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Burnt bus


allseason

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This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998.

I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it? It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus. With just the one pic to go on, I'd call for a more thorough check of the panel by an electrician.

Allseason, you should rename your pics before you post them. [:)]

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Is this a sign of a burnt bus or just discolored metal?

There's no way to tell from the picture. It could be completely unimportant discoloration or it could be a loose connection.

This might be one of those times when it's prudent to ask an electrician to pull the main breaker and have a closer look.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998.

I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it?

Sure it could. There are still lots of bare copper buses out there.

It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus.

Except that, with a 150-amp main breaker, normal use is unlikely to cause the bus to overheat. That bar can conduct a heck of a lot more power than 150 amps. And if the service were to draw more, I'd expect the main breaker to trip after a while. If the discoloration is caused by overheating, it's probably because the connection is loose.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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This is a 2826 square foot, single family home built in 1998.

I don't think that would be a copper bus, would it?

Sure it could. There are still lots of bare copper buses out there.

It is possible with a house that size, that the service is somewhat undersized, which could certainly lead to overheating of the bus.

Except that, with a 150-amp main breaker, normal use is unlikely to cause the bus to overheat. That bar can conduct a heck of a lot more power than 150 amps. And if the service were to draw more, I'd expect the main breaker to trip after a while. If the discoloration is caused by overheating, it's probably because the connection is loose.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

Thanks, Jim. You are right of course. If the breaker is working as it should, there could be tripping but not overheating. And we don't know if the breaker has ever tripped.

I don't see copper, though. In my area, I'd be surprised to see bare copper buses after about 1970.

I mean Copper like in these pics.

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tn_2011141340_copperbusFP.jpg

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tn_20111413429_copper%20bus1.jpg

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tn_201114131213_AmalPnl2.jpg

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I've never seen a copper bus panel in person, but wouldn't all the buses be copper? The panel in the OP has aluminum SEC, aluminum lugs, and aluminum straps from the mains to the branch circuit buses. I still think it's smoked.

Siemens seems to make occasional runs with copper. I see them every so often. We've had people post picture of ITE panels with one copper bus and one aluminum bus on the same panel. Not a problem.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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