Siemens electrical panel

9 years ago

In the house my wife and I purchased recently there are 4 electrical panels in different locations in the house. One outside next to the meter, one in an outdoor closet behind the meter, one in a utility room in the basement, and another right next to the third that is a transfer switch for several circuits for use with a generator.

While doing drywall work this weekend I shorted an outlet causing a spark and a dead outlet. I finished the drywall work and when to turn the outlet back on, but didn't know which panel had the breaker for that outlet.

The outdoor closet panel and the basement panel are both Square D, which I am familiar with, and none of them had red showing in the little window. So that meant the one outside next to the meter had to contain the culprit, however since it is a Siemens panel, there seems to be no indication when a breaker has tripped. There were a few hand scrawled notations on the label, which didn't seem to correspond well to the breakers that were there.

So basically I checked and re-checked the other panels, and then resorted to uneducated guessing, flipping breakers off and then back on, a couple at a time, and then walk upstairs the check whether the outlet was live.

Am I missing something? Is there really no indicator on Siemens breakers to tell when one has tripped?

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Comments (6)

Sammy
9 years ago
Perhaps this will help.
bob_cville
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks. As far as I could tell the tripped breaker didn't look any different, but maybe I just couldn't tell since I was squatted down holding the panel cover up with one hand. Also IIRC the handles on the breakers in that box seemed wider that those in your picture.

I'm tempted to short out the outlet again to see if the handle looks any different, but I think I should probably resist that urge. I will look more closely at the panel, perhaps with reading glasses to see whether I can find more information.

I'm a little leery of poking around in that panel since it is missing a few knockouts, I demanded that the sellers fix that, but didn't follow-up to check that they did. They did have someone weld pieces of metal over some of the missing knockouts, but not all of them.
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mike_kaiser_gw
9 years ago
I think Sammy's picture is generic but the general position of the handle when it's tripped is about the same for all breakers. Unless you stick you finger in one of the knockout holes, it's not likely to be dangerous. They do sell plugs for the holes, you're local home center should have some, often with the electrical fittings. Most just pop in and have little "fingers" that hold them in place. Welding plates over the holes is a little over the top. What happens if you need one of those knockouts in the future? Although a bunch of knocked out holes in a panel might indicate amateur work or maybe just a bunch of changes over the years and a lazy electrician.
Ron Natalie
9 years ago
I had one of those siemens panels. It is hard to tell when the breaker is tripped. The big key is that when it is tripped the handle is a little "springy" to touch rather than being stiffly set in the on position. Turn it off and then back on to reset.

The biggest problem is the breakers (especially the larger ones) aren't cheap. I replaced mine with a Square D when I was doing other work just because I couldn't get the large GFCI I needed for a pool installation. A few of my neighbors (all the houses in the neighborhood had the same panel) were happy to take the breakers I had for it off me.

As Mike, says, they sell plastic plugs that fill in the empty holes.
bob_cville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you. The next time one trips, I'll feel around for one that is springy rather than stiff.

I don't think the previous owners would have worked in the electrical panel, but there is clearly a lot of amateur-ish work in evidence around the house -- electrical and plumbing and much else. Welding covers over knockouts in the panel, and not even doing all of them is just one example of many. They thought they were being helpful by giving us a list of contractors who had worked on the house previously, and it turns out it was helpful. I now have a list of contractors who aren't allowed in the house ever again.

While looking up images of Siemens electrical panels, I found a link to a recall for some of their products :

http://w3.usa.siemens.com/us/internet-dms/btlv/Residential/Residential/docs_Circuit%20Breakers/SIE_Recall_PO.pdf

Now I have something else to check.
Ron Natalie
9 years ago
The Siemens panels have a checkered history, they also went previously by Zinsco and Sylvania (mine indeed was a Sylvania). There are a number of recalls. For scarey pictures: http://www.electrical-forensics.com/CircuitBreakers/CircuitBreakers.html#zinsco-circuitbreakers