wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:14:53 -0800, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:


"Chris Hill" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 20:16:03 -0500, "Colbyt"
wrote:


If you want to protect yourself, make sure you keep mice out of it;
wires won't arc unless something has chewed off the insolation or
something wasn't installed correctly.

Wires won't but switches do all the time. Do you reckon that might be
a
problem? )


I wonder how the breakers deal with that. The biggest thing our local
university found is that plugging in anything like a fluorescent desk
light without having it turned off first would trip the afci every
time. I'm sure that the breakers available a few years from now will
be better than what is available today.

I speculate that it is more of an issue when a bed is jammed up against
the
outlet and the plug for the clock radio starts arcing. The fact that the
AFCI responded to having a load being switched by the plug is exactly the
response they were supposed to have.


Actually, no. When safety devices cause false-positives people
bypass/or remove them. For a safety device to work properly, it's not
suppose to **** people off in the process. The afci might have been
faulty, cause it's suppose to be smart enought to distingish a switch
closing and an actual arc.

I would have them replaced.


He didn't say the breakers tripped when the lamp was switched on, he said:

"The biggest thing our local university found is that plugging in anything
like a fluorescent desk light without having it turned off first would trip
the afci every time."

When the plug is inserted into the socket there is an arc if there is a
load. The breaker is doing what it was designed to do.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.