allseason Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Is this a sign of a burnt bus or just discolored metal? Click to Enlarge 56.6 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark P Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Looks like heat damage to me. And in unrelated news, I don't see many 150 amp main disconnects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Cheap builder, minimums only. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Given the limitations of inspecting via a photo, I wouldn't judge this one worthy of mention. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 And in unrelated news, I don't see many 150 amp main disconnects. My brother put in a 150 amp panel last year, space for lots more circuits (30 max, IIRC) than his 1964 125 amp panel and as an added bonus; now the main, meter and SEC ratings all match. The panel in the OP is fried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I agree with Marc, but as he said, there are limitations to what show up on a pic. I've heard from electricians that many bars are discolored prior to installation. Here are some recipes for discoloring copper: http://www.sciencecompany.com/patinas/p ... rmulas.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998. I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it? It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus. With just the one pic to go on, I'd call for a more thorough check of the panel by an electrician. Allseason, you should rename your pics before you post them. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Is this a sign of a burnt bus or just discolored metal? There's no way to tell from the picture. It could be completely unimportant discoloration or it could be a loose connection. This might be one of those times when it's prudent to ask an electrician to pull the main breaker and have a closer look. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998. I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it? Sure it could. There are still lots of bare copper buses out there. It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus. Except that, with a 150-amp main breaker, normal use is unlikely to cause the bus to overheat. That bar can conduct a heck of a lot more power than 150 amps. And if the service were to draw more, I'd expect the main breaker to trip after a while. If the discoloration is caused by overheating, it's probably because the connection is loose. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998. I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it? Sure it could. There are still lots of bare copper buses out there. It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus. Except that, with a 150-amp main breaker, normal use is unlikely to cause the bus to overheat. That bar can conduct a heck of a lot more power than 150 amps. And if the service were to draw more, I'd expect the main breaker to trip after a while. If the discoloration is caused by overheating, it's probably because the connection is loose. - Jim Katen, Oregon Thanks, Jim. You are right of course. If the breaker is working as it should, there could be tripping but not overheating. And we don't know if the breaker has ever tripped. I don't see copper, though. In my area, I'd be surprised to see bare copper buses after about 1970. I mean Copper like in these pics. Click to Enlarge 58.15 KB Click to Enlarge 45.72 KB Click to Enlarge 63.25 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've never seen a copper bus panel in person, but wouldn't all the buses be copper? The panel in the OP has aluminum SEC, aluminum lugs, and aluminum straps from the mains to the branch circuit buses. I still think it's smoked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 I've never seen a copper bus panel in person, but wouldn't all the buses be copper? The panel in the OP has aluminum SEC, aluminum lugs, and aluminum straps from the mains to the branch circuit buses. I still think it's smoked. Siemens seems to make occasional runs with copper. I see them every so often. We've had people post picture of ITE panels with one copper bus and one aluminum bus on the same panel. Not a problem. - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norcal Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 If the bus in the panel shown in the OP's pic had overheated the plastic behind it would have melted /deformed, it's nothing to worry about in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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