together. No allowance shall be required for small fittings
such as locknuts and bushings.
(1) Conductor Fill. Each conductor that originates outside
the box and terminates or is spliced within the box shall be
counted once, and each conductor that passes through the
box without splice or termination shall be counted once. A
looped, unbroken conductor not less than twice the minimum
length required for free conductors in 300.14 shall be
counted twice. The conductor fill shall be calculated using
Table 314.16(B). A conductor, no part of which leaves the
box, shall not be counted.
Exception: An equipment grounding conductor or conductors
or not over four fixture wires smaller than 14 AWG, or
both, shall be permitted to be omitted from the calculations
where they enter a box from a domed luminaire (fixture) or
similar canopy and terminate within that box.