Reducing lugs?

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racerdave3

Senior Member
Hi Folks, Quick question. I have a situation where I need to get a 2/0 conductor under the terminals of a 100 amp breaker. The larger than normal wire size is due to possible plans for future expansion as well as to compensate for voltage drop due to the length of the run. My question is, do they make a lug or terminal that I could use to neatly reduce the 2/0 to something that will fit better into the breaker, instead of trimming a few strands from the conductor which leaves a less than attractive installation.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
I think that MacAdapt is one brand name. But the short answer is "Sure!", such fittings are made. I thought, perhaps mistakenly, that most 100 amp breakers went up to 2/0.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
cadpoint said:


They also make individual bugs like these:
black.49.gif
 

racerdave3

Senior Member
Marc, I was under the same assumption, and the label on the breaker indicates 2/0 as well, but trust me when I tell you that it will not fit in there. I would want to say a #1 would fit, maybe a 1/0 with a shoehorn, but the 2/0 won't make it without trimming a few strands.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
racerdave3 said:
the label on the breaker indicates 2/0 as well, but trust me when I tell you that it will not fit in there.

I trust you believe that it will not fit. :)

It would be very odd if in fact it did not accept the conductors listed on the breaker.

If after making sure the screw was out as far as possible and making sure the conductor strands where in perfect alignment, not ovaled, etc. it still did not fit I would start to suspect I had a counterfeit imported piece of junk.
 

Brady Electric

Senior Member
Location
Asheville, N. C.
Reducing lugs?

iwire said:
I trust you believe that it will not fit. :)

It would be very odd if in fact it did not accept the conductors listed on the breaker.

If after making sure the screw was out as far as possible and making sure the conductor strands where in perfect alignment, not ovaled, etc. it still did not fit I would start to suspect I had a counterfeit imported piece of junk.
A big 10/4 iwire! By all means " don't "cut out strands, I have seen to many of these arc and burn the insulation back and also make the breaker go bad and even solder the wire to the breaker. Good joints and tight connections will make for maintenance free installation's. Semper Fi
 

tonyi

Senior Member
Back the terminal screw out a couple of turns. Look at the opening on the breaker and you'll probably see the screw poking down into the hole a bit.

Make sure the wire is nice and straight lengthwise and perfectly round.

It'll go in.
 

dezwitinc

Senior Member
Location
Delray Beach, FL
Reducing

Reducing

One word of caution with MacAdapts or whatever brand you choose.
Due to the miniturization of components, they may not fit side by side in your breaker, especially a small frame breaker.
My brother is a product development director for Ilsco and recently told me that this is a number one problem that they are trying to deal with.
It is especially common in the larger sizes of wire due to the amount of wall thickness required to make the crimp.
PS - I do not mean to imply that this is an Ilsco only problem, it is industry wide.
 

racerdave3

Senior Member
Winnie, this could very well be the case. In regard to all of the other comments offered here, I did everything in my power to insure that this conductor would fit into the breaker and it does not! I removed the screw completely from the breaker to insure that no part of it would be an obstruction to the wire going in, I cut the wire clean and made sure it maintained a perfectly round shape and it just would not fit. Quite frankly, it doesn't even appear to be close.
 

racerdave3

Senior Member
MDSHUNK, do you have a web address for the "macadapt" reducers? I have not had any luck finding that one. In response to a few other comments to this thread, the breakers being used are a 100 amp Westinghouse push in breaker in the main panel and it is feeding a 100 amp main breaker GE panel in the garage. The GE panel was not my choice as I would have gone with a Square D QO, which by the way, the 100 amp QO breaker will in fact easily accomdate the 2/0 wire as listed. It just seems to be a problem with the lower quality breakers :mad:
 

kbsparky

Senior Member
Location
Delmarva, USA
If you're having problems getting a 2/0 into a 100 Amp breaker, you're using the wrong brand of panels there. Square D's QO2100 and HOM-2100 breakers have lugs rated for 2/0 max.
 

racerdave3

Senior Member
I agree with you on the Square D QO as I looked at one today and the size of the lugs on it certainly look like they will accept the 2/0 as indicated. The problem is with the other breakers I am using. As I said, the homeowner purchased the panel for the garage which is a GE, and the panel it is fed from is a westinghouse, so I am pretty much at the mercy of those manufacturers on both ends. :-?
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
dezwitinc said:
My brother is a product development director for Ilsco and recently told me that this is a number one problem that they are trying to deal with.
Suggest to him that they make a reducer with 3 or 4 inches of wire between the pin and the socket. This will also avoid having to bend a 90 in the larger wire, and reduce stress on the breaker terminal.
 
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