Challenger GFCI Breakers
- Thread starter dwoodacre
- Start date
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peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Re: Challenger GFCI Breakers
The only acceptable modern replacement breaker for this panel is Cutler Hammer.
The only acceptable modern replacement breaker for this panel is Cutler Hammer.
charlie
Senior Member
- Location
- Indianapolis
Re: Challenger GFCI Breakers
Select a circuit breaker that is listed for that panelboard. If you can't find a listing , you can't use that circuit breaker. The panelboard manufacturers will tell you that only their circuit breakers may be used but that is not the case. However, they do have to be listed for the panelboard.
Select a circuit breaker that is listed for that panelboard. If you can't find a listing , you can't use that circuit breaker. The panelboard manufacturers will tell you that only their circuit breakers may be used but that is not the case. However, they do have to be listed for the panelboard.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Re: Challenger GFCI Breakers
UL has addressed the issue of obosolete Challenger panelboards. Read this thread and the link provided for more info.
UL has addressed the issue of obosolete Challenger panelboards. Read this thread and the link provided for more info.
Re: Challenger GFCI Breakers
There are some things that confuse the issues:
1. A lot of names have been changed.
2. A lot of manufacturers licensed the Cleveland Switchboard a.k.a. ITE a.k.a. Siemens design or just simply plaigarized it. This seemed to be an unwritten NEMA standard.
3. I had an instance where a 3-pole Westinghouse circuit breaker was not quite the right circuit breaker for a Westinghouse panel because the plastic opposite the busbar connection was a bit too narrow for the backplane hook. Some seemingly interchangeable circuit breakers are not really interchangeable.
On the other hand, the busbar connection for these plugin circuit breakers tends to burn up unless Ilsco Deox(R) is used on the busbar connection similar to SquareD Homeline. Actually, the grease that SquareD uses is the same thing except for the color of the dye that is added to it. I have had to clean up and grease the busbars in a few ITE plugin and Pushmatic panelboards in order control arcing or nuisance tripping problems respectively. The quality level seems to have gone up since Siemens bought ITE.
The only 2 makes of circuit breakers that I have liked are SquareD and General Electric. Everything else seems to have this problem or that problem because it is cheap.
There are some things that confuse the issues:
1. A lot of names have been changed.
2. A lot of manufacturers licensed the Cleveland Switchboard a.k.a. ITE a.k.a. Siemens design or just simply plaigarized it. This seemed to be an unwritten NEMA standard.
3. I had an instance where a 3-pole Westinghouse circuit breaker was not quite the right circuit breaker for a Westinghouse panel because the plastic opposite the busbar connection was a bit too narrow for the backplane hook. Some seemingly interchangeable circuit breakers are not really interchangeable.
On the other hand, the busbar connection for these plugin circuit breakers tends to burn up unless Ilsco Deox(R) is used on the busbar connection similar to SquareD Homeline. Actually, the grease that SquareD uses is the same thing except for the color of the dye that is added to it. I have had to clean up and grease the busbars in a few ITE plugin and Pushmatic panelboards in order control arcing or nuisance tripping problems respectively. The quality level seems to have gone up since Siemens bought ITE.
The only 2 makes of circuit breakers that I have liked are SquareD and General Electric. Everything else seems to have this problem or that problem because it is cheap.
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