busman
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Occupation
- Master Electrician / Electrical Engineer
In my area, there are LOT of old Cutler-Hammer split bus loadcenters. For a long time, I've been aware that some old CH loadcenters had a bar down the middle that was attached with non-reversible screws and the CB's had a notch in the nose of the breaker to fit this bar.
The other day, I went to install a GFCI in an old CH loadcenter and found it would not fit due to a new problem. There is a raised bump on the underside (bus side) of the breaker near the hook that holds it in the panel. It seems that for the older breakers (with the metal hooks), the bump is smaller and accommodates a ridge on the loadcenter. On newer breakers, this bump is about twice the size of the older bump and does not clear the loadcenter ridge. Was this some old form of CTL. If anyone can explain the evolution of the CH breaker, I sure would appreciate it.
My biggest gripe against CH is the current design of CTL that lets an unsuspecting HO install a piggyback breaker in a CTL loadcenter and the only problem is that the hook does not engage and the loadcenter cover is the only thing holding the breaker in place. What a retarded design.
Thanks,
Mark
The other day, I went to install a GFCI in an old CH loadcenter and found it would not fit due to a new problem. There is a raised bump on the underside (bus side) of the breaker near the hook that holds it in the panel. It seems that for the older breakers (with the metal hooks), the bump is smaller and accommodates a ridge on the loadcenter. On newer breakers, this bump is about twice the size of the older bump and does not clear the loadcenter ridge. Was this some old form of CTL. If anyone can explain the evolution of the CH breaker, I sure would appreciate it.
My biggest gripe against CH is the current design of CTL that lets an unsuspecting HO install a piggyback breaker in a CTL loadcenter and the only problem is that the hook does not engage and the loadcenter cover is the only thing holding the breaker in place. What a retarded design.
Thanks,
Mark