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When I turn my Pushmatic breakers off I see a spark from the back. I haven't tried all of then but the few I've tried does it. Is this normal?
Pushmatic sparks when turning off
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If you looked inside a light switch, you would see similar sparks when current breaks.
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Bulldog Pushmatic? When I was a public school administrator we replaced some panels with Pushmatics. I had our mechanics save the breakers for spares for others because they can be hard to find.
Yeah, that just means you're switching the breaker under load. I.E. some equipment is drawing significant current and you are interrupting it.
You should not do that regularly with breakers unless they are SWD-rated. (SWitching Duty).
If you are controlling big inductive loads like old school high-intensity discharge lighting (metal halide, mercury vapor or sodium lights), with big inductive ballasts that causes a big back-kick when interrupted... then the breakers should also be rated HID (High Intensity Discharge).
UL does certifications of breakers. In doing breaker teardowns, they noticed that SWD breakers differed from regular breakers only by a couple pieces being a slightly different shape. They asked the manufacturer "Why do SWD breakers cost 10 times more?" The mfgr said "Because they're weird/custom/oddball limited production and that sends the cost to the moon. If they were 100% of our production, the difference wouldn't even be a penny." The next year, UL 489 got an amendment saying "All breakers must be SWD". Unfortunately the classic Pushmatic breakers probably missed that.
You can check them for SWD rating (unfortunately the writing is on the side, and they bolt down, so you need to shut off the whole panel to see the labeling). Otherwise, shut off the equipment before flipping the breaker routinely. You absolutely can and should switch them under load if an emergency calls for you doing that, but if they're not SWD rated, don't make a habit of it...
You should not do that regularly with breakers unless they are SWD-rated. (SWitching Duty).
If you are controlling big inductive loads like old school high-intensity discharge lighting (metal halide, mercury vapor or sodium lights), with big inductive ballasts that causes a big back-kick when interrupted... then the breakers should also be rated HID (High Intensity Discharge).
UL does certifications of breakers. In doing breaker teardowns, they noticed that SWD breakers differed from regular breakers only by a couple pieces being a slightly different shape. They asked the manufacturer "Why do SWD breakers cost 10 times more?" The mfgr said "Because they're weird/custom/oddball limited production and that sends the cost to the moon. If they were 100% of our production, the difference wouldn't even be a penny." The next year, UL 489 got an amendment saying "All breakers must be SWD". Unfortunately the classic Pushmatic breakers probably missed that.
You can check them for SWD rating (unfortunately the writing is on the side, and they bolt down, so you need to shut off the whole panel to see the labeling). Otherwise, shut off the equipment before flipping the breaker routinely. You absolutely can and should switch them under load if an emergency calls for you doing that, but if they're not SWD rated, don't make a habit of it...
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Replace the panel. Pushmatic has a history of causing fires by not tripping.
The city of Pittsburgh, PA. would force you to change it upon inspection.
State Farm insurance will not cover you.
Most home inspectors will turn it down.
The city of Pittsburgh, PA. would force you to change it upon inspection.
State Farm insurance will not cover you.
Most home inspectors will turn it down.
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846 Posts
Today I was installing and replacing an outlet and a switch in a base peninsula cabinet.
I bought a new panel to replace the Pushmatic when I have time to do it.
I bought a new panel to replace the Pushmatic when I have time to do it.
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QUOTE - When I turn my Pushmatic breakers off I see a spark from the back. I haven't tried all of then but the few I've tried does it. Is this normal?
YES !
YES !
Just a byproduct of the sudden interruption of electrical current. Nothing to really worry about.
Not so much a spark as it is an electrical arc.
That is just not true. I had a house with not one but two pushmatic panels and State Farm insured the house for 25 years as recently as 2.5 years ago when it was sold. Also, if they were randomly blowing up there would be daily electrical fires in Chicago as they are installed all over the place there.
Need to make sure the set screw in the back is fully screwed in and making good contact. Also when we sold the house the home inspector said nothing about it. As long as breakers are properly installed it worked great for me. Again there is a screw on one side and several tabs that need to be in the right places.
Edit to add, If anyone needs any breakers I still have several sitting around.
Home inspectors have no authority to turn anything down or approve anything. Their job is to give an opinion based on their observations on the condition of the property.
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If anyone needs some pushmatic breakers I have a bunch of them that are unused. I even have a GFCI bulldog pushmatic breaker.
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