What do you use as a test load?

[guitarchris]

What do you guys use as a test load, say for testing if a breaker is tripping at the stated amps. I had a question from a home inspector about Federal Pacific panels and why they are bad. I told him that some of them don't trip at the stated amps and I recommend changing them out if at all possible. I would love to be able to put a load on the circuits and see what the real deal is and maybe get a panel change out of it.

 

[quogueelectric]

What do you guys use as a test load, say for testing if a breaker is tripping at the stated amps. I had a question from a home inspector about Federal Pacific panels and why they are bad. I told him that some of them don't trip at the stated amps and I recommend changing them out if at all possible. I would love to be able to put a load on the circuits and see what the real deal is and maybe get a panel change out of it.

I always use my apprentice as a test load.

 

[wireguru]

how much load? Are you going to load a 20a cir to 21amps and wait 4 hours for the breaker to trip?

Or are you going to load it to 30 amps and wait 10 miin to see if it trips before you burn their house down because there is a piece of #14 backstabbed in a cracked receptacle with a curtain over it behind their bed?

Too much liability I think... this borders destructive testing.

 

[480sparky]

Weco 3200.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

how much load? Are you going to load a 20a cir to 21amps and wait 4 hours for the breaker to trip?

Or are you going to load it to 30 amps and wait 10 miin to see if it trips before you burn their house down because there is a piece of #14 backstabbed in a cracked receptacle with a curtain over it behind their bed?

Too much liability I think... this borders destructive testing.

I agree that this type of testing, although it may be fun to try, is not the best idea especially as pertains to liability...just think if one of the conductors is degraded and you push it over the top???:-?

 

[LarryFine]

You'd be better off disconnecting the load wire and placing your test load directly on the breaker terminal, and to the neutral bus.

 

[brian john]

. I told him that some of them don't trip at the stated amps and I recommend changing them out if at all possible.

Do you have evidence of this in comparison to other residential molded case CB's? This was NOT what the FPE recall was about.

Second testing circuit breakers requires a controlled current source, typical test for a molded case circuit breaker would be pick-up at instantaneous operation and long time at 300% or for a 20 amp CB 60 amps. I am not defending FPE but IMO if you are going to make statements there should be some truth to the statement that you can back up with documentation.

If you do replace the panel send me the CB's I'll test them for you.

My stance on FPE and any residential distributions panels of this generation for that matter is just based on the age of this equipment and in FPE's case (IMO) the bad design of the Stab-Loc CB bus replacement is warranted.

 

[guitarchris]

You'd be better off disconnecting the load wire and placing your test load directly on the breaker terminal, and to the neutral bus.

That's along the lines that I'm thinking. sometimes it takes a home owner seeing hard fact to believe that they need to change something. I had a homeowner tell me that the 15 amp bath room circuit that both of her daughters use shouldn't be tripping.........with multiple mega hair dryers, irons etc being used at the same time. I showed her the math and then asked her to turn everything on as they normally would and instantly we were up to just at 15 amps.....needless to say we added a circuit.

 

[guitarchris]

Do you have evidence of this in comparison to other residential molded case CB's? This was NOT what the FPE recall was about.

Second testing circuit breakers requires a controlled current source, typical test for a molded case circuit breaker would be pick-up at instantaneous operation and long time at 300% or for a 20 amp CB 60 amps. I am not defending FPE but IMO if you are going to make statements there should be some truth to the statement that you can back up with documentation.

If you do replace the panel send me the CB's I'll test them for you.

My stance on FPE and any residential distributions panels of this generation for that matter is just based on the age of this equipment and in FPE's case (IMO) the bad design of the Stab-Loc CB bus replacement is warranted.

I could have swore that someone posted a pdf about FPE's breakers not tripping correctly. But I've been wrong before.....and will be again

 

[zog]

You'd be better off disconnecting the load wire and placing your test load directly on the breaker terminal, and to the neutral bus.

That is not any way to test a breaker, few problems. you have no idea of your current and timing will be, and second it violates every article in the NFPA 70E. Dont do this!!!!

 

[zog]

What do you guys use as a test load, say for testing if a breaker is tripping at the stated amps.

We use these.

 

[charlietuna]

I agree with Brian, And the times i have come across breakers that wouldn't trip includes about all the other brands--none worse than the other. As i remember the problem with FPE residential breakers were the design of the bus stabs-not enough surface contact vs spring tension. And a properly designed residence reduces the chance that breakers are under heavy loads for long periods of time. The more serious problem with FPE products was their molded 3 pole breakers- 100 amps and above. They were recalled because they could explode at any time. We had two full time servicemen assigned to work for FPE for 18 months. Being in the infrared business for 18 years we had many large buildings with FPE throughout, and were suprised to find very few problems. When we take any brand overload device and place it on an 80 or above percent constant load it will show signs of failure. Take that 15 amp single pole FPE breaker and load it to 50 percent and it will last the lifespane of the average house.

 

[brian john]

We use these.

We use some of those and some of these

http://www.phenixtech.com/Circuit_Breaker_Test_Equipment.asp

Charlie. Wish I was as clear and to the point in my writings. A GREAT explanation.

 

[zog]

We use some of those and some of these

http://www.phenixtech.com/Circuit_Breaker_Test_Equipment.asp

Charlie. Wish I was as clear and to the point in my writings. A GREAT explanation.

Yep, have a few of those too, good unit for smaller breakers.

 

[LarryFine]

We use these.

Now, that's a plug!

 

[A-1Sparky]

You'd be better off disconnecting the load wire and placing your test load directly on the breaker terminal, and to the neutral bus.

That's exactly what I do, Larry. For testing 15, 20, and 30 amp breakers, I use a 2-gang box with (2) duplex receptacles and a #10 romex whip. I then plug hair dryers into the recepts. It works quite well.

 

[iwire]

That's exactly what I do, Larry. For testing 15, 20, and 30 amp breakers, I use a 2-gang box with (2) duplex receptacles and a #10 romex whip. I then plug hair dryers into the recepts. It works quite well.

Works quite well for what?

What do you think you have verified?

There is no way to 'field test' a breaker in any meaningful way unless you own the correct equipment.

 

[brian john]

That's exactly what I do, Larry. For testing 15, 20, and 30 .

Required test current to prove anything meaniful, other than IR, 150 amps, 200 amps and 300 amps at a minimum for each of tjhe listed CB's..

 

[Fulthrotl]

When we take any brand overload device and place it on an 80 or above percent constant load it will show signs of failure. Take that 15 amp single pole FPE breaker and load it to 50 percent and it will last the lifespane of the average house.

yeah, that 15 or 20 amp residential breaker that nuisance trips has been
running at 90%, for years. after a while, they just get cooked.

for that matter, ambient temperature is a consideration, and double breakers
filling a panel are notorious for nuisance tripping, just cause of the density
of heat generating breakers present.

i had a 15 amp breaker that wouldn't hold past about 10 amps, and there
were doubles on either side, well loaded. it was hot to the touch, with nothing
loading it.

friend of mine in phoenix has his house panel on the sunny side of the house,
(as if there is a side of phoenix that isn't sunny)... he calls and says he has
breakers tripping all the time.... and the electrician he called said his panel has
to be upgraded...

before we did that, we put something shading the panel.... problem magically
disappeared....

 

[A-1Sparky]

Works quite well for what?

What do you think you have verified?

There is no way to 'field test' a breaker in any meaningful way unless you own the correct equipment.

If I apply a 30 amp load to a 20 amp breaker and it trips within a minute or two, it tells me that the breaker is working properly. How is that not a legitimate test?