Jeff Wisnia wrote:
We have a 60 amp 240 volt two pole GE fused disconnect switch in our
attic supplying the air handler/auxillary electric heat for one of our
heat pump HVAC systems. It is fed from a dedicated 60 amp breaker in the
home's load center.

That switch has been a nuisance since the house was built about 19 years
ago. Every year or so the switch contacts start heating up and will
eventually heat the end carp on one of the fuses enough to melt the
solder joining the fuse's link to the cap, shutting down things. The
overheated fuse usually falls apart when I take it out, as its fiber
tube is crisped.

I take the switch apart, clean up all the discolored switch parts with a
fine file, paint some Kopper-Shield on them and put it all back together
with a new fuse. My cleaning fixups last for another year or so and the
same contact heating thing repeats.

About six years ago I gave up and figured maybe I just had a "bad"
disconnect switch, so I bought an same model GE disconnect and just
swapped in the guts to avoid having to mess around changing the housing
and cable entries. The same switch contact heating problem happened
again a year later.

The disconnect is in a dry area, and the switch is never thrown except
when I have to fix it, so why does this happen? The current draw with
the auxiliary heaters on is less than 40 amps, and as I'm using regular
quick blow cartridge fuses, I doubt if there's much surge even when
those heaters are cold, or the fuses would blow. After a cleanup I've
let the auxiliary heaters run for ten minutes and then felt the
disconnect switch parts (with the breaker off of course). They feel like
they're only a few degrees above ambient then.

Is it just that GE fused disconnects are likely to be ****e, or am I
possibly overlooking something?

Methinks I'll just pick up a non-fused disconnect and next weekend deep
six that darned fused GE disconnect I spent an hour cleaning up this
morning, when we woke up with no heat. I can't really understand why the
installers used a fused disconnect there anyway. I appreciate the need
for a disconnect in close proximity to the equipment, but having fuses
in it when it's fed from a dedicated breaker of the same rating seems
redundant. Am I right about that?

Comments?

Jeff

Jeff
Check the label on the unit to see what Over Current Protective Device
is called for by the manufacturer. When the electrician installs a
fused disconnect it is often because the manufacturer specified fuses
rather than allowing the branch circuit breaker to serve as the air
handler / heater protection. If the label does allow a breaker for
protection and you can still buy breakers that fit your panel then you
can install an ACHR rated breaker and change the disconnect to an
unfused one. One common reason for switch terminals to fail is that the
circuit uses Aluminum wire and the terminations were over or under
torqued. Terminations for aluminum conductors need to be tightened with
a torque wrench or torque screw driver. As others have already pointed
out the stripped end of Aluminum wire should be cleaned with a stiff
wire brush or with emery cloth and then immediately coated with anti
oxidation paste such as Noalox®.
--
Tom H