Jerry Lozier Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Estate home from a former electrical engineer. Not what I normally see. Probably leftover stuff from years of work at Nuke plant. Click to Enlarge 63.59 KB Found this panel way back in corner of attic. Controller for (4) baseboard heaters(?) in upstairs rooms. #6 copper on 50amp breaker in panel and coming into this panel. Did not see any feeders for power going to baseboards out of this. Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 There's a transformer there that may be supplying low voltage power to ?? the thermostats? But 50 amps would be over-built for that. Could it be a generator panel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy_Bob Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I can't see the bottom part of that very well with that picture... Are those relays/contactors near the bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 It looks like it could be a low voltage switching system. Were there any "rocker" light switches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 No generator hookup yes those 8 guys at lower left are contacts no rockers switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy_Bob Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Well I guess the easiest and safest way to figure out what it goes to would be to have one person at that panel, then another go and turn on the heaters. Listen for clicking of the relays below. If not that and you have light switches like above, then try those and listen for clicking. A relay (or contactor) is an electrically operated switch. When it operates, it makes a clicking noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I think the 2 blacks and 2 whites in the very bottom of the panel are feeders to the heaters, two heaters on each circuit. Each of those four wires has a red fuse (20 amp?) protecting it. A fuse near the top protects a supply wire to the transformer. Green or White wires go from the transformer down to the thermostats. 2 20 amp circuits plus another 10 for the low power circuit = 50 amps total. You could verify it by pulling a thermostat cover, looking for green wiring. Actually the low V wiring is the small diameter white ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Thanks John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I think the 2 blacks and 2 whites in the very bottom of the panel are feeders to the heaters, two heaters on each circuit. Each of those four wires has a red fuse (20 amp?) protecting it. A fuse near the top protects a supply wire to the transformer. Green wires go from the transformer down to the thermostats. 2 20 amp circuits plus another 10 for the low power circuit = 50 amps total. You could verify it by pulling a thermostat cover, looking for green wiring. That makes perfect sense except for the "why" part. What possible reason would there be to control baseboard heaters with a low-voltage relay? Line-voltage thermostats are cheap, readily available, and work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Are you even sure it's hooked up to the heaters still? It looks (to me anyway) like some wiring has been removed at the bottom. I think you're looking at an old control system that's just sitting there dead-ended. Were there additional brreakers in the panel for the baseboard heaters, in addition to these feeders, or was there just the one set of feeders? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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