What type of panel is this?

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olly

Senior Member
Location
Berthoud, Colorado
Occupation
Master Electrician
Wondering if I could get some help. The main breaker is week and has been tripping. I would go pull the cover and investigate this further but this person lives really far away and I dont want to ask them to pull the cover.
Based off the picture of this breaker panel, I am trying to figure out a few things:
  1. What brand is the breaker panel? Kind of looks like old square D QO would be my guess
  2. Can you find a replacement main for this panel?
  3. It seems a panel change would be the best option. Is that what you would do here. This person cant afford / looking for the cheapest but best fix. Wondering how others would proceed.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!!
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The breakers are clearly older QO, so I'd say Square D.

The cheapest fix would be new-panel guts (and cover) in the existing enclosure.
 
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen those type tandems. I think it was in the 50’s or 60’s when those were made. I think I even had a few laying around my shop at one time.
 
That Square D QO panel is clearly from the 50s, as the main breaker appears to be an old ML rather than a Q2 style.
The breakers in the upper left do not have Visi-trip, which I think was introduced in the early 60s, so they likely are only 5kAIC.
The front to back twins were available into the early 80s.
 
zbang said:
How do you conclude that the main needs to be replaced? It could be "weak" but could also actually be overloaded and doing it's job. It's still old and due for replacement, but replace it for the right reason.
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Absolutely agree. If it's being overloaded, which is likely with all of those tandem 20s in addition to the four 2-poles, an upgrade to 200a would be a consideration.
 
olly said:
Wondering if I could get some help. The main breaker is week and has been tripping. I would go pull the cover and investigate this further but this person lives really far away and I dont want to ask them to pull the cover.
Based off the picture of this breaker panel, I am trying to figure out a few things:
Click to expand...
Zbang is right and the main may just be overloaded.

Could be a bad connection and breaker getting warm or hot causing it to trip.

Whatever, someone needs to be on site to check it out to make a decision.
 
I replaced a lot of old Square D XO panelboards in the midwest. I don't know why they were so popular out there. Replacement breakers were very expensive when you could find them. So it usually resulted in a panel change for me. These do not look like the XO type breakers.
 
Rick 0920 said:
I replaced a lot of old Square D XO panelboards in the midwest. I don't know why they were so popular out there. Replacement breakers were very expensive when you could find them. So it usually resulted in a panel change for me. These do not look like the XO type breakers.
Click to expand...
As others have said QO, Cutler-Hammer used the same main, with XO, & CH breakers, but then again have a photo of a C-H meter main XO panel with a factory FPE Stablok 100A main. As to a replacement main, if it is necessary could a QOU 2100 work?
 
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