Siemens loadcenter

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

luke warmwater

Senior Member
We do work for a local mobile/modular home sales center.
My very first electrician job was in a mobile/modular home manufacturing facility.

My company uses CH loadcenters in 99% of jobs.

Well, got a call. A Mobile was shipped from the factory with a 100amp loadcenter by mistake. It was supposed to be a 200amp.
Factory is paying for local change, but wants same loadcenter that they would have installed.(200amp Siemens 2030).
Purchased and installed said loadcenter.

Home was shipped to NJ. Local NJ electrician hooked up service. (not to get off of subject, but it was an overhead service, meter and disconnect were mounted directly to the side of the mobile home.)
Got a call that the brand new main breaker is no good.
Took a ride, one hour each way and sure enough the brand new Siemens main breaker was no good.
This is the first Siemens panel that I can remember ever buying. What are the chances of that happening.
Needless to say, I will not buy another, regardless of coincidense.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

WE install about 700 to over a 1,000 a year. and while we have had a few problems. A bad main is very rare. We did stop buying the ALU buss series as in areas of high ambient moisture in the air or high humidity. we had problems with the main buss failing on breakers higher than 30 amps. But this hasn't been limited to just Siemens as we had this happen with other manufactures too. I have used anti-oxidant to stop this from happening. but other wise they are a good panel and are very easy to install. They have all the screws backed out so all you have to do is insert the wire and tighten it up.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

While I haven't seen a Siemens main breaker go bad I have seen their branch circuit breakers fail to the point that they burnt the entire buss bar. The case in point was a florist where there were walk-in refrigerators and one of the compressors went bad. It was a 2-pole, 15 amp breaker in a 3 phase, 150 amp MLO panel that not only failed but melted 6 additional breakers along with the buss bar in its vicinity. After speaking to a Siemens rep he advised me that the reason the breaker failed was due to the cycling on and off of the compressor and would not stand behind his product.

I don't have a problem with a breaker failing.....they're made by man and are subject to failure. I do have a problem with a manufacturer not standing behind their product. Like you, I will not purchase another Siemens product. However, there are many contractors in our local county association that use them exclusively. You get what you pay for. While I might spend a few $$$ more for Square D, I do sleep at night.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

I got a bad CH 2pole 100Amp main. I've had bad Siemens/ITE breakers, bad SqD, etc. Bad mains are a rarity!
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

I use Square D QO on 99% of my projects. I've had many service calls on busses burning up andbad breakers on GE, Siemens, and especially ITE. Hardly ever a service call with a bad Sq D. Pricey, but worth it.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

We had problems with 4 Siemens loadcenters in a row last year.2 were bad mains.

We switched to Sq.D or CH and have had no more problems.

Russell
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

"We had problems with 4 Siemens loadcenters in a row last year.2 were bad mains."

Russell,

Same here, but not in a row, They must of had some real problems last year, when i called they said they din't know of any problems. So i went back to CH and Sq D.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

One of the bad mains cost me some work Satcom.

It was the first job I'd done for a new builder. The poco came to disconnect the temp power and tie in the permanant power. The main wouldn't work. I had 2 ckts ready for the carpenters to use,all they had to do was turn on 2 breakers,but of course they couldn't. The builder called and it took me 3 hrs to drop what I was doing,go find out what was wrong,go get another main and replace it. The carpenters went home because they had no power,the builder was po'ed. he never called me again.
 
Re: Siemens loadcenter

Russell,

That is why we went back to CH and SQ D, when a company tells you they are not having problems and you know they are, well buyer beware.

I also lost business, and am not willing to take chances again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top