I have a 200 amp Siemens breaker box and want to install an Eaton CHSPT2ULTRA Type-2 surge protector. The instructions say to use either a dedicated 2-pole 15 amp or 50 amp breaker. Wanting the full ratings of the device, I planned on getting the 50 amp breaker.
However, I happen to have a 2-pole 60 amp breaker and am wondering if I can use this instead of the 50 amp? It's not that much money to buy a 50 amp, but I already have the 60 amp…
[Note: The 60-amp came out of this breaker box about a year ago when I moved into the house and the inspection noted that a 60 amp breaker was being used on a circuit with a wire thickness of 8 ga. So I replaced the 60 amp with a proper 40 amp. This circuit is for the AC compressor which only pulls 27 amps and requires a max 40 amp breaker. So all is good!]
A second question. Where I plan on putting the surge protector breaker is in the top left slot. Right now there is a 2-pole 30 amp breaker there that is unused since I moved my oven in a kitchen remodel and its now gas. The unused wired is capped off inside a box above the of the kitchen cabinets and marked as to what the wires are and why. So now what is the best way to handle the other end of the wire inside the breaker box? I see two options:
- Disconnect the hots from the breaker, wire nut, tape and tuck into a corner out of the way
- Disconnect hots, ground, neutral and pull all the wire out of the breaker box
My thoughts are it is better to do #2, but I don't really want to play around pulling the wires out of the top of the box where the main feeds are coming into the box and will be live. So my question is if its good enough to just do #1 as that will be safer for me. I think it is to code to just leave the dead wires in the box and maybe make a note of what they are, but not sure about that. Any thoughts?
Best Answer
You'll need to use the 50A breaker, and you can cap off the spare hots in the panel
The bad news (not that bad) is that in order to meet the listing and installation requirements of the CHSPT2ULTRA, you're limited to a maximum of a 50A breaker for it. (You can install it on lower-rated breakers, but they might trip during severe surge events, taking the surge suppressor out of the picture.)
As to the spare wires, simply capping the unused hots off with wirenuts and tucking them into an out-of-the-way corner of the panel is the best approach. That way, they are terminated in a place that someone who wants to use them later can actually find them, as opposed to having to go on a scavenger hunt for the loose end, and you don't need to stuff an extra junction box in by the panel for the termination either.