New Square D AFCI and GFCI combo breakers

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Still no luck for me. Mohave a refurbishment job, so there is still no time, but really need this. Graybar has had no luck. Any other leads on the qo215cafic?
 
Just put in siemens dual-function breaker today. Still has the diagnostic lights on it like the combination afci breaker the test button is a light blue color. Ordered from my supplier, took them 3weeks to get ( of course that may be in part to when they actually ordered them along with other quanitities).
 
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mopowr steve said:
Just put in siemens dual-function breaker today. Still has the diagnostic lights on it like the combination afci breaker the test button is a light blue color. Ordered from my supplier, took them 3weeks to get ( of course that may be in part to when they actually ordered them along with other quanitities).
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But they will not plug on to a QO bus;)
 
I called Schneider today and they told me that there are 100 units en route to Mechanicsburg due on or before 15 Oct, and 300 units on their way to a TX warehouse around the same time.

question - the combined AFCI/GFCI single pole breakers are currently available, and my load calculation indicates that the connected load on both parts of a multi wire circuit totals less than 15A. So, in the interim, does anyone see any issues with just making a pigtail and connecting both conductors to a single 15A combined AFCI/gfci?

thanks!
 
JHZR2 said:
I called Schneider today and they told me that there are 100 units en route to Mechanicsburg due on or before 15 Oct, and 300 units on their way to a TX warehouse around the same time.

question - the combined AFCI/GFCI single pole breakers are currently available, and my load calculation indicates that the connected load on both parts of a multi wire circuit totals less than 15A. So, in the interim, does anyone see any issues with just making a pigtail and connecting both conductors to a single 15A combined AFCI/gfci?

thanks!
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No issues with pig-tailing two circuits together in the panel and, if that is what you mean by "multi wire circuit" then I say go for it.
 
ActionDave said:
No issues with pig-tailing two circuits together in the panel and, if that is what you mean by "multi wire circuit" then I say go for it.
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If instead you mean the two hot wires of an MWBC, which would eventually be connected to a double pole AFCI and which share a neutral, then there will be no safety hazard as long as the combined neutral current is no more than 15A. That means that you know exactly what the loads are and there are no receptacle outlets that might get additional loads plugged in. But it is still a code violation because the 15A breaker protection to both hot wires could still allow more than 30A of current in the neutral, since the two hots are now on the same phase.
 
Yes in other words I'd be making a double tapped single 15A breaker (the breaker I'd use only has provisions for one conductor, thus the pigtail). If I had that two pole breaker, I'd use it for the two hot conductors of a multiwire branch circuit. Since both hots are now on one single 15A breaker, the neutral current cannot be higher than 15A, since the combined load via the two conductors can't be more than 15A (this isn't a tandem breaker where two hots are on one phase). So I get the same 15A on the neutral as I would with a two pole breaker where the two hots are 180 degrees opposed, just that the total circuit ampacity can now only be 15A vs two parallel 15A circuits on a true mwbc fed via two pole breaker.

Since there is only lighting on this circuit, total load is less than 15A, so I'd just combine the load to one single width breaker instead of two, at least until I can get the two pole device.

The duh question is why not just do that from the start, but the reality is that The design was for two parallel circuits that had some ability for future expansion. Not a necessity now, which is why using the single 15A will get the job done given connected load.
 
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It is the equivalent of running a short length of conductor from the breaker to a splice box (or even an outlet) and then splitting two different directions from there. No code violation as long as the terminals of the breaker are designed to accept two conductors, but Square D AFCI and GFCI only accept one conductor IIRC, I'd guess the combination unit would be similar design.
 
GoldDigger said:
If instead you mean the two hot wires of an MWBC, which would eventually be connected to a double pole AFCI and which share a neutral, then there will be no safety hazard as long as the combined neutral current is no more than 15A. That means that you know exactly what the loads are and there are no receptacle outlets that might get additional loads plugged in. But it is still a code violation because the 15A breaker protection to both hot wires could still allow more than 30A of current in the neutral, since the two hots are now on the same phase.
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Actually if both hots are connected to the same single pole breaker then it will trip at the 15A level thus never overloading the neutral conductor
 
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