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Electric baseboard heater question
From: (KT)
Hi all,
I'm new here and need some basic info - We've got two electric
baseboards (2500 Watts, 240V) controlled by two 20A breakers, a
'thermostat circuit' (24V 0.15 Amps/Line Voltage circuit 240 V AC
Switched 25A), and a separate Honeywell thermostat. The system has
been in place for over 16 yrs.
Just recently, we started losing power (main 100A service disconnect
gets tripped.) We initially thought it was a load issue with recent
heavy use of an electric dryer, portable electric heaters, baseboards,
etc., but have been able to narrow it down so that we lose service
only when the breakers to the baseboard heaters are on. These are on
a sub-box (100A) off of a main box (100A, I think).
I'm not sure how the baseboards are wired, but shouldn't they trip
their own breakers (or even the breaker on the main for the sub-box)
before tripping the main service? Can you tell me what the symptoms
of a faulty 'thermostat circuit' box would be? Any way to test this?
Our second thought is that the main service disconnect breaker is
faulty, but it seems odd that we only lose power after the heater
breakers are on. We have tried this also with everything off except
for heaters (and lights in one room) - but the main still trips.
Can you shed some light on any of this, mainly what a faulty
thermostat circuit would do? Don't worry - someone more knowledgable
than myself will be carrying out any tests! Thank you!
Katie
Sorry if a similar message shows up twice - I posted yesterday, but
haven't seen it come up yet.
Sometimes, a dead short circuit can cause a backstream overcurrent protection
device to open, rather than the individual specific circuit breaker.
I suspect faulty wiring either inside one of the baseboard heaters, or their
associated circuits somewhere between the panel and the actual baseboard
heaters themselves.
If one heater is butted against the other, and the second heater fed through
the first, I'd look into the wires that run through the "first" baseboard to
see if they're defective - possible an electrician used wire that was handy
instead of wire that could withstand the heat.
Second place I'd look is the connector that the cable which feeds each heater
is connected to - the mechanical clamp where the wire comes out of the wall and
into the heater. Make sure it's not pinching through the wires.
Third - have you done any nailing lately? Hung any pictures, drilled any walls,
nailed any new mouldings around your walls/floors?
I'd also have a look at the circuit breaker which SHOULD be opening upon a
short circuit, and the one that is opening instead and replace them. Breakers
are cheap and every once in a while you get a precarious one.
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