I need a solution for carrying circuit breakers in the van

[jaylectricity]

I generally have a pile of the boxes circuit breakers are shipped in. I'm looking for a container that could help organize circuit breakers.

Something that is fitted to the size of typical circuit breakers.

One problem is arc-fault and ground-fault breakers with pigtails. Another is those same with plug-on capability. Has anybody invented a drawer/shelve system to store and organize the different types of breakers you want to carry around with you?

I'm tired of digging through boxes trying to find the ones I need, not knowing if I even have the one I need.

I want to organize by brand, type, etc

Anybody have some good solutions? Links to products would be helpful, or even your own handy work.

 

[jaylectricity]

And mostly we deal with regular 1" breakers, but an option for CH and QO breakers would be a big help.

 

[Buck Parrish]

I've got one of these in each truck. It's the perfect fit. https://leonardaccessories.com/prod...8yZqRhs79PpwuHpql0tY0ZBYGeG2qPnIaAuOLEALw_wcB

 

[cadpoint]

I'm looking at shoe plastic shoe boxes/crates some with lid's some with slots no lids.
4 years on the road the stuff gets into some sort of sort box.... If you have open shelves...

I wouldn't got to Menard's, or even HD, I'd go to a kitchen bath store for covered lids and
Walmart for open boxes.

 

[steve66]

I'm tired of digging through boxes trying to find the ones I need, not knowing if I even have the one I need.

Have you tried keeping an inventory book?
Then you can just open your book and find out right away what breakers you have in each size.
But having a book doesn't help unless you are good about keeping it updated.

 

[Jraef]

I don’t know how widespread these are where you live, but every time I have needed something specific like that, I go to The Container Store and they have something that works.

Find Stores Near Me | Store Locator | The Container Store

Get Organized Today! Find a Container Store near you for custom closets, storage & organizing solutions using our Store Locator.

www.containerstore.com

 

[jaylectricity]

Have you tried keeping an inventory book?
Then you can just open your book and find out right away what breakers you have in each size.
But having a book doesn't help unless you are good about keeping it updated.

I actually spent some time looking for a good app for my phone. I keep pretty good records of where we've been, how much I spend at the supply house, etc. I have some personal circumstances that have turned my world upside down this year. But I may go on the hunt for a good app. The problem with most of them is they're tailored for a retail business. But I was thinking even if I just used it to keep track of certain things. I don't need an inventory book to see how much wire I have or how many nail-on boxes I have.

The problem with the breakers is they get shuffled around into different boxes. I try to keep the 2-poles together, tandems together, specific brands together, but eventually I end up with a few boxes with a couple of breakers each, so then I consolidate.

 

[jaylectricity]

I don’t know how widespread these are where you live, but every time I have needed something specific like that, I go to The Container Store and they have something that works.

Find Stores Near Me | Store Locator | The Container Store

Get Organized Today! Find a Container Store near you for custom closets, storage & organizing solutions using our Store Locator.

www.containerstore.com

I hadn't even thought of that. Not really near where I live, but at least in an area I find myself working from time to time. Maybe I'll bring a couple of boxes of breakers to the store and try out different containers.

 

[zbang]

Target always seems to have plastic shoe boxes; they're one of my favorites for keeping bits and pieces.

 

[acrwc10]

I used to use these and the breakers fit perfect. from home depot

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I used to go to Lowes and grab the empty cardboard boxes on the shelves. Sometimes I would empty the box so I could take it. They are very happy for you to take the boxes. Pick the smaller sturdier boxes for the breakers.

 

[jaylectricity]

I used to use these and the breakers fit perfect. from home depot

The problem with Home Depot is they move stuff and they don't keep stocking the same stuff. I've never seen those at Home Depot, and believe me, I've looked at that aisle several times.

One of the problems I have with capitalism is we can't just get a nice product that works for the small percentage of shoppers that are electricians because they aren't going to sell as many of them as they would any random product that most homeowners would buy.

 

[jaylectricity]

I used to go to Lowes and grab the empty cardboard boxes on the shelves. Sometimes I would empty the box so I could take it. They are very happy for you to take the boxes. Pick the smaller sturdier boxes for the breakers.

That's how they're stored now. And when I buy afci or df from my supply houses they come in nice individual rectangular boxes and there's the bigger box that holds 10 of them. But the ones from the big box stores have that plastic clamshell packaging that's a little more difficult to store. Or when you have loose afci breakers with pigtails it's impossible to store them nicely. The plug-on afci Siemens breakers have that bump that make them harder to store.

 

[goldstar]

I have a briefcase similar to this one :

Amazon.com

That I keep all my Sq D breakers in. You don't need anything this elaborate nor do you need the file holders on the inside cover. If you can fine one that's inexpensive they work great. Good luck with the arc fault breakers though. No thoughts on that.

 

[Jerramundi]

I would think the key to this, regardless of what storage solution you ultimately go with, would be having something to keep the breakers from sliding around or banging into each other, which you could resolve with simple, cheap pads of foam, rubber, etc.

Just get a lengthy container from U-line and stick some foam or rubber between the breakers.

 

[readydave8]

I use plastic storage containers from Walmart, maybe 8 total, several different sizes according to how many breakers I want to keep of each category (sorted by brand, common brands sorted by 1 or 2 pole) (I bring breakers I think I need for job, truck stock is for unexpected needs), they're labelled and don't remember ever having breaker in wrong container (well organized or bad memory?

 

[Buck Parrish]

They're not perfect, but they'll hold allot. I've got several 200 amp breakers in the back.

 

[sparky1118]

I ask the supply houses that I use for the empty breaker boxes. I just use those for all my breakers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[steve66]

I actually spent some time looking for a good app for my phone. I keep pretty good records of where we've been, how much I spend at the supply house, etc. I have some personal circumstances that have turned my world upside down this year. But I may go on the hunt for a good app. The problem with most of them is they're tailored for a retail business. But I was thinking even if I just used it to keep track of certain things. I don't need an inventory book to see how much wire I have or how many nail-on boxes I have.

The problem with the breakers is they get shuffled around into different boxes. I try to keep the 2-poles together, tandems together, specific brands together, but eventually I end up with a few boxes with a couple of breakers each, so then I consolidate.

Low tech might be best. We used to keep a 3 ring binder with a page for each part (or at least each common part). Each line was how many used, or how many picked up from the shop, and a running total of how many I had with me. With breakers, you could probably use separate columns (20/1, 25/1,30/1) and keep the number of sheets down.

Even just an Excel spreadsheet would probably work pretty well after taking a few minutes to set something up.

 

[JDB3]

I sometimes just build a box from job-site left over plywood or something similar to keep items in. Custom fit