Every time I looked inside a panel I have always seen the hot wires do long loops from the entry point to almost the edge of the box and back to the breaker. Whenever I had to bring a new wire into a panel, I would do the same figuring the electrician knew best. Most of the time, the commons and the grounds don't do the loop thing. I've been looking at pictures of panel wiring and most of them have clean wiring with no loops for the hot wire, just the wire following the outside wall of the box and bending in front of the breaker feeding it and... into the breaker -- you can clearly see which cable is connected to which breaker. Right now I'm trying to figure out which wire goes to which breaker in my panel and it's a mess. Is it (was it) considered good practice to do the loop thing? I read somewhere that it was to allow changing the position of the breaker. How often and in what situation do you need to change a breaker from one position to another? Wouldn't it be better to leave some slack in the cable outside the panel box (still supporting the cable within 12" of the box) so that if you do need to stretch the hot wire you can do so by pulling in more cable from outside the box? I also have this big 4-2 cable coming in at the bottom of the box. Both hot wires do the loop -- a lot of tight bending there. Wouldn't it be better for the wires to go directly from the cable's entry point to the nearest breaker? Thanks

hi i am new to the forum and of course I don't have lots of knowledge about electricity. I've recently bought a new air-conditionar which comes with 15A electric plug (circle in shape) See photo. But the socket available is only 13A which is rectangular in shape. Since I am not in the US or any other European countries , in case of confusion ,misunderstanding or different standards, I first post some photos of what I have. 13A electric plug bought from DIY shop. [ATTACH]33266[/ATTACH][ATTACH]33267[/ATTACH] 13A wall socket available. Our home doesnt have 15A socket. [ATTACH]33268[/ATTACH] 15A electric plug that comes with the air-conditioner. [ATTACH]33269[/ATTACH] The shopkeeper suggested me changing the electric plug from circle to rectangular on my own to fit my wall socket. He commented that I can do it myself without having to look for certificate technicians, I only need to use a screwdriver and connect those earth wire, live wire etc. He claimed that's very very easy and he said if I want to change the socket, then I will have to find someone to help. 1. Is his word true? 2. What should I take of when it comes to changing electric plug 3. Do i have to consider the fuse or the power of the device. 4. I never done that before. In the worst case scenario, will it damage my device (air-conditioner) Thank you.