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All Circuit Breakers have a current rating and a FAULT current rating. The current rating refers to the current at which the circuit breaker is designed to 'break' the circuit and this is generally shown in Amperes (A). FAULT current rating is generally alot higher rating and is therefor shown in kilo Amperes (kA). This kA rating refers to the amount of current which a circuit breaker is designed to handle under fault conditions and can still maintain operation and 'break' contact.

Most household circuit breakers are around 7.5 kA, so any fault over 7,500 Amperes could potentially damage the circuit breaker contacts to the point which it can not open the circuit. Larger fault ratings are found in larger applications such as MCC's on plants, minesites or power stations.

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Q: Can all circuit breakers interrupt large fault currents?
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Short circuit fault.


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