Does breraker location matter?

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mkgrady

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
A friend in Florida is doing a bathroom remodel job. He told me his electrician and inspector require large cbs be placed closer to the panel feed. Here is what he said:

"In my case there was an 80A CB at the very bottom of the panel feeding the electric heating element in my air handler. The electrician said that with all the breakers above it taking current, there is enough voltage drop on the buss to cause the 80A breaker to not have enough voltage to properly feed the circuit. At least that is the theory. True or not, the inspector requires it. So he swapped a couple of smaller breakers to the bottom at the panel and moved the 80A to the top of the buss. He also moved few others around so that they are in descending size as you go down the panel away from the main feed"

I have never heard of this? Is this a valid theory?
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
I've heard of this too, but IMO it's just a bunch of crap. The panel bus is sufficient to carry the load just as easily as the conductors feeding the panel. The fact that the inspector is requiring it means that someone is good at making up their own code. This is not an NEC requirement. But from what I've read on this forum, the fact that this happened in Florida doesn't surprise me.
 

roger

Moderator
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Location
Fl
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Retired Electrician
Another case of idiots in the state of Florida. :lol:


Roger
 

mkgrady

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Seems the current carrying ability of the bus would have to be substantially lower than the rating of the feed wire for this to be a problem. What would motivate an inspector to make up this requirement?
 

infinity

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Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
mkgrady said:
Seems the current carrying ability of the bus would have to be substantially lower than the rating of the feed wire for this to be a problem. What would motivate an inspector to make up this requirement?


That's a good question. I've read several things here about Florida inspectors that make little sense. However, Bryan Holland is one of the many respected posters on this forum and he's an inspector from Florida. Maybe he can answer your question. We certainly know how Roger feels about Florida inspectors. :D
 

stars13bars2

Senior Member
Inspector thinks he is a genius and you are an idiot, and he is protecting you from yourself. There are some really smart inspectors someplace, there has got to be.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
I would like to ask a question. Why does everyone think that electrical inspectors know more than the average licensed electrician. The qualifications and the pay are not that high. In most cases the EC should know more about the type of job he is doing than the inspector. In one day an inspector may go to industrial, commercial and residential jobs of various sizes and when he's there he performs a limmited inspection. He may get to see a lot of jobs but he will never get that in depth in any of them. Why would an electrician let an inspector tell him where to locate breakers without a code reference ( it's not the inspectors job ). He will probably continue to do this until someone calls him on it. It was probably some dumb electrician that put this stupid idea in the inspectors head in the first place and now it will take an electrician that is willing to stand up for himself to get the idea out.
 

pierre

Senior Member
It is possible the inspector may have been an electrician - and he experienced moving a breaker with good results - now he believes that it should be done and he uses the magic of "it is code" to get it done.


As far as a code requirement, it is not.
 

macmikeman

Senior Member
From what I am able to tell, there are some really good inspectors down there, (regular members here), and there are some real doozy's. The gentlemen that appear with Mike Holt in his video's are mostly Florida inspectors if I am not mistaken, and they sure sound to me like they have a pretty good handle on things. There are a few bozo's sprinkled around just about everywhere, not just Florida. That particular one is probably not well informed. Invite him to visit here. And by the way, imho it does not matter a bit where on the bus the breaker is placed so long as it makes a good connection, and it is not routinely overloaded for any length of time. P.S. I tried the spell check, and it hung up and blank screened for an extended period of time. So for now I remain unspelled.
 

mkgrady

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
I just heard from my friend. He met with the inspector who laughed when the breaker location was discussed. The electrician made it up (that the inspector requires breakers in descending order from the feed end). The electrician had nothing to gain by moving the breakers around so he must actually believe it makes a difference. :shock:
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
See, now all you guys have to apologize to all us Florida Inspectors...okay don't bother, I agree with most of the comments myself! I hear stuff like this all the time from my apprenticeship students. When I bring up the same topic at an IAEI meeting, the "offending" inspectors make no comment or try to change the subject... :oops:
 

roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
Bryan, by no means was my comment directed towards you. :)


Roger
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Hopefully Bryan's fellow inspectors do not take Bryan out to the everglades for a hunting trip....he may not be seen again. :shock:
 

copper123

Senior Member
I have noticed in some service gear, ( Homeline 16 space meter can with 200 amp main breaker back fed and main lugs) they require that if you install a 2 pole 100 breaker on the panel, it has to be right next to the 200 amp back fed main. All other breakers can only be 70 amps or less. They show a schematic in the sticker literature. I always thought they were worried about the copper alloy buss heating up if you had a high load farther out on the bussing.??
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
iwire said:
Hopefully Bryan's fellow inspectors do not take Bryan out to the everglades for a hunting trip....he may not be seen again. :shock:


Especially if they bring along Dick Cheney. :wink:
 
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