How are breakers in a surface mount raceway set up?

[kjbenner]

I'm used to seeing surface-mounted steel raceways full of receptacles, switches, and breakers. I was just realizing I don't really know how it works to have a breaker not in a panel (for what it's worth, I'm not trying to do this, I'm just curious).

I'm talking about things like this: https://www.legrand.us/wire-and-cab...000-circuit-breaker-housing-fitting/p/g6046kd, https://www.legrand.us/wire-and-cab...reaker-housing-fitting/p/g3046kd?text=G3046KD

Is the raceway treated like a subpanel, where you have one or more breakers in the raceway circuit breaker housing fed by a larger breaker at a main panel (and would you need to run a new ground)?

 

[alfredeneuman]

Go here > https://www.legrand.us/wire-and-cab...reaker-housing-fitting/p/g3046kd?text=G3046KD and download the installation instruction .pdf file. It has all the info you're likely to need (with illustrations).
The breakers have line in/line out lugs, opposed to a bus bar arrangement

 

[kjbenner]

Go here > https://www.legrand.us/wire-and-cab...reaker-housing-fitting/p/g3046kd?text=G3046KD and download the installation instruction .pdf file. It has all the info you're likely to need (with illustrations).
The breakers have line in/line out lugs, opposed to a bus bar arrangement

Thanks. That makes sense, the hot goes through the breaker and the neutral and ground just pass by... but how is this breaker fed? Like if I have a 20A breaker in a raceway, is it fed by a 20A breaker back at the panel (in which case I'm not sure the utility of this arrangement), or can you have a single larger breaker at the panel feeding smaller breakers down the line in the raceway (in which case I didn't realize you could do this outside of a subpanel)?

 

[klassenl]

Thanks. That makes sense, the hot goes through the breaker and the neutral and ground just pass by... but how is this breaker fed? Like if I have a 20A breaker in a raceway, is it fed by a 20A breaker back at the panel (in which case I'm not sure the utility of this arrangement), or can you have a single larger breaker at the panel feeding smaller breakers down the line in the raceway (in which case I didn't realize you could do this outside of a subpanel)?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is there are many rules to follow.