Looking for specialty breakers

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Reelman

New member
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Hi,
So glad I've recently found this website, what a great resource. First post here, so be gentle with me......
We are a contractor in western NY and one of our specialties are roof ice dam prevention systems. This very proven system that we have perfected over the years, uses a breaker that our local supply house has a very tough time sourcing. The last order took two months to come in. They aren't cheap, so we really don't want to buy large quantities to have sitting on the shelf. What it is, is a two pole 30 amp GFI/EPD with a 30mA trip. Does anyone have any ideas of who may carry these? It sure seems like the order goes into the manufacturer, and they wait until they hit the quantity needed for their minimum production run. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
Disclaimer* I have not done this, but have heard of others doing this and I'm unsure if it is even an option here, but on the commercial side, there is a facility that has a graveyard(Sensationalized) of panels that are gutted because it is cheaper to buy a panel fully loaded and strip it down for the required circuit breakers than it was to buy the individual circuit breakers. Place an order for a 42 circuit panelboard with your local supplier that is filled with the manufacturer's circuit breakers. You'd be required to do this for multiple manufacturers though to ensure the circuit breakers match your existing manufacturer. This was done with larger circuit breakers though, so I'm unsure if this logic checks out with the 30A/2P 30mA GFI's. It couldn't hurt to price it though just to see what you end up getting.
 
EPD? That term doesn't ring a bell at the moment.

Do you have a predominant brand in your region? For example, I worked years ago in Wilson, NC. The county had one supply house that sold Square D. So QO was in nearly every house. A few mobile homes had other brands. I later worked in Goldsboro, NC where the only supply house sold Federal Puke (Federal Pacific).

It may pay you to buy 1 or 2 breakers ahead if you have 1 predominant brand or even 1 or 2 brands. 2 months is a long time to wait for a breaker, especially if it risks losing the job for you.
 
jmellc said:
EPD? That term doesn't ring a bell at the moment.

Do you have a predominant brand in your region? For example, I worked years ago in Wilson, NC. The county had one supply house that sold Square D. So QO was in nearly every house. A few mobile homes had other brands. I later worked in Goldsboro, NC where the only supply house sold Federal Puke (Federal Pacific).

It may pay you to buy 1 or 2 breakers ahead if you have 1 predominant brand or even 1 or 2 brands. 2 months is a long time to wait for a breaker, especially if it risks losing the job for you.
Click to expand...
I believe EPD may stand for Equipment Protection Device, since the 30ma ground fault level is too high for PPD (Personnel Protection Device).

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
GoldDigger said:
I believe EPD may stand for Equipment Protection Device, since the 30ma ground fault level is too high for PPD (Personnel Protection Device).

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

OK, now I know. I did a job a few years ago where the boss ordered a Siemens panel and breakers. Several were for kitchen counters and had to be GFCI. Marked GFCI near as I remember, had reset button, etc. Inspector tested with a wood head and it wouldn't trip. Dealer said they were for equipment, not personnel protection. Only time we ever got them anywhere. I already didn't like that dealer and liked them less after that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top