Fried 60A Circuit Breaker

[phidauex]

A small torque wrench with a robertson bit can often help when getting these up to torque. 25+ in.lbs is very hard to achieve with a screwdriver. But at the end of the day I suspect that if the breaker itself failed and became non-responsive, it is probably an internal failure in the trip mechanism, not a high resistance joint at the termination.

I'd say buy a new breaker from a legit dealer, even a local electrical supply house, reinstall with focus on torque, check for burn marks or arc marks suggesting high resistance connections.

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[Fixbear]

Two things, if you are using aluminum wire, make sure to apply the non corrosive grease to the wires. Also check that you do not have a high continuous load on a breaker below the one for your charger. Heat rises to the one that failed and causes internal oxidation to the resistance heaters inside the breaker. One of my customers had a AC breaker with a Cutler panel cause a fire like this. Coffee machine and soft serve machine were right below the AC.

 

[Fixbear]

Two things, if you are using aluminum wire, make sure to apply the non corrosive grease to the wires. Also check that you do not have a high continuous load on a breaker below the one for your charger. Heat rises to the one that failed and causes internal oxidation to the resistance heaters inside the breaker. One of my customers had a AC breaker with a Cutler panel cause a fire like this. Coffee machine and soft serve machine were right below the AC.

I forgot to mention, that if you had a breaker overheat, there will be wire damage inside the jacket usually back about 8 to 10 inches that oxidizes the wires surface. That can be a bit difficult to repair if enough wire is not available inside the panel.

 

[Sparty]

Where are you getting these breakers from? If you're buying them online for the cheapest price, there's a decent chance they're counterfeit. Always buy electrical devices from a brick and mortar store like Home Depot or trusted electrical supply houses. Type CH with the tan handles.

Like others say, you also need to check the bus bar the breaker stabs into. If that's damaged, then it will continue to cause overheating and further damage.

Torque the screws to spec, then loosen and torque them to spec again. This helps "settle" the strands and reduces loosening over time. If the copper is heat damaged, it needs to be cut back so fresh bright copper is exposed and used for the connection.

If it can't handle the full 48A all night long, something is wrong and needs investigating. Lowering the amperage is just a band-aid and should not be a long term fix.

I used your advice on the breaker for my hot tube.

It has been tripping 2-3 times each week over the last couple of months; even after a warranty visit with no diagnostic error codes and the replacement of a heater that "passed testing but does show a little rust spot."

I stripped a little insulation and trimmed the ends from the wires. Then I moved the ground fault wire under the largest screw on the neutral bar and paid close attention to torqueing all wires. Seems to have fixed the issue!!

Many thanks for your advice.
Peace/Out

 

[Fixbear]

I used your advice on the breaker for my hot tube.

It has been tripping 2-3 times each week over the last couple of months; even after a warranty visit with no diagnostic error codes and the replacement of a heater that "passed testing but does show a little rust spot."

I stripped a little insulation and trimmed the ends from the wires. Then I moved the ground fault wire under the largest screw on the neutral bar and paid close attention to torqueing all wires. Seems to have fixed the issue!!

Many thanks for your advice.
Peace/Out

There are units out there that do not work well with GFI breakers. Check your installation manual for you EVCD. I know that Grizzl-E specifically does not want a GFI as it is one on it's own. I never verified it, but I believe the UL design mandate has leakage detection.

 

[Sparty]

There are units out there that do not work well with GFI breakers. Check your installation manual for you EVCD. I know that Grizzl-E specifically does not want a GFI as it is one on it's own. I never verified it, but I believe the UL design mandate has leakage detection.

.

My post was about applying his advice to breaker for a hot tub....hence the presence of a ground fault wire.....the breaker for my JB car charger doesn't have this... naturally. Just to clarify.

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