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#1
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Circuit breaker did not trip
A tenant of mine had an outlet start sparking after trying to plug a
lamp into it. There is an air conditioner on the same circuit as well. The sparking was bad enough to melt the side of the outlet where the wire get screwed in. Shouldn't the circuit breaker have tripped? Do cicuit breakers go bad such that they do not trip when they need to? |
#2
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Circuit breakers do go bad and fail to trip on overloads, but it is unusual.
More commonly they trip unnecessarily when they fail. But, they will not trip on arcs unless there is also an overload. Arc fault circuit breakers were invented for precisely that reason; to protect against arcs that did not involve overloads. They outlet was probably damaged, and that is what caused the problem. The breaker is "probably" okay, but unless you want to test it, you might rest easier replacing the breaker. Hey, why not replace it with an arc fault breaker?! |
#3
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"balboni" wrote in message om... A tenant of mine had an outlet start sparking after trying to plug a lamp into it. There is an air conditioner on the same circuit as well. The sparking was bad enough to melt the side of the outlet where the wire get screwed in. Shouldn't the circuit breaker have tripped? Do cicuit breakers go bad such that they do not trip when they need to? This is Turtle. They sure do ! Replace the I.T.E. breaker for just good measure to be safe. TURTLE |
#4
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I would also add that replacing the breaker might be a good idea if
it's very old. Older ones aren't as reliable as newer ones. They sometimes go bad slowly with age. |
#5
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"balboni" wrote in message om... A tenant of mine had an outlet start sparking after trying to plug a lamp into it. There is an air conditioner on the same circuit as well. The sparking was bad enough to melt the side of the outlet where the wire get screwed in. Shouldn't the circuit breaker have tripped? Do cicuit breakers go bad such that they do not trip when they need to? You can not afford to test an molded case circuit breaker. Here in Phoenix I know of only one company that has MC CB testers. And they can not test every brand. Call a pro and have the circuit checked out. If you can "weld" with the circuit there could be something wrong with the grounding for the circuit. For the ~15 bucks replace the offending unit. When you replace it. Force all of the breakers off and on a couple of times. Sometimes they will "freeze" into an ON position. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.754 / Virus Database: 504 - Release Date: 9/6/2004 |
#6
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#7
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"toller" wrote in message ...
Circuit breakers do go bad and fail to trip on overloads, but it is unusual. More commonly they trip unnecessarily when they fail. But, they will not trip on arcs unless there is also an overload. Arc fault circuit breakers were invented for precisely that reason; to protect against arcs that did not involve overloads. They outlet was probably damaged, and that is what caused the problem. The breaker is "probably" okay, but unless you want to test it, you might rest easier replacing the breaker. Hey, why not replace it with an arc fault breaker?! Could the arc have been caused by bad wire? The outlet was only one year old, but the wiring is very old. Someone suggested that the wire is too old and needs to be replaced. If it is charred, can it just be cut back and used again? |
#8
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Could the arc have been caused by bad wire? The outlet was only one year old, but the wiring is very old. Someone suggested that the wire is too old and needs to be replaced. If it is charred, can it just be cut back and used again? Without seeing I can't really answer that, but it seems unlikely. Since the arc happened when you plugged the light in (right?) the problem had to either be the outlet or the connection between the outlet and the wire. A defective hot wire does not need anything plugged in to short, and a defective neutral should not short unless it is completely broken. Did the person who installed the outlet know what they were doing? If the outlet is a year old and not abused, a bad connection sounds like the culprit. Was the wire attached to a screw terminal or pushed through a hole in the back. The holes in the back are very prone to failure, at least on the $0.99 outlets. If there is no visible damage to the wire, and it is not overloaded, it should be safe; though some 70 year old wiring looks pretty dicey. If you have enough wire to cut it back to a sound section, it ought to be okay, though again, I can't see the wire so it might be prudent to get someone to see it if you have any doubt. |
#9
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#10
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Could the arc have been caused by bad wire? The outlet was only one year old, but the wiring is very old. Someone suggested that the wire is too old and needs to be replaced. If it is charred, can it just be cut back and used again? OP said it went when the tenant tried to plug something into it... My bet would be improperly installed plaster-ears shifted when the plugh got shoved in, and either cut something, or bridged two screw-contacts. |
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