Cover Plates for Breaker Box

[ahaidet]

I want to remove a circuit from my breaker box and the breaker with it. Does anyone know where to get the cover plates (if thats what they are called), to cover the hole in the face plate left by the removed breaker?

[Junkman]

Find an electrical supply house for the brand of electrical panel that you have, and drop in. They usually sell them in a pack of 4 or 6. I have a Square D panel, and I can get them at Home Depot. Some of the less known brand panels might be a challenge to find the "block off plates"..

[ahaidet]

Thanks. Its for the garage panel and its a Cutler Hammer if I remember right.

[BrianAltenhofel]

Cutler Hammer is usually carried by ACE Hardware if you want to check there.

[sberry]

Menards carry CH also.

[Charles (in GA)]

HD carrys CH also, there are two types of CH panels, one is BR which I think is the old Bryant units, still marketed as BR and physically interchangeable with Siemens, 1" GE, and some others...................

The other type of CH panels/breakers are known as CH breakers, and are a propriety CH design. HD handles both down here in Atlanta. I would suspect the blanking plates for Siemens or GE panels would probably snap into a panel made by CH if it were of the BR type as the breakers are physically the same size. Probably not 100% legal, since code says accessories for a panel must be approved for that panel, but better than getting electrocuted.

Charles

[hidollartoys]

They are expensive in relation to their simplicity. You could make your own. Seen it before and will pass code.

[ThumbsUp]

Why not just remove the wire from the circuit and leave the breaker in place; label it "Blank". Someday, sooner rather than later, you're gonna add another circuit for something anyway.

[ahaidet]

Originally Posted by hidollartoys

They are expensive in relation to their simplicity. You could make your own. Seen it before and will pass code.

Any pictures of this homemade solution? I have thought of this simple sheet metal plate but how do you attach it? sheetmetal screws doesn't seem like a good idea as you'd have more holes in the box when/if I put another breaker back in its place.

[Charles (in GA)]

I would think that homemade blanking plates would not be "legal" and probably would not pass inspection. I seem to recall that code says that "accessories" for something like a panelboard have to be approved by the mfg of the panel, this would not.

I have seen the twist outs tack welded back into place on oddball panels that the blanking plates were unobtainable for.

Fact is, GE, Siemens, Square D and other common panels have readily available blanking plates. I see them at HD and Lowes all the time, I have some GE ones I bought where I removed 1" breakers and installed a 1/2" breaker and needed to fill the other 1/2" gap. They were not expensive, probably in the $2 to $5 range for a pack of ten. Certainly more trouble to make something.

As others have mentioned, the alternative is to leave the breaker in place and label it unused (I have a couple of those in the house done just that way).

Charles

[Nealcrenshaw]

I agree with thumbsup.If you don't need it just leave it in.