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I have an old Eaton panel in my house with a 200amp supply. I need to install a breaker for a 14-50R receptacle for a car charger. The breakers in the panel look different from anything I see in the stores. Here's a couple pics. What kind of breaker do I need ? Will a Square D work ?

The box also says Cutler Hammer and the breaker mounts are metal hooks

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    I think it's an Eaton CH type panel / breaker
    – Vasuvius
    Oct 16, 2019 at 2:16
  • Can you provide more photos of the panel, including any labeling on the inside of the door? It looks like a CH from what I can see, but there's just not enough info there to be 100% sure...
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Oct 16, 2019 at 4:03
  • @ThreePhaseEel - yes, it is a CH panel. A lot of the markings/labeling seem to have worn off.
    – Vasuvius
    Oct 16, 2019 at 11:42

2 Answers 2

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Eaton has two breaker lines:

  • the residential grade (cheap) one, BR
  • the industrial grade (good) one, CH.

This is CH. It is an excellent panel. Hold onto it!

BR will be placed more up-front because it's more popular. If you stop there and give up, that's the trouble. Most likely the store also carries CH. Look for it: the narrow package and distinctive beige handle is the giveaway.

Expect to pay under $12 for this CH240 or CH250 breaker, which should be readily available.

You asked about other brands of breaker. You cannot put J. Random brand of breaker in your panel, even if it seems to fit because it doesn't actually. You must use breakers either manufactured by the OEM for that panel (e.g. Eaton), or competitor breakers that are UL-listed (technically, UL-classified) for that panel. I'm not aware of any classified breakers for CH. It wouldn't save you any money, and the beige wouldn't match!

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  • Thank you. That’s the conclusion (the breaker) I came to late last night after some google help. I was at HomeDepot and was focused on looking for Square D breakers - makes no sense, don’t know why I was doing that. Will take a trip to Lowes today. Thank you.
    – Vasuvius
    Oct 16, 2019 at 11:41
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    @Vasuvius I've found that HD and Lowes usually carry only types and brands that are commonly used by home builders in the area they are in. You can interpret that to mean "the cheap ones". My point is that you may need to try a local electrical supply house instead of the big-box home center stores to find what you need here.
    – jwh20
    Oct 16, 2019 at 11:45
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    Yeah, just call around electrical supplies and see who is an Eaton dealer. Honestly there are only 6 major breaker types I see stocked for the residential market: Eaton CH and BR, SquareD QO and HOMeline, Siemens Murray, and GE Q. And you can cover the basics with maybe 12 sizes: 1x15, 1x20, 2x20, 2x30, 2x40, 2x50, 2x60, and a few double-stuffs. So this is not a huge demand on anyone. Also check with your "HWI/ACO" type hardware store; mine stocks everything, even Push/Zinsco/FPE at nosebleed prices.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Oct 16, 2019 at 14:05
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New breaker numbers start with CHF...so may not find the CH240 or CH250, but current version is CHF240 and CHF250. Any of these will work.

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    Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep 'em coming. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Oct 17, 2019 at 13:19
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    found the breaker at Lowes. Even the box was dusty. It was CH. $17.48
    – Vasuvius
    Oct 17, 2019 at 19:33

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