[Shop-talk] Replacing a breaker?

[David Hillman]

On Thu, 7 Apr 2011, Wayne wrote:
> Well, the "correct" answer is "hire an electrician" or "shut off the box main 
> to the whole house and replace it."  Swapping or adding a breaker on a live 
> panel is standard practice though -- at least for licensed pros.  What they 
> do is flip off the breaker;  each one hinges in at the center of the panel 
> (at least on every modern panel I've seen worked on); pull at the outboard 
> edge to swing it out; unscrew hot lead; reconnect to new breaker with it 
> TURNED OFF; insert into center hinge; snap down into outer power rail; switch 
> on.

    My semi-modern panel ( believed to be original to the 40-year-old house 
) contains breakers that hinge on the outside.  More to the point, when 
I've bought breakers for it, I just grabbed whatever off the shelf at 
the hardware store.  Given that, I think this type of panel must be 
relatively common, at least in this area.

--
  David Hillman