80kA whole home surge protector

[AntronX]

In hopes of getting an attaboy from my idol @timselectric I installed this $130 Square D HEPD80 whole home surge protector from Home Depot on main panel right at the service meter for a friend of mine. For a second time he lost both fridge control boards to an indirect lightning strike that hit a light pole across the road. First fridge survived with only blown internal fuses and second had shorted bridge rectifier which I am replacing right now.

I had to parallel it onto 20A VFD pool pump breaker and it was a pain the ass to combine solid 12GA aluminum wire and stranded copper wire to the VFD. I got it done and well clamped in the breaker terminals. I am worried about galvanic corrosion and should have used Noalox but will see. I will come back with a thermal cam in few months to check the breaker temp. Edit: Wire is 14awg tinned copper so no corrosion. At 10A max load measured temp rise was only 3 degrees at the terminal.

 

[ricardocello]

I’ve got two of the older 25kA HEPD versions in two different panels, and am now experiencing kA surge envy, despite the steep price.

 

[AntronX]

If they have not blown up yet then either you did not need them yet or they are big enough for your application. I wanted something that said "ultimate" on the package

 

[ricardocello]

If they have not blown up yet then either you did not need them yet or they are big enough for your application. I wanted something that said "ultimate" on the package

Well the green LEDs are still on, so I assume they are still working.

 

[DPC]

Every time I scrap out lighting and electronics I look inside and see if there is anything useful or interesting
Sometimes I save the parts.
I've filled a shoe box with these and started to look for uses.

Last year after a lightning strike near my home I started to put these into stuff like the washing machine, furnace, drier.

Now I am starting to put them in my generators just as some insurance against ugly power.



This is not what it was designed to do.
But they are free....

 

[AntronX]

The lightning strike was so strong it blew the top cap from the light pole and killed the neighbors car!

 

[Quattrohead]

Double landing into a circuit breaker is bad news, Tim will not be happy with you.

 

[ricardocello]

Double landing into a circuit breaker is bad news, Tim will not be happy with you.

allowed on some, if there are two circular bump areas under the conductor clamp (and labeled)

 

[Brucey]

Need to add one to my Rosie sub panel to get some protection for the neutral line (no Midnite SPD solution for that).

 

[Brucey]

I’ve got two of the older 25kA HEPD versions in two different panels, and am now experiencing kA surge envy, despite the steep price.

$110 on Amazon:

Amazon.com

 

[AntronX]

Can anyone guess the model number of this breaker? I'd hate to go back to redo it.

 

[ricardocello]

Looks like one of these I think:

Siemens 20 Amp Double-Pole Type QP Circuit Breaker Q220U - The Home Depot

Siemens offers a wide array of thermal-magnetic circuit breakers that are the key element for overload and short-circuit protection of your homes electrical system. To provide additional protection Siemens

www.homedepot.com

 

[AntronX]

Thanks looks exactly it. I will stop by the store tomorrow to take a close look at those terminals. Could not see them well in the panel.

 

[ricardocello]

Thanks looks exactly it. I will stop by the store tomorrow to take a close look at those terminals. Could not see them well in the panel.

You know electrically it is fine, it’s more of a code and workmanship issue.
I guess if it only accepts one wire they expect you to pigtail and wire nut to the other two conductors.
But I’m not an electrician.

 

[Skypower]

Thanks looks exactly it. I will stop by the store tomorrow to take a close look at those terminals. Could not see them well in the panel.

You might have to “pigtail” that breaker to be code. The instructions probably shows you how. I’m not a fan of double tapping unless the breaker is rated for it and the conductors are close in gauge(balance the clamping pressure). I don’t Believe Siemens breakers are double tap.

 

[Bananaman321]

In hopes of getting an attaboy from my idol @timselectric I installed this $130 Square D HEPD80 whole home surge protector from Home Depot on main panel right at the service meter for a friend of mine. For a second time he lost both fridge control boards to an indirect lightning strike that hit a light pole across the road. First fridge survived with only blown internal fuses and second had shorted bridge rectifier which I am replacing right now.

I had to parallel it onto 20A VFD pool pump breaker and it was a pain the ass to combine solid 12GA aluminum wire and stranded copper wire to the VFD. I got it done and well clamped in the breaker terminals. I am worried about galvanic corrosion and should have used Noalox but will see. I will come back with a thermal cam in few months to check the breaker temp.

View attachment 241928 View attachment 241927 View attachment 241926

Those neutrals and grounds all landed on the neutral bar are less than ideal even being that that is your main bonded panel sometimes the neutral bus can have voltage on it when experiencing imbalance from 120 Volt loads.

Another thing to get the best functionality out of your SPD is to do the twist meaning you want to twist the conductors as closely as possible to their connection points and avoid unnecessary or tight bends and it would be more practical to have the terminations near the same point I would move your breaker to the right side of the panel so that you can twist your conductors together terminate them and then move all your grounds to the ground bus and join it to neutral by a min size #8 copper wire.

 

[AntronX]

You know electrically it is fine, it’s more of a code and workmanship issue.

Yea as long as connection is safe and will not run hot and burn the breaker I don't really care if it's code or not. I think I will go buy one of these breakers tomorrow and do some experiments. Redoing this using pigtails would be a hassle.

 

[DPC]

Thanks looks exactly it. I will stop by the store tomorrow to take a close look at those terminals. Could not see them well in the panel.

Pop one out look at it....

Might say ITE, thats a Siemens breaker today.
Take to an electrical supplier they can match it up.

ITE IQ220 20 Amp 2 Pole 120 Volt Circuit Breaker | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ITE IQ220 20 Amp 2 Pole 120 Volt Circuit Breaker at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

These are so cheap I wonder if they are real ITE or Seimens breakers...

 

[AntronX]

Those neutrals and grounds all landed on the neutral bar are less than ideal even being that that is your main bonded panel sometimes the neutral bus can have voltage on it when experiencing imbalance from 120 Volt loads.

I think he told me he has another NG bond in the subpanel in the house (that used to be main panel before this outdoor panel was added). Although they are located very close so there should not be much ground conductor potential during a fault.

 

[AntronX]

Pop one out look at it....

Can't right now, not my house. Did it for a friend.

 

[Brucey]

$110 on Amazon:

Amazon.com

I guess endgame would be an fs120 or similar with even more protection.

 

[DPC]

I think he told me he has another NG bond in the subpanel in the house (that used to be main panel before this outdoor panel was added). Although they are located very close so there should not be much ground conductor potential during a fault.

Hmm.....

I'm not comfortable about this
If your helping thats one thing.
If your doing this work and something goes sideways and it comes back on you that trouble

 

[Bananaman321]

I think he told me he has another NG bond in the subpanel in the house (that used to be main panel before this outdoor panel was added). Although they are located very close so there should not be much ground conductor potential during a fault

That appears to be the first panel from the meter that's where the bond should be in any event the grounds in neutral should not be on the same bus.

 

[AntronX]

Then the ground should be moved to the ground bus and isolated from the neutral no bond.

Unless there is a clear present danger to safety right now I don't think I will convince my friend to alter anything. I will be there again to finish fixing the fridge so I will try asking to look at his subpanel.

 

[AntronX]

If your doing this work and something goes sideways and it comes back on you that trouble

Agreed. I am only concerned about double landing that breaker at this time. It would be on me if that connection fails.