replaced 100 amp main breaker

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AV ELECTRIC

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hi guys

replaced a 100 main breaker on challenger combo meter and panel outdoor for a residence this breaker was burned up on b phase

it appears we are having the same problem with the new breaker loosing power on half the house if breaker is reset power comes back on. they did replace the condenser thinking that may have been the problem. this appears to be an arcing problem and not a short or overload because the breaker does not physically trip and no other breakers are tripping either but like i said if main is turned off and reset power comes back on

is it possible the problem is on poccos side we have called them out to check. the bus bar is fine a little darken on b phase where the old main breaker was attached but not damaged did not see anything on the line side of the breaker from the meter

any thoughts would be appreciated
 
Without seeing the panel it would be hard to telling. If there is arcing going on then it would show up in the panel. The new breaker, if seated in the same spot will not make good contact if the arcing has affected the bus bar.
 
did you pull the meter and look at the connections? If it loses power again check the line side of the breaker before reseting it. I had a meter jaw go bad and had to replace the whole combo base.
 
thanks for the reply i think i will have to replace the panel which is what i normally do but i have heard that you can replace the guts on any panel i have never done this before

any thoughts on just replacing the guts there is a family living in the house and they cant be days without power as i am sure if ordering from the parts house could take a day or two
 
If you can get the guts that fit then go for it. Otherwise I would change out the panel.

Before that I would install a 100 DP breaker on the buss fingers and see if the same issue occurs.
 
the pocco guy suggested replacing the guts in the panel said its done all the time i thought hmmm maybe i am out of touch even said are you an electrician implying this is the way its done so i started second guessing havent done a change in a couple years i have replaced panel guts with new for existing sub panels in a commercial office space to bring them up to date without removing the can it worked great new guts breakers and panel cover

so thats where that came from dont know where the poco guy came up with that i am sure he has seen it or he would not suggested it thats why i was asking

so gave a price for change out it was probably borderline on existing bus bar looked ok but you never know for sure without proper testing should have just gave a price for change out at the beginning .

thanks for the help sometime just posting gives you the correct answer
 
AV ELECTRIC said:
hi guys

replaced a 100 main breaker on challenger combo meter and panel outdoor for a residence this breaker was burned up on b phase

it appears we are having the same problem with the new breaker loosing power on half the house if breaker is reset power comes back on. they did replace the condenser thinking that may have been the problem. this appears to be an arcing problem and not a short or overload because the breaker does not physically trip and no other breakers are tripping either but like i said if main is turned off and reset power comes back on

is it possible the problem is on poccos side we have called them out to check. the bus bar is fine a little darken on b phase where the old main breaker was attached but not damaged did not see anything on the line side of the breaker from the meter

any thoughts would be appreciated
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If the breaker to bus connection is what originally failed you have to replace both the breaker and bus - or at least use a different slot on the bus. Once that bus connection has been overheated it will always have problems - especially if an aluminum bus- but those usually burn to the point it is obvious it is no good.

If you can find guts for this equipment great, likely it is old enough that they no longer make it (at least the same design anyway).
 
the ac condenser unit was having problems and i thought that may have caused the failure of the original breaker they did not replace the condenser till 4 days later they had problems with the breaker that weekend it was to hot to leave off the ac so they ran it night and day for those 4 days

i think if the ac was repaired first it may have been fine but we will never know for sure it did not take long for problems to occur it took 25 years for the original breaker to fail

so if i do a panel replacement if my bid is accepted i still am a bit concerned if something else is going if so we will no shortly
 
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