Comments for Circuit Breakers Blog - Expert Safety and Usage Information

Comment on Perfect Square D MA36500 Circuit Breaker an Ornamental Reminder by QuadTech

QuadTech — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:42:28 +0000

“There is a tendency to make technical judgments based on appearances. ”

Great point! 99 times out of a 100 if it looks like a dog, smells like a dog and barks like a dog it probably is a dog. But that 1 time it might be a goat. Now you have a goat instead of a dog.

Comment on Noisy Circuit Breaker is a Warning by QuadTech

QuadTech — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:43:51 +0000

Strange noises is always cause for concern! Maybe your circuit breaker isn’t going to blow up this minute, but something is certainly amiss. The most important thing to remember is safety. You don’t want to accidentally push the circuit breaker over edge while you’re inspecting it.

Comment on How Do You Test a Circuit Breaker with Ground Fault Protection by QuadTech

QuadTech — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:25:43 +0000

Great information! You definitely want to understand the limitations and capabilities of whichever circuit breaker you are using. Not knowing how it works in certain circumstances can be very dangerous!

Comment on Important Circuit Breaker Maintenance Tool – Wasp Spray by QuadTech

QuadTech — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:33:09 +0000

Most of the time you don’t think about the non-technical issues that can arise when working in the field. Hornets is definitely a non-technical issue that can seriously delay a project. Sometimes you never know what you’ll face until you get there!

Comment on Federal Pacific Circuit Breakers by MIDWEST

MIDWEST — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:02:13 +0000

We checked and MIDWEST does have some small residential type breakers listed in our inventory. We will take these old FPE Stab-Lok breakers out of our inventory for the very reason you reference, the possibility of fire and shock hazard. Thank you for the good information. Safety first and safety always. We appreciate it. MIDWEST

Comment on Federal Pacific Circuit Breakers by Gilberto Gil

Gilberto Gil — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:06:03 +0000

You would have to be a crazy person to order a Federal Pacific circuit breaker. Right? I mean,unless you want to increase the chance that your house explodes.

Comment on Why didn’t the Circuit Breaker trip in a Surge Suppressor Strip? by MIDWEST Electrical Testing

MIDWEST Electrical Testing — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:04:13 +0000

The surge suppressor strips did not contain a thermal disconnect. They do not list either the date of manufacture, nor the version of UL 1449 to which they comply. The 10 year figure was given by a site electrician. I’m not sure how accurate the figure is, but he said they were all bought together, and were expensive at the time.

A recent trip to Walmart revealed that not one single brand of surge suppressor strip listed either a UL 1449 revision, a date of manufacture, nor any such indication that they contained any failsafe components such as a thermal disconnect. So, it would seem that the only way to tell is to buy a strip, and tear it apart to find out.

In general, I would recommend buying a high quality strip with the highest Joule rating offered. For instance, Belkin, a major name brand, offers their top of the line strips with over a 4300 Joule rating and a $300,000 Connected Equipment Warranty.

It does not pay to be cheap when buying a surge suppressor. They are very cheap insurance against catastrophe. Part of the reason to buy a high Joule rating, and hence an expensive strip, is simply the market place reality that you usually get what you pay for (or, equivalently, if you buy cheap, you get a cheap manufacture).

As far as the heat generated, if the applied line voltage during the high line condition was just 150 Vrms, and if just 1 ampere of current flowed through the carbonized material, this would generate 150 watts of heat. If the applied voltage was 250 Vrms, and if 10 amperes flowed, then this would generate 2500 watts. Neither current would be enough to trip any 15 Ampere circuit breaker. However, either scenario is more than enough heat to melt and cook the innards, and eventually start a fire.

Comment on When is a Circuit Breaker not a Circuit Breaker? by Square D Circuit Breaker

Square D Circuit Breaker — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:58:35 +0000

This is an important point! There’s no doubt to the importance of having quality when it comes to safety. Thanks

Dave

Comment on Why didn’t the Circuit Breaker trip in a Surge Suppressor Strip? by RJ

RJ — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:45:04 +0000

Surge suppressor strips 10 years old should have been UL1449 v2 listed. The technology available for surge suppressors sold new ten years ago most likely included internal thernal devices that should have cut-off the internal power to the strip. Even if the circuit breaker did not trip there should have not been enough heat to ignite a fire.

The surge suppressor strips had been in place for 10 years without incident, but, when were these strips manufactured?