Main Breaker panel question

stagger19 · 08-14-2006, 07:22 PM

Hi, Im putting a sub in my garage. Was gonna use a Main breaker type panel in the garage, isolate the grounds and neutrals, use a 60amp main breaker in each box (main panel in basement, and Sub out in garage), and wire it with 6-3 W/ Ground.

I picked up a square D Homeline main breaker box, and a double 60 amp breaker thinking the main breaker would be the same type as the branch circuits.

Turns out the main breaker in this panel is a QOM100VH Bolt on type.

After doing a brief check online, it looks like the bolt on breakers are a lot of money (more than the box with 5 free 20 amp breakers)

Anybody have any ideas, I could return the square d panel. Im looking for a main breaker panel that comes with, or I can convert over to a 60amp main breaker.

Thanks in Advance...

Speedy Petey · 08-14-2006, 08:16 PM

You DO NOT need a 60 amp main breaker in that panel. The 100 is fine.
The 100 is only serving as a disconnect. The overcurrent protection is the 60 in the main (house) panel.

stagger19 · 08-14-2006, 08:41 PM

Ahhhh, awesome.

That makes sense, the lower amp breaker will trip at the source if the main feed was to short or be over drawn.

Thanks for the quick reply

scorrpio · 08-15-2006, 09:05 AM

Just a quick heads-up - Lowe's has a nice kit, which I put in when powering my shop. Called a 'GE Workshop kit' has a subpanel that includes a 100amp main disconenct, neutral and ground busses already installed and isolated from each other, and includes 4 20amp breakers. Has space for a lot more though. Only $54.

stagger19 · 08-15-2006, 12:21 PM

Yeah Thanks Scorrpio, I saw that in lowes, but for some reason I went with the Square D homeline. The Square D comes with 5 free 20 amp breakers, but I need to pick up the ground bar seperatley. It also has the bonding screw which u can remove to isolate the grounds from the Neutrals, which I will need to do.

pdxoregon · 08-15-2006, 04:57 PM

HD also has a Siemens combo. I'm kind of doing the same thing
I am doing a wholehouse remodel and need to ditch the old
panel plus build a temp building. I went to HD and really lucked out
they had 3 of the specials marked down to $40 each, the
how to mount a panel sheet was missing from them.

It will look really funny with a mid size panel in the temp building
but at $40 it was cheaper then anything else.