Breaker feeding

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paul

paul

Senior Member
Location
Snohomish, WA
I have a Sq. D LAL type breaker in an enclosure. Sq. D has told me that it can be fed by either direction. What I need to know, is if there is a code article that directly prohibits this practice. My load conduit comes in the top and line comes from the bottom, so because of wire space in the enclosure it's necessary to bottom feed the breaker.

Any thoughts?
 
Re: Breaker feeding

One code section that would cover this is 110.3(B). If the manufacturer has labeled or marked the device with "line" and "load" at the terminals, that is the way it must be connected. You may also need to check the instructions.

Other than that, I am not sure the code specifically describes how a circuit breaker must be connected.
 
Re: Breaker feeding

Paul,

Square D is correct in saying that you can reverse feed the circuit breaker.

What you have to take care is the code requirement that says

Article 240.81 Indicating

.... Where circuit breaker handles are operated vertically rather than rotationally or horizontally, the "up" position of the handle shall be the "on" position

Means that if there are branches you have to reinstall the main of the circuit breaker to comply with the above code requirement. You may ask a SQD distributor on how this can be done.
 
Re: Breaker feeding

I had a situation exactly like this one several years ago, before I was active in this forum, that Mike Holt himself helped me with. I had installed a 400 amp underground service in a residence with a CT cabinet inside a garage. I installed two, 200 amp main breakers, in their own enclosures, directly above the CT cabinet with two, 200 amp main lug panels located remotely about 75 feet away. The load side SER cable left the top of the enclosure, ran up the wall, across the ceiling, down through an inside wall and into a basement. It seemed practical and logical for the line side to be fed into the bottom of the breaker and load side out the top ( seeing as how the SER cable can't be bent like thermostat wire). After installing this I was concerned that I might have made a mistake so I consulted Mike. He did some extensive research for me both with Cutler-Hammer and UL and the end result was that unless the breaker was marked "line" and "load" or "in" and "out" there would be no difference as to how the breaker was wired. It will trip either way if there is an over-load. The only criteria was that if mounted vertically, the up position has to be "on" as was already mentioned.
 
Re: Breaker feeding

That's what the Square D rep told me, that unless it's marked "line" and "load" it can be fed from either direction. I've already gone ahead and wired it up this way, so let's hope the AHJ agrees. :D
 
Re: Breaker feeding

Paul, I would certainly hope that the AHJ agrees.

In a perfect world, line would always be top of the bkr. & load would always be bottom of the bkr. But what you are doing with this LAL is legal & I see it occasionally in applications like yours.

If any one feels uneasy about it, then maybe prominently mark the breaker as "CAUTION - BREAKER IS BACKFED" or something similar.
 
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