Names and more names..

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Life used to be simpler....

Seems like every brand name I've heard of has been assimilated.
Square-D, C-H, etc. And with that, the name we knew is pushed aside in favor of the conglomerate's.

I'm trying to get straight in my head what name now applies for each brand of breaker panels and the breakers that fit in them.
Is there a chart anywhere?
 
You don't really need a chart, in my opinion.

Bryant became part of Cutler-Hammer which was bought by Eaton. Through all that the model numbers for the BR type breakers haven't changed. These are also fine for Westinghouse and Challenger 'C' type if I recall correctly. The Cutler-Hammer CH type is still the CH type although now found in Eaton catalogs.

Then there's Murray MP type which nowadays is the same as Siemens Q type, physically. Some newer panels are listed on the label for both types, most older ones aren't. These also replace older ITE types.

I think Crouse-Hinds is the one you will often find both BR and MP on the label so you can use either.

Square D and GE haven't changed names or absorbed anyone else of note. Square D is part of Schneider Electric but is still sold as Square D.
 
jaggedben said:
You don't really need a chart, in my opinion.

Bryant became part of Cutler-Hammer which was bought by Eaton. Through all that the model numbers for the BR type breakers haven't changed. These are also fine for Westinghouse and Challenger 'C' type if I recall correctly. The Cutler-Hammer CH type is still the CH type although now found in Eaton catalogs.

Then there's Murray MP type which nowadays is the same as Siemens Q type, physically. Some newer panels are listed on the label for both types, most older ones aren't. These also replace older ITE types.

I think Crouse-Hinds is the one you will often find both BR and MP on the label so you can use either.

Square D and GE haven't changed names or absorbed anyone else of note. Square D is part of Schneider Electric but is still sold as Square D.
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ABB owns GE Distribution gear now. By the way Schneider Electric is more prominent now, wonder if they are going to do the same as what Siemens did to the ITE brand, and Eaton doing the same with the Cutler-Hammer name.

Crouse-Hinds also listed ITE EQ P breakers being OK for their panels.
 
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To add:
Eaton (Cutler Hammer) has two products. One is the "BR" series and the other is the "CH" series. Not a rule but standard is the "BR" is geared towards residential and the "CH" is used more for commercial/industrial.

SqD also has two (more if you count their I-line/heavy duty stuff) The "HOM" (Homeline) is as the name suggests, geared for resi. The "QO" which has been around a long time, is more for the commercial/industrial.

So the two lines of each of these companies are comparable with each other as neither of the two's lines will interchange with it's other line. IOW, "BR" & "CH" will not interchange nor will "HOM" & "QO"
 
Little Bill said:
To add:
Eaton (Cutler Hammer) has two products. One is the "BR" series and the other is the "CH" series. Not a rule but standard is the "BR" is geared towards residential and the "CH" is used more for commercial/industrial.

SqD also has two (more if you count their I-line/heavy duty stuff) The "HOM" (Homeline) is as the name suggests, geared for resi. The "QO" which has been around a long time, is more for the commercial/industrial.

So the two lines of each of these companies are comparable with each other as neither of the two's lines will interchange with it's other line. IOW, "BR" & "CH" will not interchange nor will "HOM" & "QO"
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FWIW, I deal with a lot of residential services, and I see a lot more SQD QO than SQD HL and a lot more Eaton CH than Eaton BR.
 
norcal said:
ABB owns GE Distribution gear now. By the way Schneider Electric is more prominent now, wonder if they are going to do the same as what Siemens did to the ITE brand, and Eaton doing the same with the Cutler-Hammer name.
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I think Eaton is maybe a little closer to making that Cutler Hammer name disappear than Schneider is at making the Square D name disappear. I think someday both names will be gone though.

Square D name is still on most if not all their mainstream NEMA products, IEC products are all labeled with Schneider name anymore.

BR breakers are all marked Eaton these days, if they do still say Cutler Hammer somewhere it is in smaller print.
 
LarryFine said:
Interestingly, I have seen CH and QO intermixed. :roll:
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The stab system for QO is incompatible with anything else but both Eaton (C-H) and Siemens make a QO retrofit breaker, meaning it looks like their breaker from the front but it has stabs for the QO system.

Homeline is essentially Schneider's response to that, because Homeline breakers can plug into the Siemens / ITE / Bryant / Murray / Crouse-Hinds etc. panel bus systems.
 
Jraef said:
The stab system for QO is incompatible with anything else but both Eaton (C-H) and Siemens make a QO retrofit breaker, meaning it looks like their breaker from the front but it has stabs for the QO system.

Homeline is essentially Schneider's response to that, because Homeline breakers can plug into the Siemens / ITE / Bryant / Murray / Crouse-Hinds etc. panel bus systems.
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No, this was definitely the wrong brand, not a classified breaker. It was in there and supplying a circuit.
 
Whenever I have to service a discontinued brand name panel I just ask the smart phone "which circuit breakers fit <brand name> panels" and instantly the answer appears.
 
Jraef said:
The stab system for QO is incompatible with anything else but both Eaton (C-H) and Siemens make a QO retrofit breaker, meaning it looks like their breaker from the front but it has stabs for the QO system.

Homeline is essentially Schneider's response to that, because Homeline breakers can plug into the Siemens / ITE / Bryant / Murray / Crouse-Hinds etc. panel bus systems.
Click to expand...
QO and CH series are similar enough in the bus design that they will make fair contact when you try to plug onto the other's bus, the foot of each is different enough they won't be secure at all so the bus/plug is doing all of the mechanical support.

I ran into one last summer - a two pole QO breaker plugged onto the bus in a CH panel it was functioning AFAIK.
 
From what I understand, SQ D HOM has not been classified to be used in any competitive product, the reason that have been told is because SQ D believes that only their breakers should be used in SQ D products, many many years ago, if a ITE breaker fit that is what it got with me, now if OEM is available that is what is used, now need to practice what I preach, & remove the American Switch breaker for a unused pump (worn out impeller) in a Gould/ITE panel. :lol:
 
norcal said:
From what I understand, SQ D HOM has not been classified to be used in any competitive product, the reason that have been told is because SQ D believes that only their breakers should be used in SQ D products, many many years ago, if a ITE breaker fit that is what it got with me, now if OEM is available that is what is used, now need to practice what I preach, & remove the American Switch breaker for a unused pump (worn out impeller) in a Gould/ITE panel. :lol:
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When Homeline first came out, supposedly they had rejection features that other breakers wouldn't easily fit into their panels, yet their breakers were designed to fit most other competitor panels. Though they may not have been listed or even classified to fit those - you can bet they figured some would be installed in other panels.

I haven't checked lately to see how well others fit into Homeline panels nor can I recall seeing where others were installed in Homeline panels - but around these parts the Homeline is more popular and more readily available than most others, so it is still more likely to be the "go to" when you can't find the right one.

I have seen a lot of Homeline breakers installed in other panel brands ever since Homeline came out.
 
There is a list, I don't happen to have a current copy, but Many companies went out and had there breakers classified by UL.

What this meant was, while the listing on the panel said "use only GE breakers" in this panel board, Murray went out and had their breakers tested in a GE panel. So while the manufacturer never had their panel listed to use a different breaker, the breaker manufacture had their breakers listed for use in different panels.
 
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cowboyjwc said:
There is a list, I don't happen to have a current copy, but Many companies went out and had there breakers classified by UL.

What this meant was, while the listing on the panel said "use only GE breakers" in this panel board, Murray went out and had there breakers tested in a GE panel. So while the manufacturer never had there panel listed to use a different breaker, the breaker manufacture had their breakers listed for use in different panels.
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Aren't those that you are talking about marked as UL classified?
 
Many years back I spent time in our company’s procurement office. We had numerous panels built by LSE (Laurence Scott Electromotors). I phoned them for a part we were desperate for, two months lead time! A bit of digging around I found MCS (Manchester Contactor and Switchgear), they supplied LSE.

Instead of two months, next day delivery and half the price so long as it was cash on the nail.
 
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