On 3/19/2023 06:26, Shane Youhouse wrote:
Electrician here. Dealt with AFCI and GFCI issues in my own house.
1. It's not marketing BS to require your brand of breakers in your brand
of panel. That's just stupid. You really want manufacturer A to go
through every single breaker design, current rating, single, split and
poly phaser, to ensure that they don't make got spits in the buss bar,
etc? I
didn't think so.
Hint, using the wrong brand breaker in a panel WILL increase fire hazard
due to hot spots where the breaker comes into contact with the backplane.
Nice replaced panels in home fires where this happened. Anyone
telling you different is a blowhard.
So much for NEC/UL standards, and quality. That goes to show there's
infinitely more variables, and potential for problems, and decreases
faith in the equipment exponentially. On the other hand, I wonder if
entry-level liability takes a role in this, and company A, may choose to
not legally attest to the quality, or application of company B, in their
pamphlets, especially if/when company B has an issue?
Yes, at a very basic level, perhaps step 1, at the very first notion of
producing a product, before perhaps even the very first drawing of a
square-ish thing on paper with an arrow, and note, "breaker", every
manufacturer, should go through every single design, and possible
installation, past, present, and future, and ensure there will never be
any issue, anywhere, for any reason, ever, then, one may trust the
product years, or even decades later. Certainly in retrospect, and a
century or two later, one may be able to say, "Hey! Now THAT was a
pretty OK breaker!" Comments suggest we aren't anywhere close to that
yet, and with breakers being developed in the 1870's, and standardized
in the 1920's, may never be, as of this morning. I guess we're all
boned, at best.
As you pointed out, does that mean that for one issue, in one house,
where only one breaker may need to be swapped, the entire house should
be re-wired/paneled/breakered at at up to tens of kilo-bucks, to make
everything in the panel from last year match, perhaps even within
manufacturers, because products, designs, even materials change, kinda
like girls do with clothes every season? I wonder if the comment of, "I
didn't think so.", applies here, as well, or is it really as bad as you
suggest?
And, of course, if such an issue truly exists, why aren't houses going
up like fireworks factories at the rate of tens-per-second across the
globe, since day-one, due to how many different un-matched products are
used, and, why isn't each house being re-done constantly, as each item
changes for the better, even with brands, maybe as often as every few
weeks, or months?
I can't imagine...
At least someone is re-making Zinsco breakers, for decades, the standing
order in numerous industries (most anything involved with breakers,
things connected through them, or flunkies just seeing one) has been to
pull unused ones out of customers panels, blast them off with cleaner,
and wire-brush the contacts, so they can be re-used. I wonder if
there's repository of how many problems there were, just based on that
one practice alone? Still pricey due to a captive market, at least I'm
no longer seeing piles of used ones in boxes in backs of trucks, or
bouncing around in the open with trash and debris.
Just rambling thoughts based on observation of current global reality,
regardless of product/marketing/liability intent...
Kurt
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