How to Replace Your Circuit Breakers

May 1, 2016 12:53 am Published by Leave your thoughts

In older homes, electrical systems can become a cause for concern. Old wiring techniques and inferior equipment that was once the standard for the industry have quickly become obsolete in favor of modern materials and practices, prompting many homeowners to consider the effectiveness and safeness of their home’s electrical—specifically within the circuit breaker box.

If your breakers have been identified as a cause of concern for your home’s electrical system or you’re encountering an unusually high level of circuit breaker repairs in North Scottsdale, AZ, it’s likely that you and your home could benefit from a retrofit.

Not sure what it means to replace your circuit breakers or upgrade your box? Take a look at this quick guide to see how it works and what the advantages are:

  1. First, you’ll need to unscrew the faceplate of your breaker box, to gain access to the wiring behind it. It’s advisable to use rubber-handled tools throughout this process, as an added precaution.
  2. After the faceplate is off, you’ll need to kill power to your circuits. Flip the breaker to the “off” position and then check everything with a voltage checker—you should get a zero reading across the board for all breakers being replaced, which indicates that there is no power flowing.
  3. Next, you’ll need to unscrew the feed wires from the breakers and remove them carefully. Be sure not to cross any live load lines.
  4. Now comes the removal of any breakers being replaced. Breakers snap into place within the box, so you’ll need to lift them at an angle to unsnap them and remove them. They should pull away freely—don’t force things or tug if they’re stuck!
  5. To insert the new breakers, it’s the opposite procedure. You’ll need to slide the new breaker in at an angle and be sure to click it in place so that it’s firm and not wobbling.
  6. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to slide the feed wires back into the new breakers and tighten them into place. Don’t overly tighten them, however, or you could end up stripping them.
  7. When everything is back in place, flip the breaker back into the on position and test it with your voltage meter to identify power.

As you can see, this is a simple enough process to undertake if your breaker box has been identified as antiquated or obsolete. Also, if you’re seeing tripped breakers or breaker damage due to load issues in other areas of your system, this may help to correct things.

As with any electrical project, replacing breakers or implementing circuit breaker repairs in North Scottsdale, AZ comes with a hefty array of hazards that can befall inexperienced repairmen. All it takes is contact with a live load wire or an improper connection to cause any number of problems that aren’t so easily resolved.

If you’ve identified a need for circuit breaker repair or replacement, be sure you’re contacting one of the professionals at Eavenson Electric Co. right away!

Categorised in:

This post was written by Writer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *