Hi I have a 800 amp breaker which is being used as a switch . I will on it everyday in the morning and turn off the breaker once I end work at night .

My question is what are the long term effects on the breaker ? The breaker is huge and it takes quite a bit of strength to flip it down .

Will it cause any short circuit or any other dangers if I continue doing this in the long run ?

 

Will it cause any short circuit or any other dangers if I continue doing this in the long run ?

No, it is very unlikely to cause a "short circuit". Can it eventually fail from multiple cycles? Then yes it can. A circuit breaker is an electro-mechanical device and like any mechanical devices following enough cycles it can mechanically fail. That is to say just mechanically turning the breaker On/Off and not having it "trip". The best answer would come from the company which manufactured the breaker by manufacturer and part or model number. I have seen much smaller breakers used as On/Off switches in building lighting applications. Anyway the best answer to your questions would come from the manufacturer and may have some bearing on just how large of a load is being switched.

Ron

 

If you are going to ask the manufacturer, note that there will be a huge difference between number of purely mechanical cycles with no load, switching cycles under some load, and number of short circuit trips.

 

Thanks for the reply .

Usually we would manually shut off the heavier loads before shutting the 800amp breaker . So when the 800 amp breaker is being shut, the only loads would be the PLC, touch screen controls and some panel lights .

One thing I am afraid of is the wires that are connected to the breakers come out loose due to the mechanical movement of the breaker.

 

One thing I am afraid of is the wires that are connected to the breakers come out loose due to the mechanical movement of the breaker.

Why would they? Wires on an 800A breaker need to be tightened very tight and should never ever rattle loose.