Any electricians here? | FerrariChat
Buy

Any electricians here?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Ron328, Dec 18, 2011.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Ron328

    Ron328 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 10, 2003
    2,627
    Willamette Valley, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Ron
    #1 Ron328, Dec 18, 2011
    Last evening, the electricity in 2 of our rooms upstairs went off. My son was in his room playing video, TV was on, as well as his laptop and lamplight. The other room was unoccupied.

    I checked and snapped the circuit breaker switch to the opposite direction and everything was working again.

    I know circuit breakers kick in when there is electrical overload. My question is, should I have an electrician look into it? My wife is concerned as this has never happened before.
    (We have a new tiny electrical heater but it wasn't in use when it happened).

    Thank you.

    Ron
     
  2. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    #2 JeremyJon, Dec 19, 2011
    the breaker did it's job, and unless you have it happen repeatedly, then is not for concern

    now, if it did this repeatedly, then it would mean that your circuit has to high of usage, and the draw is in excess of the amperage rated for that line/circuit breaker
     
  3. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
    Moderator Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 18, 2008
    32,274
    Seattle Area
    Full Name:
    Dave
    #3 Jedi, Dec 19, 2011
    Either:

    A: you are just on the verge of overload on the circuit - house wiring is NOT always
    by code - there may be more outlets than you suspect on that breaker! Breakers
    are "heat based" - too much load heats them up and they "blow". It could be there
    are more loads than you think, and were on the brink of blowing most of the time,
    but at that moment some other device elsewhere pushed it over the edge.

    B: Breakers are not perfect - although much less likely, it could be a bad breaker.

    My advice: If it happens again, call a qualified licensed electrician and don't take chances.


    Jedi
     
  4. Far Out

    Far Out F1 Veteran

    Feb 18, 2007
    9,768
    Stuttgart, Germany
    Full Name:
    Florian
    #4 Far Out, Dec 19, 2011
    Did it happen while switching some electronic device on? The power supplies of today's computers for example have huge capacitors which draw a lot of current for a very short time when switched on.
     
  5. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
    Consultant Professional Ferrari Technician

    Sep 18, 2002
    19,960
    The Cold North
    Full Name:
    Tom
    #5 tbakowsky, Dec 19, 2011
    How old is the breaker?? (or house I should ask).
     
  6. Ron328

    Ron328 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 10, 2003
    2,627
    Willamette Valley, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Ron
    #6 Ron328, Dec 20, 2011
    Thank you very much guys.

    It happened twice on the same day last weekend. So far it hasn't recurred.

    Our house was completed in 2003.

    1st time it happened, my son was in his room playing video on TV. His laptop was on, as well as lamp light. The adjacent room (our bedroom) was not in use.

    2nd time, son was doing the same, and we were in our bedroom (watching TV, mini portable electric heater on, I was ironing clothes, light was on).

    Yes, if it happens again, I'll get a qualified electrician look at it.

    Thank you again.
     
  7. geffen365gtc/4

    geffen365gtc/4 Karting

    Mar 12, 2005
    191
    #7 geffen365gtc/4, Dec 20, 2011
    As breakers age they weaken. As loads increase / decrease the breaker heats and then cools. All of this cycling will weaken the breaker internally. We sell Square D...The best made. Breakers trip for two reasons...Thermal overload, meaning too much current flow...Also they trip because of a dead-short, meaning hot to ground, hot to neutral, or hot to hot connection. Also, remember that breakers are 80% rated....If the breaker is labeled 20a, it will trip at 80% of that value. As said earlier....It was really just doing its job.

    Geffen
     

Share This Page