The term "sidecar":

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mdshunk

mdshunk

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Is the term "sidecar" a geographic term, used only in a certain part of the country? I sometimes hear this term on the 'net, and as best as I can tell, it normally refers to a little 2-circuit box tapped off the subfeed lugs in a Main & Range plus four fuse panel. Ever heard this slang term before?



edit... fixed spelling
 
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Its the extra milkshake from the mixer they shake out of the can, if you are lucky they will serve it in a little cup with a animal cracker along with the full size milk shake you just ordered.
 
I've heard it used referring to an empty cabinet that bolts on to a piece of switch gear essentially giving you room to route your wires. My old boss used this term. His background was as a union guy in SW CT so I don't know if it is more geographic or union slang or a combination between the two.
 
mdshunk said:
. . .the term "sidecar". . . . a little 2-circuit box tapped off the subfeed lugs in a Main & Range plus four fuse panel.
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I haven't heard the term, either.

I knew them as the AC disco, or the electric water heater disco, etc.

The Master I apprenticed under, back in the Sixties, made a significant part of his "bread and butter" by plopping in the AC circuit, etc., to residential fuse centers by adding that 2-circuit box, and the term never came up there or elsewhere.

My "old" geographic learning areas include Nebraska, New Mexico, Iowa and Minnesota
 
How about this?

daytona2.jpg
 
mdshunk said:
Is the term "sidecar" a geographic term, used only in a certain part of the country? I sometimes hear this term on the 'net, and as best as I can tell, it normally refers to a little 2-circuit box tapped off the subfeed lugs in a Main & Range plus four fuse panel. Ever heard this slang term before?



edit... fixed spelling
Click to expand...
I have heard that term used around here. It pretty much means exactly what you described. I just removed the fuse panel from my house, which had an 8 ckt sidecar tapped off the range lugs.
As a side note, we refer to boxes bolted on to existing pull boxes or troughs as blisters. Does anybody else use that term?
 
It was a term used to describe an add on extension for a steel switch box, wich was used to meet the space fill requirement, by using the older small steel switch box with a side car, was a hot item for about 2 years until everyone started using plastic boxes, then the side car, stock at the vendors just went to the junk pile,
 
I have heard the term Sidecar used when describing Power Distribution Units (PDU) that have either a distribution section of (6) 225A breakers or a distribution section with (3) 208/120V 42 circuit panels attached to the PDU.

-Ed
 
For what it's worth I've never heard of anyone using the term sidecar outside of this forum.
 
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