Gibsonguy Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hi Guys, I am writing up a panel for an inspection I just finished that's not secured well to the wall. The humidifier connection for the forced air furnace is right above the panel, and I have water stains inside. No brainer there, but please let me know what you think about the posts on the dual pole breakers. Is it possible that these won't both trip together if the circuit is overloaded? Maybe I'm nit picking here... Thanks again Click to Enlarge 57.82 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Maybe I'm nit picking here... No, you're not. Those are not approved handle ties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 "Improvised Handle Ties" or tiebars. I would report them. If you don't, the sparky will say you were a dumbass for missing them. [] Depending on what those breakers serve, it may not be important safety-wise for them to trip together, such as split-duplex kitchen receptacles (he's in Canada, y'all). I often find one side of those tripped, even with the factory tiebar in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hi Guys, I am writing up a panel for an inspection I just finished that's not secured well to the wall. The humidifier connection for the forced air furnace is right above the panel, and I have water stains inside. No brainer there, but please let me know what you think about the posts on the dual pole breakers. Is it possible that these won't both trip together if the circuit is overloaded? Maybe I'm nit picking here... Thanks again Click to Enlarge 57.82?KB It may be permissible as a disconnecting means if those pieces of copper wire on the handles are 'identified' for the purpose but I doubt it. As a common trip mechanism, no, the little copper wires don't guarantee that a trip on one breaker will trip the other. If this is a 240 V circuit, they need a common trip. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 . . . Is it possible that these won't both trip together if the circuit is overloaded? Maybe I'm nit picking here... I'm not familiar with the Canadian code, but under the NEC, they would not be required to trip together. They are supposed to be disconnected together, though, and the improvised wire ties won't achieve that. As everyone else has said, there are supposed to be listed breaker handle ties there, not improvised copper wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Hansen Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 These breakers allow two branch circuits in the space that would only take on QO breaker. There may be a problem with this type of breaker not being listed for a class CTL panel. The side-by-side version that Square D makes today has a warning label on it that it can only be used in non-CTL assemblies. If the panel was completely full this could be a situation where they should have installed another panel instead of adding these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonguy Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 These breakers allow two branch circuits in the space that would only take on QO breaker. There may be a problem with this type of breaker not being listed for a class CTL panel. The side-by-side version that Square D makes today has a warning label on it that it can only be used in non-CTL assemblies. If the panel was completely full this could be a situation where they should have installed another panel instead of adding these. Thanks Douglas, No the panel wasn't full at all. There are 2 panels actually. The home has a 400 amp installation. The other is an older Commander panel. I called out the wire clips as "improper". Thanks everyone for your help. I kind of knew all along, I just needed a little guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.