Ngl I miss the days when panels came with actual copper bus bars

Pulled an old 1970s Square D panel out of a house last week and that copper bar was thick. Like 1/4 inch easy. The new ones I'm putting in now feel flimsy, all aluminum or thin plated stuff. Some supplier told me copper got too expensive around 2008 and they never went back. Anyone else notice the drop in quality on modern load centers?

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rayc892mo ago

You ever try tightening down a lug on one of those new panels and feel the whole bar flex under your screwdriver... drives me nuts. The best workaround I've found is to get the heavy duty versions from the supply house, they still use copper but you gotta ask for it specifically. Regular stock is all that thin aluminum now, and I've seen them corrode up bad in humid basements after just a few years. Another trick is to go with a different brand that still offers copper as an option, it costs more but saves callbacks down the road. Just watch out for the cheaper knockoff panels at the big box stores, those are the worst offenders with the thinnest bus bars.

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milap352mo ago

That 2008 timeline explains a lot actually, I used to think people were just being picky.

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