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Don Y[_3_]

On 12/2/2015 8:39 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 02 Dec 2015 08:07:12 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 7:55 AM, bob haller wrote:
install a regular switch or a timer after the breaker.

not only more convenient, but long term using a breaker as a switch can lead
to breaker failure.

The first "test" I did was to replace the breaker -- with one that has seen
*no* use.

So, while flipping the breaker on and off a few dozen times a year *may*
fatigue the mechanism, it's not the cause of our current problem (unless
the replacement breaker happens to be defective from the factory).

What happens if the breaker is already on and you just plug in the
lights?

The breaker trips. This is one of my least favorite ways of testing
as it means a trip all the way around the house to reset the
breaker... By contrast, turning the breaker on with load attached
gives me the same feedback -- and, I'm right there, ready to turn it
back on, again.

On grumbling about this ("yet another chore on my list") to SWMBO,
she claims she took the toaster oven outdoors some months ago
(WTF?) to "prepare" something and it wouldn't work, either.

I.e., that removes the extension cord and lights from the calculus.

I've removed the breaker from the scenario.

I can (with a bit of work) remove individual duplex receptacles
(leaving the balance of the wiring intact) on the theory that
something is *inside* one of these (leaf cutter, etc.).

[I've started doing this hit-or-miss but need to do so in a
more methodical manner so I can draw conclusions from the
observations]

I can (with a lot *more* work) isolate sections of the wiring
(hard to imagine that being an issue -- it's not routed anywhere
that is likely to see abuse, infestation, moisture, etc.)

I will notice how quickly the problem reappears when I turn
the lights off a bit later this morning -- bulbs having been
lit all night (warm filaments, warm lamp bodies, etc.)