ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area murray, siemens, GE, CH, SqD

... In reference to Square D,... The Homeline panels have an aluminum bus-bar,whereas the QO panel has a copper bus-bar... Big difference in quality here gang..
I always install QO, unless the H.O. spec's otherwise...
Russ

On the name thing it is the same for every industry. One company buys out another company not only for the product but for the name recognition. Like SquareD, Merlin-Gerin, and Telemecanique are all owned by one conglomerate. I think Cutler Hammer is owned by Eaton Electric but I may be wrong there.

On panels I always use SquareD first and C-H second. That is mostly due to the fact that I can get SquareD stuff cheap through my company and they are good quality. I have a C-H in my own home. It is sturdy and good quality materials were used in it.

I just installed a 200 amp SqD QO panel, the main is rated for 22,000 AIC, I think that the Homeline is only 10,000 AIC. I could be wrong because I don't install Homeline, just QO. Of course this may not be an issue for many unless they have a transformer very close to their service.

In my experience in remodeling of accidentally cutting live wires...the Square D QO breakers trip, the cheaper ones don't. The quality is worth the expense, and it saves on call backs for homeowners that can't tell when a breaker has tripped.

Dave

Thanks for all the help! I didn't even know some EC's can get some brands cheaper like that (with the rebate thingie). I'm gonna go for Sq. D QO, and copper service conductors. I don't like aluminum... at all. I'd rather pay the extra $$$ for something I won't have to worry about fixing. I'll just have to get quotes, and find te best deal (not neccesarily the best price, but the best quality at a reasonable price for my requests.)