Don’t ever buy Used or Reconditioned Westinghouse Circuit Breakers
All of the circuit breakers below have direct replacements that will fit in the same place. Some may need adaptors but all will install easily without any modifications
What Westinghouse Circuit Breakers have direct Brand New replacements or replacements that work with the additional Adapters.Types EB, EHB, FB, HFB, JA, KA, HKA, JB, KB, HKB, LB, LBB, HLB, LA, LAB, HLB, MA and HMA
All Available Brand New at JRL Electric Supply Inc.
The following Westinghouse 480 Volt Circuit Breakers should never be purchased Used or Reconditioned Period.
You are probably wondering why? There are several reasons, but the most Important are the following. The fist and most important reason is your Safety. When you purchase a Used or Reconditioned Circuit Breaker, you do not know the original condition or origins. You will not know what type of application it was used in or even if the Circuit Breaker was Defective to start. You will not know if the internal components are authentic OEM Parts or the condition of them. Although many companies do an excellent job of reconditioning, most do not, if they even do anything at all. Were the internal components rusty? were they used in extreme weather? Were they used improperly or abused? It does not matter what the exterior looks like, it is the internal parts that keep you safe and remember, these are protection devices.
What is a Used Circuit Breaker?
A used circuit breaker is exactly what it sounds like “USED” It may look good but that does not mean it will function to the manufactures specifications or if it is defective and that is why it was removed from service. You may not even know it is defective at all because the circuit breakers are usually rated 30% above the load. so you may need a 100 Amp and it is functioning as 85 Amps. Again you will not know what to expect when additional power is needed.
What is a Reconditioned Circuit Breaker.
A properly Reconditioned Circuit Breaker will have the following things inspected and reconditioned. To Properly Recondition a molded case Circuit Breaker, you need to open and remove the cover. (sometimes the circuit breaker will have tamper proof lables or silicon over the screws that hold the circuit breaker shut. This is the manufacturers way of protecting the consumer from being altered or modified. When you break the labels and open the Breaker, (unless it accepts field uninstall able components like Shunt Trips, UVR’s or Aux. switches) ) the UL is Void and the UL Tag should be removed although this is rare. After opening the case, the Circuit Breaker needs to be inspected, Cleaned, the Pivot Points must be Lubricated, Contacts Cleaned and all debris and dirt must be removed, not to mention replacing the lugs. After that the Circuit Breaker will need to be load tested at 300% of the amperage rating. You will need to test the Circuit Breaker for Instantaneous tripping (short Circuit). You will need to test the breaker for resistance, you will need to test to make sure the insulation is in good order and test for any current going phase to phase.
What is a modified Circuit Breaker.
A Modified Circuit Breaker would be exactly as it sounds Modified. The modifications can be very dangerous. It may be the Thermal Overloads have been altered to change the circuit breakers amperage or even possibly changing the mounting legs to mount in the panel.
The Cost of the Circuit Breaker.
A used or Reconditioned Circuit Breaker will not save you much money and sometimes (if it really reconditioned) cost more because of the labor involved is time consuming.
The Quality of the Circuit Breaker.
The quality of a used Circuit Breaker is not likely to function as well as a Brand New Circuit Breaker although a Properly Reconditioned Circuit Breaker is likely to function as well or possibly better than New. Here is the reason why. The manufacture will only test some of the circuit breakers per the quantity of what comes off the assembly line. Companies That properly Recondition the Breakers are tested individually.
Why doesn’t everybody properly recondition Circuit Breakers before they sell them.
Usually the cost of the test equipment, the salary for the qualified technician and the space needed. Also the time it takes to do the job well. Test Equipment for testing up to 1000 amp Circuit Breakers are likely to cost $30,000.00 or more alone. Also the equipment need to be calibrated yearly to make sure the results are accurate. I am unaware of any trade schools or colleges offering classes to learn to recondition molded case breakers.
My Personal opinion.
Having been established in 1985, selling New Used and Reconditioned Circuit Breakers, I have seen the Good, Bad and Dangerous Circuit Breakers out there. As a peddler (buying Surplus and selling directly to established Companies) I learned what to look for if the manufactures labels are missing. Did you know you can not tell if many Circuit Breakers are only molded case switches and have no over-current protection? Did you know many Circuit breakers for 240 volt only or 480 Volt look identical on the outside but the internal components are different? Did you know that Circuit Breakers with the same part number may be different even if they interchange? Did you know that Circuit Breakers near the Ocean tend to go defective faster than ones in dry locations? What if you purchase online clearly stated reconditioned breakers from Amazon or Ebay. DONT DO IT UNLESS YOU KNOW THE VENDOR Amazon and Ebay have many sellers from excellent to dangerous. Many EBay sellers are professional Breaker Dealers. Ebay is a good resource for selling if you know the product but Ebay is also an easy way to end up with major problems from Companies that are honest but do not know the industry. Anyone can sell on Ebay and any item (for the most part) can be found on Ebay. Amazon is a little better because Amazon is strict with it’s policies and directs searches to more established companies with good ratings and reputation. You will still be buying from an unknown source.
Why Buy Circuit Breakers From JRL
The Best Place to Buy Circuit Breakers or Panelboards for Electrical Distributors, Electrical Contractors, Manufacturing Plants and Heavy Industry is JRL Electric Supply Inc. for the following reasons.
- JRL has one of the largest inventories of Industrial, Commercial and Residential Circuit Breakers in the Country.·
- JRL Stocks Square D, General Electric, ITE Siemens, Cutler Hammer / Westinghouse, Zinsco, Federal Pacific, Murray and other Major Brands.·
- Almost all orders ship same day from our warehouse·
- JRL has been serving the Electrical Industry since 1985·
- JRL has a vast knowledge of new and obsolete Circuit Breakers and can offer you many alternatives to save time and money·
- JRL carries $10,000,000.00 Product Liability Insurance·
- All Sales consultants have been at JRL for 25 Years or more·
- JRL is family owned and operated·
- 98% of all orders ship from our warehouse in Southern California·
- Specializing in Circuit Breakers for Industrial applications in Santa Clarita·
- We stock all brands of Circuit Breakers