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Electrical Wiring

circuit breaker tripped with even small appliances

last year

last modified: last year

I cannot run both vacuum cleaner in the same room while dehumidifier is running, or washer + dehumidifier in the laundry room.

In the kitchen, espresso machine + a very small toaster trigger the breaker tripped.

......etc

I'm so pissed to know i cannot use my new countertop oven at all. I just turned the oven on to perform heating test. It ran for 3 minutes only and breaker tripped. TWICE. I don't have anything running at the same time, except the central A/C (the fridge is not actually running at the moment)

My husband said that the builder used the thinnest/lowest bearing wires (something like that) to build our house with. What can we do? My husband can be very handy and worked with some electrical repairs before. He once said he would change the breaker with something...... Anyway... what he said is OK, but I would like to know how you guys would do? Thanks

For example, if he were to change the breaker:

1. how would we know what gauge of the wires used in the breaker?

2. do we change to a higher number of amp breaker or lower due to the frequent tripped breaker?

Thanks

Featured Answer

kudzu9

last year

Most importantly, you don't change the breakers at all: a lower amp breaker would cause even more tripping, and a higher amp breaker would allow the circuit to overheat without tripping and cause a fire. The electrical code specifies minimum standards for wire gauge and the breakers are matched to the wire gauge. The customary wiring for residential receptacles and lighting is 14 gauge with 15 amp breakers, and 12 gauge (a thicker wire than 14 gauge) with 20 amp breakers. Other things like AC, electric water heaters, electric stoves, etc., require thicker wire and/or double pole breakers. If your house passed an electrical inspection, your wiring meets code. The problem you have is likely too many things on the circuits that are tripping. The solution is to add more circuits/receptacles with their own breakers. Get an electrician in to help you figure this out. Without meaning to be insulting, if your handy husband doesn't know how to identify wire gauge and is talking about changing breakers so they don't trip, he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the electrical as his fixes are likely to violate code and put your house at risk.

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Comments (6)

jjjjade H
Original Author
last year
thank you.

But what I don't understand is that how could the wiring pass the code, if I only have an A/C running while the small countertop oven is going at the same time but nothing else?
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Yeah I bet that circuit has been abused from all the events in there over the years. DJ's are notorious for pulling power from wrong places. Funny being an electrician and doing the dj side work as I start doing the same stupid 19 amps on a 20 amp receptacle just the same. I have come across a few schools with uneducated custodians that have changed receptacles like the one mentioned to be on a 30 amp breaker! I think they would benefit from a few new circuits in that gym. It's a huge full size high school stadium and it has 5 receptacles spread out on 2 circuits. One 20 amp circuit was added during a computer upgrade project. Hah thats says (computer use only). Just like the computer use only circuit back in my biology class 5 years ago that the teacher plugged 4 11 amp hotplates into. It somehow melted a breaker in a brand new 400 amp commercial square D panel before it tripped. I just thought it was odd how 10 minutes later it would trip with a reduced load of 8 amps on it. It came on for 3 seconds and then went back out. Guess as you say there was probably a lot of heat around it.
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kudzu9
last year
Just because wiring passes code doesn't mean you can't overload it and trip a breaker. Do you know where this circuit runs throughout the house? You may have more plugged into it and more lighting connected to it than you think; and there could be loads on it in other rooms that you're not accounting for. An electrician can help you figure this out and provide a solution.
jjjjade H thanked kudzu9
Dave
last year
last modified: last year
You should have two dedicated 20a circuits on the kitchen counter top fed by #12, but it sounds like you dont. Firdge, mirco, dishwasher, etc should all each have their own dedicated circuits too. Should, but it sounds like whoever wired this didnt know what they were doing or just being cheap.

Also, the ac has nothing to do with it. its on its own circuit.

Call an electrician, your husband cannot just swap in larger breakers. Do not do that. you need more circuits added, which involves wireing homeruns back to the panel.
jjjjade H thanked Dave
mtvhike
last year
One thing you and your husband could do is check which circuits are on which breaker, using a simple circuit tester (which will also find erroneously wired receptacles, if any). Are the breakers in your panel labeled? There should be a paper label identifying each breaker's function. Just turn off one breaker and check all the receptacles which should be on that breaker. Repeat for each breaker, one at a time.
jjjjade H thanked mtvhike
jjjjade H
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thank you all.

I am actually the IGNORANT one. My husband did not know I posted this thread!

My husband was trying to figure out for me if I could use microwave's or dishwasher's receptacle. He said these had better power with their own separate receptacles (not together with the "Kitchen"). We never use the dish washer, but there is no way we can get to the receptacle, except to pull the washer out. Thus, that's not doable. The microwave is above the stovetop, so it would be plain ugly to run a cable hanging from there.

Thank you all. Kudzu's idea of adding a receptacle with its own breaker would be the best. And the rest of you guys offer me great suggestions and input. I appreciate them all

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