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jamlove · Oct 24, 2005, 02:14 PM

Howdy. I have a quick question. In my circuit breaker panel, about the bottom 1/4 of the rows have little metal tabs on the edges that the top 3/4 do not have.

I do remember that the breakers are Cutler-Hammer Type "CH", which have a little hook shape to secure them on the panel. (see link)

http://www.allbreakers.com/store.asp...ific!jmpohqgoo

The hook shape cannot hook over those little stainless tabs. One of my older breakers has a split-hook, with a hole in the middle, which lets it hook into one of these positions. But I haven't had any luck finding more breakers with that hole in the hook. The CH's they stock at Home Despot and Lowe's have solid hooks.

So why are these tabs there? Can I remove them, if I can't find breakers that will fit over them?

Thanks for the help,

James

tkrussell · Oct 24, 2005, 03:12 PM

Without the model number of the panel, or some pictures of the tabs, it is difficult to be sure of the purpose. At first I thought it might be a circuit limiting device, but you state you had a an older breaker that fit.

Photos at the manufacturer website are not any help. It may also be for certain breakers, such as two pole, to limit their location in the panel.

I know this is not much help, get back with some pics and we can continue.

jamlove · Oct 26, 2005, 08:16 AM

TK, here are a couple of photos of my panel.

I also found a sticker inside the panel which addresses these tabs. Not that I "understand" its purpose though, which is why my question still remains. The sticker reads:

INSTALL TYPE CHT CIRCUIT BREAKERS ONLY IN POSITIONS WITH ABOVE CONSTRUCTION (diagram of the tabs). OTHER TYPE BREAKERS LISTED FOR INSTALLATION IN THIS ENCLOSURE CAN ALSO BE INSTALLED IN THESE POSITIONS.

I guess my real question is: what if I can't find these "CHT" type of breakers to fit over the tabs? Can I remove them? Of course I want to stick to the rules, but this seems unnecessary to me. Obviously if the reason is there, I will go find a specialty supply store and surely find these breakers.

Thanks very much for your advice!

tkrussell · Oct 26, 2005, 03:31 PM

OK I got it, the CHT type breaker is the "Tandem" version of the CH breaker. In other words, one breaker space will have two breakers builtin one These are used to increase the amount of breakers in a panel, you panel is limited to a ,for example, 12 full size CH breakers, or , by using CHT breakers in the bottom slots, the panel can hold 20 circuits, by doubling the capacity of the CHT slots.

The CHT breakers are still available. Thou they may not be found at the big box stores, find a local electrical supply house that deals with Chutler Hammer, and they should at least order what you need.

Hope this answers your questions.