What do you do when you have no more 15 amp circuit breakers on the truck?

I just buy a new truck when that happens.

Home depot, lowes, several supply houses around. No shortage of 15 amp siemens breakers here, should be an easy thing to source...

Those main breakers are junk, they are notorious for going bad. Last time I seen that exact breaker was in a Crouse Hinds panel that the bus bar was burning up. I think I seen it in an old Murray panel as well.

junkcollector said:

Those main breakers are junk, they are notorious for going bad. Last time I seen that exact breaker was in a Crouse Hinds panel that the bus bar was burning up. I think I seen it in an old Murray panel as well.

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I think unless you use a high grade commercial panel, all main breakers are crap after 45 years. It all depends on the environment. Damp basement or garage. Water dripping into panel. Heat from the boiler. I look at all the new main breaker panels and question the QC of them.

Since fifteen and fifty sound a lot alike, you'd think they'd be interchangeable.........

Amazing pic. LoL

Um, I'd check the red and black pairs while your at it; the red wire below the quad looks like it isn't likely to be paired with the black below it. Maybe I'm not seeing it properly or it might not be a shared neutral, but just in case...because it also looks like it might be #14 (on a 20A breaker) and the one below it looks like #12?

junkcollector said:

Those main breakers are junk, they are notorious for going bad. Last time I seen that exact breaker was in a Crouse Hinds panel that the bus bar was burning up. I think I seen it in an old Murray panel as well.

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Back in the day (80's and 90's) I always carried two of those in my truck. A 150A and 200A. Seems like they always failed after hours.

Well, at least the original electrician fused it. Maybe he was going to return later with a breaker, but something happened to him....family incident?, accident?, health incident? I try to give people the "benefit of the doubt". I know if I did that, my intention would be to return with a suitable breaker.

power said:

Well, at least the original electrician fused it. Maybe he was going to return later with a breaker, but something happened to him....family incident?, accident?, health incident? I try to give people the "benefit of the doubt". I know if I did that, my intention would be to return with a suitable breaker.

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That is a nice way of looking at it. The guy was aware of the 14 guage wire and made an attempt at safety.

No 15 amps on the truck?"Just parallel 3 five amp breakers.

splatz said:

Is it code compliant? Maybe not because the lampholder isn't listed for the use. It doesn't seem particularly hazardous to me.

If he used an inline fuseholder and a 15A cartridge fuse, would that be compliant? Maybe it's not compliant to leave that dangling in the panel.

How about if he nippled a handy box onto the side of the panel and used one of these, Bussman SOU?

View attachment 176731

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240.10 SUPPLEMENTARY OVERCUURENT PROTECTION

Says nope. That fuse and subsequent lower ampaciity wire is a code violation.

macmikeman said:

240.10 SUPPLEMENTARY OVERCUURENT PROTECTION

Says nope. That fuse and subsequent lower ampaciity wire is a code violation.

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Here's the article

240.10 Supplementary Overcurrent Protection. Where supplementary overcurrent protection is used for luminaires, appliances, and other equipment or for internal circuits and components of equipment, it shall not be used as a substitute for required branch-circuit overcurrent devices or in place of the required branch-circuit protection. Supplementary over‐ current devices shall not be required to be readily accessible.

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Is this necessarily supplemental overcurrent protection? Couldn't you say that #12 is a feeder, and the handy box is a one circuit fuse panel?

splatz said:

Here's the article


Is this necessarily supplemental overcurrent protection? Couldn't you say that #12 is a feeder, and the handy box is a one circuit fuse panel?

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I suppose you could....... If your name was Eaton General Electric Siemans of the Square D family then possibly you could..........

Here is what I found in line fuses good for. Back in the eighties we were installing what they called "Micronodes" which in essence were pretty much like alarm panels except they had ability to process card data and PIN numbers to see if they matched the database on the mainframe computers back at the control room. They were so easy to blow the circuit boards until I started putting an inline fuse holder for every sensor circuit and output coming into the contraptions I/O Board. .5 amp fuses. Problems mostly went away after doing that.

The reality of Supplementary overcurrent protection is that those multi-outlet strips that have a ten amp cutout built into them are no different than the picture we are looking at in this thread, except those plug in multi outlet makers went out and paid Underwriters their 10% big to the Big Guy ............