Review on ⚡ Square QO120CAFI 20A Fault Breaker: Exceptional Performance for Enhanced Electrical Safety by Hassan Tomlinson

Arc Flash Circuit Breaker for Square D QO Load Centers House with Square D QO Load Center and three QO Auxiliary Panels. I also replaced the old 12 cell subpanel with a 24 cell Square D plug-in neutral load center. Pros: The quality of the breaker seems excellent, but the customer really needs to trust the Square D to meet the design specs. and to make these switches last. The lifetime replacement guarantee is a testament to the manufacturer's confidence in quality. They differ in appearance from standard circuit breakers (non-AFCI, non-GFCI) as they are MUCH wider, have a test button, and white and black circuit wires. attach directly to the switch - non-pluggable switches also have an integral 18" white coiled wire for connection to the neutral bar. Plug-in switches do not have this coiled wire. Disadvantages: - Some electric motors (e.g. tools, vacuum cleaners) cause these switches to trip. Most of my power tools work well with AFCI, but some don't. Disconnection can occur immediately after turning on the device or after a while. Time, but sometimes the AFCI switch trips. These are false positives and Square D should address this issue. Your warranty is worthless if the new switch works. One star as this deficiency makes it impossible to meet the new AFCI code in all rooms if you have Square D Load Center. It should be comfortable to work with hot wires nearby. If not, hire an electrician. If you are working on a sub-panel, consider turning off the power to that sub-panel before you begin work. AFCI switches are as easy to install as a light switch. Square D switches with "pluggable neutral" are easier/quicker to install and result in less wiring clutter in the panel because they do not have a pigtailed white neutral wire, BUT they will only work with a pluggable neutral in a square D load. centered. When purchasing a new Square D load center, choose the Push-In type as both Push-In and Non-Push-In Square D Circuit Breakers work, breakers are attached; i.e. the switch's outer locking bars are steel (not plastic) and are electrically connected to the neutral bar - while you've removed the load center cover, you may want to re-tighten all the neutral terminal screws and the existing switch bracket. Screws as they may have loosened over time. Loose connections can cause arcing. - In my state, a homeowner does not need a permit to replace circuit breakers, light switches, outlets, lamps, etc. - Remove the load center cover to determine if there are multi-wire connections. Electrical circuits (MWC) before ordering AFCI circuit breakers. (See comments for details.) Single pole AFCI circuit breakers will trip if installed on either half of the MWC; ie MWC circuits require 2 pole AFCI switches - At installation or shortly thereafter the AFCI switch may trip - see comments for solution options. Summary: All 22 AFCI-QO breakers functioned normally except as noted above. If something goes wrong in the future, Square D has a lifetime warranty on the product. Recently, a wealthy Maryland family died in an electric house fire. Your home was built before county ordinance required sprinklers or AFCI circuit breakers. This fire convinced me that it was time to add arc fault protection to our facility's switchboards.