Surge Protection?

[Jim Robinson]

Any idea what these small round devices are in the panel?

My guess is some type of device that would complete the circuit if a surge happens, causing the breaker to trip. I've never seen them before. They are connected between the load side of the breaker (double tapped, of course) and to the neutral/ground terminal bar.

[John Kogel]

Any idea what these small round devices are in the panel?

My guess is some type of device that would complete the circuit if a surge happens, causing the breaker to trip. I've never seen them before. They are connected between the load side of the breaker (double tapped, of course) and to the neutral/ground terminal bar.
I think the breakers will trip just fine without those little capacitor add-ons. My guess is noise suppression. The resident was a radio or audio nut. He thought the capacitors would bleed certain frequencies of noise off to ground. I would call for them to be removed and that the panel be checked by an electrician. There is some sign there of amateur wiring - cable sheath not stripped correctly.

[Glenn Mann]

Any idea what these small round devices are in the panel?

My guess is some type of device that would complete the circuit if a surge happens, causing the breaker to trip. I've never seen them before. They are connected between the load side of the breaker (double tapped, of course) and to the neutral/ground terminal bar.

Jim, why don't you try to "Google" the nomenclature on those items. Perhaps that'll shed some light on the subject. Due to the nature of what they must safely deal with, surge suppressors usually have substantial physical bodies.