Can a breaker open without showing the orange tab?
 

Ren Hoek wrote:
I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

Yes. I've experienced more than one breaker that was tripped but showed
no signs of it. This is especially interesting when working in an
unfamiliar building which has no labels (or inaccurate labels) in
multiple breaker boxes leading to endless hunting for the culprit.
Flipping the breaker off then on will reset it but in the long term it
needs to be replaced. Or I guess you could just live with it now that
you know which breaker is the problem.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

"Ren Hoek" wrote in message
...
I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

I just read your thread in alt.hvac. Funny stuff, sad, but funny. They
really should rename that group alt.hvac.pros.only. Then maybe us homeowners
wouldn't stumble in there so often.

Ren Hoek wrote:
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:04:40 -0500, John McGaw
wrote:
Yes, when the breaker clicks open, this would be caused by heat in
excess of the breaker rating causing a thermal snap to release and
allowing a spring-loaded switch to open. Perhaps the spring in your
particular breaker is a little weak, so it has popped just slightly
open, just enough to break the connection. The breaker may be fine
otherwise. That is, it may be reacting to an excess of current flowing
thru the circuit, as it should. I'd mark it with a piece of masking
tape so you can locate it easily. The reason for circuit overload may
indicate a problem elsewhere, so you should not assume that the breaker
alone is at fault, although that is possible, of course. You may just
be experiencing some extreme weather conditions !!! causing the pump to
work a little harder than usual? Good luck with it.

JohnK

You should be aware that some breakers [I do not remember the brand(s)], do
not move the handle to the OFF position when tripped. In fact, they move the
handle slightly further to the ON position. To reset, you have to push them
hard to the OFF position, then back ON. Best Regards.
Don Young

"Ren Hoek" wrote in message
...
I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

The old "Federal" brand breakers are especially noteworthy
about not showing tripped mode.

"Ren Hoek" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:04:40 -0500, John McGaw
wrote:

Ren Hoek wrote:
I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

Yes. I've experienced more than one breaker that was tripped but showed
no signs of it. This is especially interesting when working in an
unfamiliar building which has no labels (or inaccurate labels) in
multiple breaker boxes leading to endless hunting for the culprit.
Flipping the breaker off then on will reset it but in the long term it
needs to be replaced. Or I guess you could just live with it now that
you know which breaker is the problem.

Thanks. I made the mistake of going to the hvac newsgroup and having
to deal with the losers there.

They are high on themselves, or maybe too much R12 over the years!


"Ren Hoek" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:39:26 -0500, "Clark Griswold" wrote:

"Ren Hoek" wrote in message
. ..
I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

I just read your thread in alt.hvac. Funny stuff, sad, but funny. They
really should rename that group alt.hvac.pros.only. Then maybe us
homeowners
wouldn't stumble in there so often.

They are just losers who know only insults and flames.

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 20:36:29 -0600, Ren Hoek wrote:

I had to reset abreaker box breaker for my heatpump as the outside
unit stopped and the thermostat heat indicator just kept flashing. Can
a breaker wear out and not trip but still kill the power? I guess my
question is can a breaker show it's on but be tripped slightly?

imho:

I breaker can fail, yes.

How they fail is usualy in different ways, but usally, from
experience, they try to fail in the safest mode they can.

Fail by tripping at lower set points.

Fail mecanically internally, but pop open permantly.

As for the red flag, that is something of convience, to help you
identy which breaker tripped. I've heard that will only whos under
some conditions, ie a short verses an over current.

Also, many breakers trip interally and have little/no movement of the
handle, this provides for the breaker to still open if someone is
trying to force it closed via the handle. trip-free.

So many what-ifs, sorry, not there to see what is acutally happening.
Truth is if you have concerns about any electrical you need to have
someone qualified to take a look at it. The 5 dollar breaker might be
opeing to protect a fault in you expensive heatpump, and save you some
cash.

So good luck with your investigation.


tom @ www.BookmarkAdmin.com

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:23:16 -0600, Ren Hoek wrote:

On 27 Feb 2005 19:52:34 -0800, "Porky" wrote:


Ren Hoek wrote:
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:04:40 -0500, John McGaw
wrote:
Yes, when the breaker clicks open, this would be caused by heat in
excess of the breaker rating causing a thermal snap to release and
allowing a spring-loaded switch to open. Perhaps the spring in your
particular breaker is a little weak, so it has popped just slightly
open, just enough to break the connection. The breaker may be fine
otherwise. That is, it may be reacting to an excess of current flowing
thru the circuit, as it should. I'd mark it with a piece of masking
tape so you can locate it easily. The reason for circuit overload may
indicate a problem elsewhere, so you should not assume that the breaker
alone is at fault, although that is possible, of course. You may just
be experiencing some extreme weather conditions !!! causing the pump to
work a little harder than usual? Good luck with it.

JohnK
Would a dirty filter cause a load? The filter was dirty as I forgot to
change it.


Who knows. I've seen where the mearsure of a motor's amps is directly
proportional to power which is directly proportional to the amount of
work it is doing. So a clogged fan is moving less air(working less),
so the amps acutally decreases.

Now your compressor might have to work harder,so that is a different
story.

later,

tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com