The circuit-breaker tag has no wiki summary.
13
votes
4answers
351 views
Is there a lifetime failure count for a breaker?
I have an external cutoff for my air conditioner that has two physical fuses (TR-50's, time delay 50 amps) outside. This is between the condenser unit and the main power panel, where it is protected ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
What is electrical code for number of wires in a breaker?
US, Georgia
I am adding some new ciruits to add some additional outlets. The closest place is to run a wire to the main panel box.
My question is, can I connect more than one wire to a breaker and ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Why would there be a 50 amp plug on a 30 amp appliance?
I have an old conveyor dryer, which my office purchased used some time ago, just sitting in storage. The dryer is for silk screen t-shirts and has a large heating element and a variable speed conveyor ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Why does my microwave keep throwing the circuit breaker?
I have a circuit that powers several things in my house:
Kitchen microwave
Basement lights
Basement sockets
Sump pump
Recently, this circuit has been thrown with alarming frequency when I use the ...
8
votes
4answers
449 views
How can I automatically disconnect a coffee maker and space heater without tripping the building's 20A circuit breaker?
My small office has a 20A breaker and we have to run a space heater in the winter or else we freeze to death. Whenever someone turns on the coffee maker, the office circuit breaker trips and ...
8
votes
5answers
17k views
How do I add more circuit breakers once the breaker box is full?
My house was completely rewired by the previous owner. They tore out all the old knob-and-tube and replaced it with modern wiring. I definitely appreciate this, but unfortunately they left ...
8
votes
1answer
840 views
Is there an average number of outlets that are wired off of one circuit breaker?
I recently demolished my basement to start a reconstruction/improvement project. My first horror was the electrical layout. I've got hidden junctions, mismatched wire sizes, improper junctions and ...
7
votes
6answers
3k views
How is it that two breaker switches control the same things?
Forewarning: I don't know that much about electrical terms, so please excuse any mistakes I've possibly made.
I recently moved the TV in my living room and ran a new line for the electricity to the ...
7
votes
2answers
639 views
Are there any “easy” ways to trace a home electrical system?
We bought a home a few months ago, and the electrical panel (and subpanel) are completely unlabelled. We have no way, short of flipping breakers, to know what breaker powers which fixtures. Is there a ...
7
votes
2answers
766 views
Is it ever safe to have 14 gauge wire anywhere on a circuit proected by a 30 amp breaker?
I was doing some work in an old house I recently moved into, and found that my dishwasher and garbage disposal (and some outlets near them) are on a 30 amp breaker. However, some of the electrical ...
7
votes
2answers
5k views
Can I install an additional breaker bus bar on my main breaker panel?
I'm adding several new circuits to my main electrical panel as part of a kitchen remodel. The panel with accommodate the new circuit breakers, but it does not appear to have enough neutral and ground ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
How much should it cost to add a circuit breaker?
In this question, I asked about problems between my circuit breaker for a circuit shared by my microwave and sump pump. The conclusion was that another circuit should be added to support the microwave ...
7
votes
2answers
342 views
What is the best short-term solution for fused neutrals?
I have inherited a house that has been in my wife's family since 1860. I do not know when it was electrified, but it seems to have skipped knob and tube. There is a lot of fabric-covered wire, and ...
6
votes
1answer
951 views
GFCI outlet won't come on
I have a couple recently installed (By a professional licensed electrician) GFCI outlets outside a barn, both on their own circuit.
Both have water trough heaters plugged into them - 1500 watts each.
...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Can I replace an outlet that uses knob and tube wiring with a grounded outlet?
Can I replace an outlet that uses knob and tube wiring with a grounded outlet? Obviously the best choice would be to replace the old wiring. Is there a standard way to ground these outlets? Do I need ...
6
votes
7answers
2k views
How important is circuit breaker breaking capacity?
All else being equal circuit breakers can have different "breaking capacity" - it's the maximum current which the breaker can disconnect and it's typically several thousand amperes. The idea is that ...
6
votes
2answers
756 views
Blown fuse replaced, still no power
Yesterday a contractor was doing work in our bedroom. At one point he plugged in a hammering drill and when he used it it blew the fuse. We confirmed the 15amp fuse was dead but I didn't have a ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Why doesn't the main breaker shut off power for house?
Location: California | United States
I'm certain I'll need a licensed electrician for this but wanted to get thoughts on what could be going on.
I recently noticed that power remains on in my house ...
5
votes
3answers
462 views
What is simplest strategy to map circuits to breakers in the panel?
My breaker box is very poorly labeled and I want to figure out which circuits may have overloaded (or close to it) and which could reasonably handle a little more.
In the past I have just tried ...
5
votes
4answers
628 views
How can I tell if a circuit breaker is worn out?
I was installing a light and tripped the breaker (in retrospect, should have turned the breaker off before starting). When I finished installing it I reset the breaker and tried the light switch. ...
5
votes
4answers
398 views
Can re-closing a circuit-breaker be dangerous?
I have a circuit breaker that keeps tripping. When i try to reset (close) it, it immediately jumps back to the open position with a noise that sounds a little scary.
I have now stopped trying to do ...
5
votes
1answer
391 views
What is the primary function of the main breaker in a breaker box? How does it differ from other breakers?
Location: California | United States
I'd like to better understand the roles of main breakers and sub-breakers. Why are there multiple levels of breakers? I suspect that sub-breakers are intended to ...
5
votes
1answer
581 views
Can i run my cables from the outside box to the inside breaker box through 2x4 studs?
I am turning our carport into a living room and we have a 100amp breaker box outside that feeds power into the breaker box on the inside of our house. the conduit is going to be in the way of the wall ...
5
votes
2answers
776 views
What is the difference between Square D and QP single pole circuit breakers, and can they be mixed?
I just noticed that all of the branches from my upstairs service box are run off of 15 or 20-amp type QP circuit breakers, except for one 15-amp line that is for the hard-wired smoke alarms- it uses a ...
4
votes
5answers
794 views
How Do I Power A 220 Water Heater Off Two 110 Breakers
First off I know this is not the best idea.
To start my 200 Amp Main has suffered a partial failure and as it is old (60s) and unusual it will be very hard or impossible to replace it. Since the main ...
4
votes
3answers
452 views
Does turning circuit breakers off cause wear?
A comment over on another SE got me thinking. With screw-in fuses, unscrewing it and then later screwing it back in causes negligible wear on either part of the installation. But what about modern ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I replace a GFCI receptacle in my bathroom?
we're remodeling our bathroom and were simply looking to switch out 20 year old light almond outlets and light switches for white. While I thought this would be easy I've run into a problem with the ...
4
votes
2answers
174 views
Why does my circuit breaker trip with any small load, even after replacing the breaker?
I have a 20A 240V GFCI breaker in my main breaker box going to a conduit to another breaker box outside.
All worked well last summer. Now, when I put any load (weed-eater, light, etc.) on an outlet ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
low voltage from circuit - bad breaker?
Background: I'm doing some rewiring work in the kitchen. There were three circuits coming into a junction box that controlled the sink disposal, dishwasher, a few receptacles and a light. So I got ...
4
votes
1answer
335 views
How can I determine which outlets belong to which circuit?
I'm putting in a powerline Internet adapter for my house (something like this). My mom said it has two circuit breakers, but she has no idea how the house is divided between them. Going across ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Splitting a circuit breaker into multiple lines
I recently found out that several rooms in my house are apparently connected to one circuit breaker.
Setup:
My wife was in the bathroom drying her hair and I decided it was time to nuke lunch in the ...
4
votes
1answer
156 views
How can I figure out why my breakers are tripping?
A few years ago, I installed a solid wood "pocket" sliding door for my workshop. It's on an exterior wall, so I had to add some thick sealing strips that keep the cold air from Wisconsin winters ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
What information do I need to select a circuit breaker?
I am having 2 new lines run in my basement to power a workbench's tools and an unrelated computer station.
I have room in my panel for additional breakers, and rather than tie into existing wiring, I ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Why won't my AC system turn off after I flipped the breaker?
We've got a central cooling air conditioner that was installed in 1984 with a thermostat from that same year. We are replacing the thermostat with a new programmable one (which has a 100% ...
3
votes
1answer
168 views
Can I wire a secondary 240V breaker box for lab equipment from Europe?
I have a dental lab in Europe and might want to move it to the USA. Some of the equipment rates as high as 4kW, and the the total maximum draw is 15kW for the whole lab. Can I wire a secondary breaker ...
3
votes
2answers
816 views
Why does the breaker trip occasionally after I installed a new light fixture?
We bought a house a couple of years ago with a covered light fixture box in the ceiling (a blank cover over a wired box and a blank cover over the switch box). I recently modified a plug-in pendant ...
3
votes
1answer
173 views
Single outlet resettable breaker?
Basically I have an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) which has a 20amp plug and I know that the load on the UPS will NEVER exceed 15 amp (Bought it mainly because it can attach more battery units to ...
3
votes
3answers
203 views
How do I determine if adding an air conditioner will overload a circuit?
I'm going to take advantage of some Memorial Day sales and pull the trigger on a portable AC unit for my "basement-ish" (bottom of windowsill is mid chest, rather than head height) apartment. Before ...
3
votes
1answer
667 views
Amp rating of ganged circuit-breakers
Backstory: I'm considering replacing my current tank water heater with a tankless whole-house unit. The units I see generally require a 120-amp breaker circuit.
Currently, my panel has two ganged ...
3
votes
2answers
52 views
Why does the breaker keep tripping on a circuit with two rooms' lights and a sewer pump?
I have a circuit-breaker that is connected to lights in two rooms, and to a sewer pump in the basement. I had the sewer cleaned out and the pump inspected, and no problems were detected. I then had ...
2
votes
2answers
222 views
What model circuit breaker is this?
I live in an old 50 + year old house and it still has the original circuit breakers. I am trying to search for one that died, but don't know the model or even if they make these anymore. If any ...
2
votes
3answers
4k views
Why does the main circuit breaker trip but not the smaller branch circuit breakers?
We have one circuit breaker (40 ampere) in entry point of electricity line in our house, than we divided it into two separate line in two levels and put one circuit breaker( 32 ampere) in level one ...
2
votes
1answer
417 views
How do I test circuit breakers?
Suppose I need new circuit breakers and buy some at a local shop. How do I test them to be sure they haven't been damaged on their way from factory and will do their job when time comes?
2
votes
2answers
173 views
What does the latch position of a circuit breaker mean?
I bought a new home in December 2011. After some time the kitchen lights and the lights in the living room started to switch off randomly. Some days it would happen 3-4 times in a row. Other days it ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
What are the differences between SDS, SDS Plus, and SDS Max drills?
Basically I had to use a breaker last weekend, it was clear I did not need the “heavy duty” as I did not have 6” of solid concrete, but the descriptions of the other options confused me.
2
votes
3answers
222 views
How can I shut off circuits when I have a generator with an automatic transfer switch?
We had professionals install a generator with an automatic transfer switch. I showed them our circuit-breaker box and told them which circuit numbers should be on generator power. Okay, everything's ...
2
votes
2answers
131 views
How much current should I expect this motor to draw when it's running steadily?
This fan lists its "Max. Amperage" as 3.2. I assume the motor draws that much when it's first turning on, then settles down to some lower current. How much current should I expect it to draw when ...
2
votes
2answers
327 views
What is the purpose of a double pole breaker for separate 15A circuits?
My new house is done being built and I am going to come in and install my new gas range and dishwasher, both 120V 15A appliances.
I got thoroughly confused looking at the breaker box because gas ...
2
votes
1answer
304 views
How do I recognize which socket cover (fused or 3-pin) connects to which outlet?
I have two power outlets in this room, one is a normal 3-pin (UK) plate cover and the other is a fused (switched) plate cover (much like the one below).
I've know removed them and wish to put them ...
2
votes
2answers
265 views
How do I connect a timer to circuit box which controls our outside lights?
Currently our outdoor lights are being controlled by the circuit breaker in the box. We want to connect a timer to the circuit-breaker. There is a junction box with Black, White and a bare ground ...
