On 1/8/2017 5:25 PM, FromTheRafters wrote:
01001100110 wrote :

wrote:
01001100110 wrote:
If a refrigerator, microwave, large toaster oven, deep fryer,
blender, are on the same breaker, would that be too much?
Of course not.
What should be the maximum number of wall plugs on one breaker?
There's no limit--knock yerself out!
Should the overhead light be on a different breaker?

There's a break in a wire that's knocked out all power in the kitchen.
Peel off the insulation to be sure.

So far the break doesn't seem to be at the breaker box. Its not in the
breaker itself. I will have to get into the attic to find it.

What kind of voltage meter goes around wire to see if current is in
the wire?

A clamp-on ammeter. Not a voltage meter.

Will be very interesting to see how the experts respond.

A clamp-on ammeter won't do much good. It's hard to get current
to flow if the wire is open. Even if you get current to flow,
you have to get it clamped around only one of the 3 wires in the Romex.

Starting assumptions, YMMV:
Romex didn't get completely cut severing all connections.
Breaker is good, you've tested that already, check.
I'm in the USA. If you're elsewhere, click next now.
A bad connection at one of the junctions is way more likely
than a severed wire. Pulling on the wire may make the connection
work again. That can have catastrophic consequences if you're hanging
onto the wire. Don't even trust the circuit breaker. Turn it off
and VERIFY that there's no voltage at its output.

Are you absolutely sure that you're checking the right breaker???
When it works, you can tell because a test light on that circuit
goes dark when you turn off the breaker. If a light won't work,
you may accidentally turn off the wrong breaker and have the wire
go live when you pull on it.

In order of increasing risk of electrocution...
1) Call an electrician

2) There are electric field sensors that sense the radiation from
the wire. I've had zero luck with them in locating wires in the wall.
The sense range is too great to be useful. In your case, you might
be able to use one if you turn off ALL the breakers that feed that
area except the one you're testing. Location within a few feet may
be adequate.
Field sensors are available stand alone and are built into other
items like stud finders and multimeters these days.

3) Use a cable tracer.
Mine's called an Ireland 5010. You plug the transmitter in the wall and
it sends a signal along the wire that you can trace with the receiver.
The transmitter is powered by the circuit. If all the sockets are dead,
you'd have to connect it at the breaker box with jumper wires. I wouldn't
recommend that.

4) Use a time domain reflectometer to actually measure the distance to
the break.
Mine's called a JTE ShortStop. Their website is dead.
You clip it onto the circuit and it tells you how far to the break.
There's also a probe that you can use to sense the location of the wire
in the wall. Manual claims that the input is protected to 250VAC.
I've found it very helpful tracing all kinds of wires/cables.
Bad news is that the original buyer paid $350 for it instead of the
$1 at a garage sale.

5) It's likely that you have a bad connection in the box closest
to the breaker box. You can do some things with an ohm-meter and long
test leads. This can be VERY DANGEROUS. Something as innocuous as
turning on the stove or clothes dryer can put voltage where you'd not
expect it to be. All depends on how your house is wired. Not all houses
are wired sensibly. ASSUME NOTHING.

RULE #1
NEVER, EVER TAKE ADVICE FROM SOME RANDOM DUDE YOU MET ON THE INTERNET.
CAREFULLY THINK ABOUT THE IDEA AND DETERMINE YOURSELF WHETHER IT MAKES
SENSE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF STUPID PEOPLE HERE.
THERE ARE MALICIOUS PEOPLE HERE.
YES, THERE ARE COMPETENT ELECTRICIANS HERE.
PROBLEM IS THAT YOU CAN'T TELL WHICH IS WHICH.

Are we having fun yet?