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For the first time in 19 years I can't light up on Thanksgiving, AAGH!


kzaas

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Did testing last night and some final work today, so my son says turn on all the lights for a final check before showtime. Lights were on for about ten minutes and then everything went down. after some troubleshooting I found that the main feeder breaker to my sub-panel had tripped and couldn't be reset. I pulled the cover off of my main panel and saw that I had arcing evidence where the breaker is seated. I pulled the breaker out and sure enough the breaker had been arcing on the bar causing it to overheat and damage it.

The thing that suck's is that it's Thanksgiving night and of course Home Depot is closed so I have to wait until tomorrow for a replacement breaker.:)

Thanks for letting me vent, now get back to programming!

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I would debate on going to Home Depot for the breaker. I also do spa repair and everyone that has had a breaker problem, it has been a HD breaker. Lowes or an electrical supply seem to have better quality breakers. Just an opinion.

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Next year I would beef it up to a 125amp panel. I've had a lot of problems with those 100amp panels. So far no problems with the 125's. That is if it is a 100amp panel.

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BrownOut wrote:

Use car jumper cables! Who needs a breaker? Sorry to hear the lights are not on.

I did that once at a tennis court one late night, funny thing.
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I was at the Muppet Movie with my daughter and granddaughter today..they (the muppets, not daughter and grandaughter...:)) saved the day with jumper cables....same kind of problem..the villian tried to sabotage them by destroying the main breaker panel.

If it worked for Kermit, it HAS to work for you...:D:D:D

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I had the same experience. I told all my neighbors it was starting tonight. The road was lined with kids while I was testing everything. Three blown fuses and two circuit break trips, I realized I need more power.

I just ran 8 dedicated 20amp circuits and the show will go on tomorrow instead.

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kzaas wrote:

.....The thing that suck's is that it's Thanksgiving night and of course Home Depot is closed so I have to wait until tomorrow for a replacement breaker.:P

Thanks for letting me vent, now get back to programming!

Ouch! Hopefully there is no damage to the bus bar where the breaker seats, if there is, then this could likely happen again. Good Luck!
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pikadroo wrote:

rick gorman wrote:
I would debate on going to Home Depot for the breaker. I also do spa repair and everyone that has had a breaker problem, it has been a HD breaker. Lowes or an electrical supply seem to have better quality breakers. Just an opinion.

I noticed that too but I thought I was crazy. Aren't they all made by the same manufacture? The Home Depot ones seemed a little loose and trip easy, the Lowes breakers were like the original breakers solid and tight.

Drew


No, not all breakers are the same.

Seems like there are a few companies springing up that are trying to get into the electrical business and making some very shabby (my opinion) knockoffs of breakers, panel boxes, receptacles, etc..
Be leary of some of these new ones and do a little homework on things like this before you buy. PLEASE !!
The home and/or lives you save may be your own!!!

I am an electrician and I have been seeing problems with some of the newer electrical items coming from HD primarily but also from a few other sources as well.
These are not the same quality as things like Levitron and other brand names and should NOT be used (again in my opinion) due to them causing problems like arcing, false tripping, buss bar arcs and the subsequent pitting that it causes.
I had a panel box recently that shot sparks out when I opened it up to troubleshoot some problems. It had 3 cheap breakers in it that had arced and required the whole panel box to be replaced.

The electrical end of this "hobby" of ours is not something to skimp on at all. You need to have the best source of clean and reliable power you can.
It may be a few dollars more to start out right, but trust me it is more than worth it.
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