circuit breakers
 

i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

circuit breakers
 

"frank" wrote in message
news:16513d69be78f7a5d1b2d953b7a4c45d@homerepairli ve.com...
i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

Can (would) you post a picture?

circuit breakers
 

frank wrote:
i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it
shut off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven
breakers in the sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp
double pole in the main panel did not trip any reason behind this

The sub-panel master switch tripped after seven breakers melted?

Must have been some hot show!

circuit breakers
 

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:10:10 -0600, "frank"
wrote:

i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

Most didn't trip because they weren't carrying more current than they
were designed for.

I gather that one tripped (since you say that the tv shut off) and
that's likely because it was carrying more current than it should have
been. The heat from that breaker melted the other breakers, I guess.
I assume they just show signs of melting and aren't in a puddle at the
bottom of the box.

You have to find the problem in the tv circuit. Maybe it was the
breaker itself and replacing that breaker will solve it, or maybe
something is sucking up more current than it should.

Also you have to look carefully at the other breakers and decide if
they were damaged. I can't guess from here.

circuit breakers
 

Depending on the damage to the sub-panel you might have to replace
everything. If you do and go looking for the problem remember to leave out
the breaker to the TV circuit to make sure that it is the TV Circuit leg
that is the offending member. Bring the breakers back online one at a time
and wait a few minutes to allow each to set there to make sure it's not
going to heat up and blow. With the severity of the short it could be
something plugged into an outlet or it could be that some wire/s have come
loose and are shorting somewhere in an outlet box or even in the breaker box
itself. I haven't heard of one branch problem melting or destroying other
breakers unless there is shorts or fire there in the breaker box itself.


On 12/28/06 1:27 AM, in article ,
"mm" wrote:

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:10:10 -0600, "frank"
wrote:

i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

Most didn't trip because they weren't carrying more current than they
were designed for.

I gather that one tripped (since you say that the tv shut off) and
that's likely because it was carrying more current than it should have
been. The heat from that breaker melted the other breakers, I guess.
I assume they just show signs of melting and aren't in a puddle at the
bottom of the box.

You have to find the problem in the tv circuit. Maybe it was the
breaker itself and replacing that breaker will solve it, or maybe
something is sucking up more current than it should.

Also you have to look carefully at the other breakers and decide if
they were damaged. I can't guess from here.

circuit breakers
 

i can not post a picture but i can say that the breakers looked like they
started to melt from the sides in between and close to the metal bar in
the middle of the panel

circuit breakers
 

the breaker to the TV did not trip it melted to the point where the plastic
melted and the metal parts came out that happen on two of them the others
just started to melt by the time i got there and shut down the main one
and no the master breaker in the main panel did not trip

circuit breakers
 

what brand of breakers?

how big and how old is your main service? is it breakers too?

it may be ime top replace your service drop and main breaker box
perhaps elminating the sub panel altogether as part of a general
electric upgrade.

how old is your home? are receptables 3 prong with ground?

circuit breakers
 

"I gather that one tripped (since you say that the tv shut off) and
that's likely because it was carrying more current than it should have
been. The heat from that breaker melted the other breakers, I guess.
I assume they just show signs of melting and aren't in a puddle at the
bottom of the box."


That would be my guess as well. However, I think someone already asked
how old they were. Breakers don't last forever. If they are old
enough they should be replaced. This is irregardless of brand,
placement, or any maintenance (annual exercising).

circuit breakers
 

"frank" wrote in message
news:16513d69be78f7a5d1b2d953b7a4c45d@homerepairli ve.com...
i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

If it got that hot in the panel I would think the thermo overload would have
tripped even without current. The 30A main didn't tripped becasue it didn't
see the short, overload or it could be defective. 30A service means gas
range, old house with an old electrical service? Lucky the house didn't burn
down - replacing panels and breakers are cheap.

I have seen panel meltdowns before with molten metal on the ground, pretty
ugly and scary.

circuit breakers
 

i would like to thank every one for there input i went and replaced all the
breakers in the sub panel so far every thing seems ok to follow up on the
last question the breakers were bryant and the main panel was just updated
two months ago

circuit breakers
 

frank wrote:
i would like to thank every one for there input i went and replaced all the
breakers in the sub panel so far every thing seems ok to follow up on the
last question the breakers were bryant and the main panel was just updated
two months ago

Keep a eye on the panel with new breakers, they MAY have failed because
the busbar the breakers attack to is going bad. So feel up the panel
and check for heating occasionally:)

circuit breakers
 

"# Fred #" wrote in message
. ..

"frank" wrote in message
news:16513d69be78f7a5d1b2d953b7a4c45d@homerepairli ve.com...
i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in
the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

If it got that hot in the panel I would think the thermo overload would
have tripped even without current. The 30A main didn't tripped becasue it
didn't see the short, overload or it could be defective. 30A service means
gas range, old house with an old electrical service? Lucky the house
didn't burn down - replacing panels and breakers are cheap.

I have seen panel meltdowns before with molten metal on the ground, pretty
ugly and scary.
I guess!
So what causes a meltdown? I have never heard of it.

circuit breakers
 

HOPEFULLY he replaCED THE SUB PANELS MAIN BREAKER

circuit breakers
 

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"# Fred #" wrote in message
. ..

"frank" wrote in message
news:16513d69be78f7a5d1b2d953b7a4c45d@homerepairli ve.com...
i have a sub panel that in my house tonight when i was watching tv it
shut
off and i smelt some thing burning. i found that all seven breakers in
the
sub panel melted but did not trip and the 30 amp double pole in the main
panel did not trip any reason behind this

If it got that hot in the panel I would think the thermo overload would
have tripped even without current. The 30A main didn't tripped becasue it
didn't see the short, overload or it could be defective. 30A service
means gas range, old house with an old electrical service? Lucky the
house didn't burn down - replacing panels and breakers are cheap.

I have seen panel meltdowns before with molten metal on the ground,
pretty ugly and scary.
I guess!
So what causes a meltdown? I have never heard of it.


It was in larger panels. Three phase, higher voltage, a few thousand amp
main - we call switchboards. As far as I could tell it was a result of an
arching fault, could have been phase to phase or phase to ground.

I had a 15kv class breaker blow up in front of me too. That was a little too
exciting.