The following section presents some basics of circuit breaker
design. Variations to these design principles will be presented
later in the course. Circuit breakers are constructed in five major
components:
• Frame (Molded Case)
• Contacts
• Arc Chute Assembly
• Operating Mechanism
• Trip Unit
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A circuit breaker's function is, like a fuse, to break a circuit path when a predetermined amount of current is passed. In my opinion, circuit breakers should never be used to protect electronic devices such as radios, amplifiers or crossovers. Most common circuit breakers (thermal snap action) take far too long to open the circuit path. This does not mean that they are not useful. When they are properly selected they do a good job of protecting wiring and devices such as electric motors. Some breakers are self resetting. Others require manual resetting. I strongly recommend using a manual reset type. This will allow you to watch for any problems when the circuit path is restored
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