# Bolt on Panel conversion



## Dauphin

Does anyone know if Schneider Electric makes a part to change a QOB buss bar to QO bar?


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## sbrn33

OK, I gotta ask what would make you ever want to do that?


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## Dauphin

sbrn33 said:


> OK, I gotta ask what would make you ever want to do that?


To be able to change out breakers from the buss without unscrewing from the buss bar. I thought they made an adapter that screws in to the buss bar to make it accept QO breakers.


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## MDShunk

They make an adapter to put QO breakers in an I-Line panel. Most QOB panels are actually QOD panels (QO-dual), and they'll take either bolt-on or plug-on breakers. The only part to convert a straight QOB panel to a QO panel is called a new panel interior. I think doing so, and the motivations for such, are extremely unwise and ill-advised.


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## just the cowboy

Think safety!!! You are going backwards and looking to work hot. Them days are gone, even just pushing a breaker into a hot panel is not a good practice anymore. 


You list yourself as industrial, think that way bigger boom.


Good luck
Cowboy


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## Dauphin

The panels I’m working with now are NTFB 44235 electrical panels with bolt on fused breakers. I’m looking to upgrade all 25 panels with QO breakers. I’m not interested in working on live circuits but the nature of my work, being able to change out breakers more quickly is a big plus. I did buy a NQ442L2C however this panel interior did not fit with the way it was originally wired. I was looking for other ideas to be able to convert them all to QO breakers. 

More notes these fused breakers are failing. The plastic is brittle and the internals of them are heating up probably due to their age.


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## MDShunk

The old NTFB panelboards have ordinary QOB bus fingers. I'm confused as hell why you insist on wanting to change to QO breakers. That's going backwards with no benefit other than satisfying your hard head. You actually had an NQOD/NQ panelboard interior and were's savvy enough to install it. Maybe you're not cut out for this electrician thing? Although I've never tried to convert a QOB panel to a QOD panel, I'd imagine the SKNQOD225 kits are what you'd need. They're the renewal kit for burned up bus fingers in an NQOD panel. They might actually work on QOB busing. I have no idea, though.


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## just the cowboy

*Think duty*



Dauphin said:


> More notes these fused breakers are failing. The plastic is brittle and the internals of them are heating up probably due to their age.



This is one reason to stay with bolt-on, in my opinion QO are for homes, bolt on for industry because of the continuous load and heating.


Cowboy


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## Dauphin

MDShunk said:


> The old NTFB panelboards have ordinary QOB bus fingers. I'm confused as hell why you insist on wanting to change to QO breakers. That's going backwards with no benefit other than satisfying your hard head. You actually had an NQOD/NQ panelboard interior and were's savvy enough to install it. Maybe you're not cut out for this electrician thing? Although I've never tried to convert a QOB panel to a QOD panel, I'd imagine the SKNQOD225 kits are what you'd need. They're the renewal kit for burned up bus fingers in an NQOD panel. They might actually work on QOB busing. I have no idea, though.


Thats what i was looking for. Thanks Mr. MDSkunk


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## sbrn33

I have been in this a long time. I have seen fused breakers exactly twice.


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## Dauphin

sbrn33 said:


> I have been in this a long time. I have seen fused breakers exactly twice.


Well almost every panel where i am has fused breakers. These panels are from when the building was constructed in the 70's. Im going to go panel by panel and change them to QO style if this part works out.


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## telsa

That's just crazy.

QOB !


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## sbrn33

Dauphin said:


> Well almost every panel where i am has fused breakers. These panels are from when the building was constructed in the 70's. Im going to go panel by panel and change them to QO style if this part works out.


That is a thermal magnetic breaker not fused. 
If you change out those QOB's to QO you should be fired. 
There are a lot of good electricians on here and not one of them thinks that is a good idea. 

I am starting to think thins is a troll thread.


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## Norcal

A panel from the '70's would be QOB only, since they were only slightly different then the '60's panels, even if they could use QO, plug-in, QOB,bolt-on breakers are still the better choice.


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