"FYI the gfci doesn't really check ground fault in the sense some people on here think. A gf I actually checks current leak." Do you have a link to some sort of documentation for this voodoo theory? If that were the case, any time one GFCI in your house tripped because of a current leak, they ALL would trip. If the difference between the current leaving and returning THROUGH the current transformer of the GFCI exceeds 5 mA, the solid-state circuitry opens the switching contacts and de-energizes the circuit. http://m.ecmweb.com/content/how-gfcis-work The GFCI measures the DIFFERENCE in current between the hot and neutral that goes THROUGH the current transformer in the breaker. It can not sense a current that does not go through the current transformer. The GFCI may not reset if the main breaker is not turned back on first, or the LINE side neutral wire is not connected to the neutral bar yet, but it won't sense current leakage on a different circuit. If that were the case, how far away will it sense this "other" leakage? 100 feet? Your neighbor's house? The leakage in all the power transmission lines? Try this experiment, take the line wires off your doorbell transformer, and just wrap them around the transformer instead of hooking them up, and tell me if the doorbell still work ;) Or take your fluke and try to test for current without putting the wire INSIDE the current transformer. It is more likely that you just got unlucky with the new breaker being bad after the first one gave out.

I am just borrowing terms from them Please don't; it confuses things when you use nonstandard terms. What you mean by breaker handles tied That means the handles are mechanically joined, so they can't operate separately. If one trips, the other opens. If one is shut off, the other is too. Thus, they work like a double-pole breaker, which may also be used. I have kept his weird labelling scheme for now. What you did was OK except that the ground should be connected to the box (if it's metallic). You also could have fitted a properly sized double pole breaker to the panel, and connected the hots to it. You'd also have needed to pigtail the neutrals so removing one of the recepts wouldn't break it. Am I going to find other surprises in my wiring Probably. Almost every house I've ever lived in has had some (usually unpleasant) wiring surprises. Sometimes it's pros, but I suspect that more often it's DIYs. DIY wiring has been around for a long time, and too many DIYers don't learn code or proper techniques before plowing ahead.

kaseki, thank you for the detailed reply. Yes, I too was surprised to see SER wiring but this is in the kitchen and runs through the crawlspace, so I think they had to use SER-rated cable when they did the last major remodel circa 2002 on account of the fact that the crawlspace is fully exposed. 6AWG actually is rated for 50A up to and the run is only 20ft - the breaker box is actually in the kitchen. Everything but the dyer and range lines are Cu, the latter two are Al. Not sure why they did it like that, the kitchen was stripped to the studs when they did the reno way back so they could have ran any wire they wanted with little difference in effort. Whatever, it is what it is, I am not about the change that. The current range is KitchenAid Superba that is rated for 43A draw, and in two years we have never had the breaker trip so I am pretty sure it is OK. The Samsung, Electrolux, GE, and Bosch induction ranges all require a customer provided 3-wire or 4-wire cable that plugs into a standard outlet. The Al wire connects to the outlet and that is already pre-existing wiring that was inspected at the time it was built, though 10+ years later may not be fully up to current code. I have ordered a brand new 50A-3wire appliance wire for the new range. I was also considering pulling out the existing cord and installing it in the new range, but it is kind of short and it will be a PITA to move the new range in place with it. The Al current connections are goo-capped, I know since i had to pull them to measure the strand diameter to figure out the gauge. I don't anticipate having to do any changes to the wiring, and at this point I have all info I need to hook up the new range when it shows up a month or so from now. Now I just have to figure out how to route a hood exaust to the outside. I love living in a 1930's vintage house, built like a tank, but limits some of the modern niceties you can get. The prior owners put in recessed lighting in the ceiling, so there is AT LEAST a 6" gap there that I think can be used to route the hood exhaust. The wall separating the kitchen from the dining room is only like 5" thick so I don't think I can run down into the crawl space, and the middle of my daughter's bedroom is right above the range so I can't route up to the roof either. Oh well, another day, another battle.

It is a GFCI, so that's quite possibly the problem. The storm was extreme and I saw huge pine trees bending in half (many people thought it was a tornado, but it wasn't), so it's entirely possible that it blew rain in. There's a cover on the breaker, but I don't think it's designed for THAT much water. There was also some flooding, so it's entirely possible that the water got higher than the circuit board. If I ever have a sunny day again, I'll crawl up under there with a hair dryer and see what I can do. If not, then I guess the next step is to replace the wire :-( Thanks, Randy!