The Crouse-Hinds twins were very similar to the Challenger models.GE THQP is just ... different. I don't call those tandems. The Challenger type A "side-clip" tandem breakers should not be touched except to remove them so I consider that moot.I don't believe you're correct about Crouse-Hinds, but maybe something I never saw. Same with FPE.
Zinsco, I agree, but very rarely would I be willing to work on those either.
The ones I was posting about earlier were none of those. Typical Murray/Siemens or Eaton BR tandems like still sold today.
Twin breakers
- Thread starter cppoly
- Start date
curt swartz
Electrical Contractor - San Jose, CA
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
The Crouse-Hinds were the same design as Challenger. I installed thousands of them back in the day. Look up MM115 or MM120
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Those are single pole breakers, not what I would call tandems. Or, when twinned up as tandems, you couldn't put an MWBC on them. It appears that the ones Challenger sold with two poles spanned two different stabs and had handle ties, so that's properly a two pole, similar to the THQP. Again I call that a two pole breaker not a tandem. FWIW.
Thatās not entirely true. Depending on the age of the panel, some donāt have rejection tabs to keep a 2 pole breaker from being installed on a single phase space. Iāve had a few service calls from an ac company I do work for because they installed a THQP breaker on a single space and couldnāt understand why they werenāt getting 240 volts output from the breaker. In our area HVAC companies are allowed to have their employees doing the power for their equipment regardless of training history. Wish they were required to have base training to work on a panel and install ac power. They have no idea how to properly size the circuits. āItās a 3 ton. Put it on a 30 amp and forget about it. Nameplate doesnāt matterā
letgomywago
Senior Member
- Location
- Washington state and Oregon coast
- Occupation
- residential electrician
What Era? I've never seen the ge minis fit in one without the rejection tab in the middle of the stab.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
Then if you try to teach them they are confused first time they run into a GE 1/2 size double pole breaker.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
You need to show them how to tell where each half gets power from, in both the breaker and the panel.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
Wasn't Crouse Hinds one that you needed to have both a left and a right half to get two poles off one panel space?
curt swartz
Electrical Contractor - San Jose, CA
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Yes, There was a right and left version of the 1 pole breakers just like challenger. 2-pole twins had a clip on each side.
The Challenger A and Crouse-Hindes MM design made it easy to build your own breaker combinations instead of limited to the Quad design of the current Siemens/Eaton/SquareD. You still have this ability with GE THQP.
And Challenger was available up to 50A which really was stuffing 10 pounds of manure in a 5 pound bag, but Zinsco twins were made up to 70A.
letgomywago
Senior Member
- Location
- Washington state and Oregon coast
- Occupation
- residential electrician
Eaton, Square D homeline and Siemens have quads with 50a and ge has the mini 2pole 50.
But the design of the Challenger was problematic, they were not as robust as other makes and combine that with aluminum bus & you have a panel change.
letgomywago
Senior Member
- Location
- Washington state and Oregon coast
- Occupation
- residential electrician
I definitely don't care for the little clip of a connection. Ge probably has the same surface area but it has a much better bite on it more like a qo type bite than loosely grazing the buss stab