The Daily Populous Wednesday April 29th, 2026 evening edition
Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by Nelliell

Nelliell on April 28th, 2026 at 19:58 UTC »

We just had the panel to our home replaced. It was all sorts of sus even to a layperson. It had no cover and no door. But nothing looked burned up, so we figured it was fine. It wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't to code, but nothing was visibly sparking or making unnerving noises. We were having work done to install a min-split in the garage and no electrician would touch the old panel as it was. We didn't know that circuit breakers are brand-specific until the first one pointed out this breaker, and a few others, as not designed for the panel we had.

Which brings us to yesterday. The old panel was removed, and this breaker was inside *carrying power in this state* until about 9 in the morning. No labels, so no idea what it was powering. But seeing the char and the metal just vaporized...I'm shook.

What's more, because this breaker was not designed to be used in the panel it was installed in, insurance likely wouldn't have paid out if the house had burned down.

My original post to /r/AskElectricians. They were very helpful and I recommend reaching out to them if you have any electrical questions.

Images of the old and new panels.

IrreverentBuddha on April 28th, 2026 at 20:01 UTC »

You need to take a serious look at your grounding.

MTBguide on April 28th, 2026 at 20:01 UTC »

Was it a Federal Pacific panel? Those things are death traps with their aluminum bus bars.