I came across this in an older panel today - house built 1969. I had never seen one before. It was labeled as a Square D secondary surge protector. It was wired directly into the main service. Any experience or info on this surge protector? It’s the gray box lower right side in the 1st pic.
This is installed upstream of over current protection, has no means of disconnect, is double tapped to the main lugs, and is not installed by the intended manner. Any of which makes it a defect. The potential exists that should the device fail, it would be a hazard.
I would venture a guess that someone knew a little, but just not enough.
Thanks Will. Several issues with this panel. What time period were these Sq D protectors commonly used?
Very common installation, but that still doesn’t make it right. The “installation instructions” of the surge protector will show these to be installed on a 240V circuit, usually double-tap at a 2-pole breaker, but even that is improper unless the breaker is listed for multiple conductors.
In addition, the surge protector is required to be mounted outside of the panel.