Cardboard tabs on 90a breaker

[nafterclifen]

Eaton (Cutler Hammer) model CH290 (90a) breaker has two cardboard "tabs" on in. What the heck are they? Should they be removed or left in place? All of my other CH breakers (15a, 20a, 40a, etc) don't have them.

 

[Speedy Petey]

The are not cardboard, but I don't know what material they are. Either way, you should leave them in place.
WHY would you need or want to remove them???

 

[nafterclifen]

I never said that I was going to remove them but all of my other breakers don't have them. Hence why I asked what they are and what their purpose is.

 

[Norcal]

You will have to ask Eaton, but they were not put there because of some whim.

 

[Eriehunter]

My guess is the buss would go under those "cardboard" tabs. The cardboard is a heat insulator to not allow heat conduction between the buss and breaker case so the breaker will get a true 90a rating.

Or it has something to do with the aic rating of the breaker.

Just my guesses.

 

[Eriehunter]

Now that i look at it again its probably there to keep an arc from inside the case of the breaker off the buss running under those tabs. Note where the seam in the case is. Probably this but w/o looking at all the pieces to the puzzle it's still just a guess.

I wonder if this breaker has a higher than 10000 aic.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Now that i look at it again its probably there to keep an arc from inside the case of the breaker off the buss running under those tabs. Note where the seam in the case is. Probably this but w/o looking at all the pieces to the puzzle it's still just a guess.

I wonder if this breaker has a higher than 10000 aic.

An arc shield is what I was thinking as well. Not much else they could be.

 

[nafterclifen]

Well...I installed the breaker and it is working just fine. I did not remove them.