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In 1963, Zinsco introduced the R-38 twin breaker, which was the only twin circuit breaker that also made contact on both bus-bars for 240 volts in a single breaker space. This made the Zinsco brand hugely popular with contractors and millions of Zinsco service panels and load centers were installed through the 60s and 70s.
They do not provide the level of circuit protection required by the NEC (National Electrical Code). Homeowners should be alerted to this safety defect and advised to have it corrected. FPE Stab-Lok circuit breaker panels should be replaced unless the occupants are informed and willing to live with the resulting increased risk of fire and injury.
Circuit-breakers can be placed at portions of a circuit in series to the path of current it will affect. If more current than expected goes through the circuit-breaker, the circuit breaker "opens" the circuit and stops all current. A fuse is a common type of circuit breaker that involves direct effect of Joule-overheating.
One of the most common causes of arc-flash injuries happens when switching on electrical circuits and, especially, tripped circuit-breakers. A tripped circuit-breaker often indicates a fault has occurred somewhere down the line from the panel. The fault must usually be isolated before switching the power on, or an arc flash can easily be generated.
A problem arises if the electricity supply is upgraded, by adding new generation capacity or by adding cross-connections. Because these increase the amount of power that can be supplied, all of the branch circuits must have their bus bars and circuit breakers upgraded to handle the new higher fault current limit. [citation needed]
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The Troubled-Teen Industry Has Been A Disaster For Decades. It's Still Not Fixed.
Two types of wiring protection are standard thermal breakers and arc fault circuit breakers. Thermal breakers require an overload condition long enough that a heating element in the breaker trips the breaker off. In contrast, arc fault circuit breakers use magnetic or other means to detect increases in current draw much more quickly.