3D Printed Breaker Locks

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4x4dually

4x4dually

Senior Member
Location
Stillwater, OK
Occupation
Electrical Engineer/ Ex-Electrician
Saw a breaker lock on a Fire Alarm feed and wanted to play on the 3D printer. I made me a few breaker locks for our new house. I like this dual color printing. The text is a little stringy. I need to clean that part up with an exacto knife or something. Other than that, they turned out really well. Sized for homeline. They just push on with enough interference fit they stay nice and snug but can be pulled off as well. These are all dedicated circuits.


Breaker Locks.jpg
 
Little Bill said:
Looks nice!
Why did you put the smoke alarms on a dedicated circuit?
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I had some 14/3 left over so I used it to tie them all together and put them on a 15A breaker. I think they should be on a dedicated circuit so there is nothing else that could possibly trip the breaker.
 
4x4dually said:
I had some 14/3 left over so I used it to tie them all together and put them on a 15A breaker. I think they should be on a dedicated circuit so there is nothing else that could possibly trip the breaker.
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Are battery back up smoke detectors required to chirp when on battery? If not, then the flip side of the above is that if the breaker trips for some reason (or is accidentally shut off), you'll never notice. Versus putting them on a lightly loaded but commonly used lighting circuit.

Cheers, Wayne
 
4x4dually said:
I had some 14/3 left over so I used it to tie them all together and put them on a 15A breaker. I think they should be on a dedicated circuit so there is nothing else that could possibly trip the breaker.
Click to expand...
I always put them on a bedroom or maybe a lighting circuit. Something that will be noticed if the breaker trips. There are some folks that won't change a battery and will just shut off the breaker to quieten them when they chirp.

Probably ok in your case since you installed them and live there.
 
wwhitney said:
Are battery back up smoke detectors required to chirp when on battery? If not, then the flip side of the above is that if the breaker trips for some reason (or is accidentally shut off), you'll never notice. Versus putting them on a lightly loaded but commonly used lighting circuit.

Cheers, Wayne
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No idea if they chirp when on battery. These printed devices only prevent the "accidental shutoff" situation. I guess it makes sense to put them on a common used lighting circuit. I see the usefulness in that.
 
Little Bill said:
I always put them on a bedroom or maybe a lighting circuit. Something that will be noticed if the breaker trips. There are some folks that won't change a battery and will just shut off the breaker to quieten them when they chirp.

Probably ok in your case since you installed them and live there.
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Ya, that makes perfect sense. I'll remember to do that next house we build. LOL...which is hopefully never.
 
Little Bill said:
You could still do that. Just pick a circuit in the panel and tie the smokes in there and pigtail back to the breaker.
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Square D homeline breakers are designed for double taps if I'm not mistaken, so, ya, I could do that. There are several to pic from. Smoke circuit is #23. :cool:

Taking a risk here posting pictures of my own work...hopefully someone doesn't destroy me. The zip ties are pretty loose so don't harass me too much about "bundling." LOL

2023-04-16 Elec Panel 2.jpg


Screenshot 2023-06-14 123012.jpg
 
Little Bill said:
Didn't realize you had a SqD, so yeah, you could land the smoke wire on a 15A circuit of your choice.
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That's the catch....everything else is 20A. O well, I'll leave it. It'll be fine. It's done.
xformer said:
Looks like "Neat and Workman like manner" to me.
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Thank you. I may not know the code book cover to cover and may not always do things the way everyone else does....but I make it up in effort. LOL That's how panels are supposed to look. I'd never take the cover off our existing panel in front of anyone. It has too many additions and tandems in it. It's embarrassinga and I'm excited to move into the new home, take some of that additional stuff out, and redo it so it looks accordingly.
 
4x4dually said:
Taking a risk here posting pictures of my own work...hopefully someone doesn't destroy me.
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What's with the label that says "RV / Secondary Generator Back-Feed"? If you want to use that 50A breaker to supply power to that panel during a utility outage, it would need to be interlocked with the main breaker. In which case you couldn't use it to provide power to a 50A receptacle for an RV during normal operations.

Cheers, Wayne
 
Little Bill said:
OOPs! Just looked at the panel and see there are no other 15A breakers. so, carry on! :)
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Ya, the only 14 awg in the house is from switches to lights and the smoke detector circuit. Everything else is #12 even feeding all the switches. The local inspector here in town won't approve ANYTHING wired with #14.....but lucky for me I live in the sticks and don't have to have inspections.
 
wwhitney said:
What's with the label that says "RV / Secondary Generator Back-Feed"? If you want to use that 50A breaker to supply power to that panel during a utility outage, it would need to be interlocked with the main breaker. In which case you couldn't use it to provide power to a 50A receptacle for an RV during normal operations.

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...
Both of these panels are fed with a General 22KW and each panel has a 200A ATS on the backside of the wall from them. That 50A is there for an RV if we need it. In the most unlikely event that our power is out AND out Generac goes down, I can shut off the main in that panel (the ATS will be flipped to generator as well) and I can connect my welder and back feed only that panel and supply the critical loads in orange in the chart and lights. So, it will still be interlocked. In the event that I need power from both panels during an outage and the 22KW isn't enough, Panel 1 can run off the Generac and I can back feed Panel 1 from the Miller Bobcat at 10KW simultaneously. It will most likely NEVER be done that way....but at least I have several options at my disposal in the event of something crazy.
 
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