| Author |
Message |
    
Ken Scout
Citizen
Username: Lightningken
Post Number: 124
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 3:20 pm: | 
|
Why does the dedicated Circuit Breaker my A/C unit is on 'trip' off everyday between 2-4 PM? Does it have anything to do with the rest of the communities demand for power? Any thoughts? Anything I can do to fix this?
Thanks! |
Proud Daddy
Citizen
Username: Proud_daddy
Post Number: 46
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 3:33 pm: |
|
It's the time of the day with the biggest heat load on your AC. Scares me that the breaker trips every day. Either the "dedicated" circuit is not truly dedicated or that the circuit is undersized for your size unit or your unit is working at the top of its range to meet your cooling needs.
FYI - Every time the circuit gets to the point of tripping you are damaging the insulation on the wiring. In the meantime, set your air conditioner thermostat no lower than 78 degrees — a 75-degree setting uses 18 percent more electricity and a 72-degree setting uses 39 percent more electricity. A bigger or more efficient unit might also help.
And please, get an electrician to look at it. |
Rich
Citizen
Username: Veneto
Post Number: 11
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 8:26 am: |
|
Definitely check the peak amp rating on the label of the A/C unit, then check the size of the breaker. We run a 10,000 BTU unit off a dedicated 20 amp breaker and an 8,500 BTU unit off a shared 20 amp breaker; both all day with no problems. The wiring is new for both of these outlets. I think that helps. |
Ken Scout
Citizen
Username: Lightningken
Post Number: 125
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 12:58 pm: |
|
Electrician scheduled to come out Friday.....just curious though, does it have anything to do with my own House Power demands? Or is the Power demands of the community? We try and turn everything off when we run 'The Beast'.
I have a newer AC unit that I can try and install in the wall space, I imagine that would be helpful? Anyone try and tackle this themselves before? |
Ken Scout
Citizen
Username: Lightningken
Post Number: 126
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 12:59 pm: |
|
Electrician scheduled to come out Friday.....just curious though, does it have anything to do with my own House Power demands? Or is the Power demands of the community? We try and turn everything off when we run 'The Beast'.
I have a newer AC unit that I can try and install in the wall space, I imagine that would be helpful? Anyone try and tackle this themselves before? |
Rich
Citizen
Username: Veneto
Post Number: 16
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 6:42 pm: |
|
Age of the AC unit shouldn't matter. It is highly unlikely that the total demand of your house exceeds the capacity of your pannel, even if you only have 100 amp service.
Just check the amp rating on the unit and make sure nothing else is running off this breaker. Most AC unit are rated below 9 amps. Even if your unit is on a 15 amp breaker (rather than a 20 amp) there's no way it could trip it unless something else is shared with it (a dehumidifier, microwave etc.). I would suspect that if you have knob and tube wiring this could make the breaker more suseptible to tripping, although I can't say for sure. |
wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 1968
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 3, 2006 - 7:40 am: |
|
Ken-
A combination of an older breaker in your panel box and aluminum wiring to the AC unit can also cause the breaker to trip.
BTW, I removed and replaced an older AC wall unit. It was all metal, and heavy, heavy, heavy! |
oots
Citizen
Username: Oots
Post Number: 448
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 3, 2006 - 5:39 pm: |
|
PSEG has a voluntary program where-for a rate reduction-they install some kind of regulator where they can cycle your units on & off-any chance you have this?
just a thought.
oots |
Mike Rintzler
Citizen
Username: Beanpoppa
Post Number: 3
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 7, 2006 - 1:37 pm: |
|
Your breaker tripping has nothing to do with the draw outside your house. It purely means that there is a higher current draw on that circuit than the breaker is rated for. Is this a central unit or a window/through-wall unit? Is this a new problem, or something that you've always had? Whether you set the t-stat for 68 or 78, an air conditioner is either on or off. The current that it draws will always be the same. Possibilities for the breaker tripping include:
1. The circuit isn't truely dedicated to the A/C. Someone may have tapped into it for something else. This is typically the case when something happens at the same time every day.
2. The circuit is undersized for the A/C. This could be as simple as changing the breaker out with a larger one, but only if the wiring is thick enough to allow higher load. Unless they used a 10amp breaker, this scenario is unlikely.
3. An electric motor (A/C compressor, fan, etc) pulls its peak current when starting up. Central air conditioners often have a special capacitor to provide it with an extra kick when starting up. As a motor ages, it gets tougher to start up, and will pull more current. This could be why it's a new problem.
4. The breaker is a mechanical device. When a breaker ages, it can either trip before it should, or it may not trip when its supposed to.
The cheapest approach would be to replace the breaker first. If the problem still occurs, then you need to focus on the unit. You don't want to allow it to continue to trip the breaker. Each time a breaker trips, you are potentially overheating the wiring, and that creates a real fire hazard. And fires in the wall are never pleasant.
|
Ken Scout
Citizen
Username: Lightningken
Post Number: 140
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 - 8:49 am: |
|
Mike, thanks. Some more details...
When you turn the machine on, it works fine. Around 2-3 pm, when it's been running for several hours, it starts tripping the breaker, and continues to trip the breaker for the next couple hours, after which it returns to normal again.
Also, turning up the 'cold' dial seems to have a negative effefect. If it's left on 4-5, it seems to be ok for the day. However, if it's turned up to 8-9 (requiring the AC to kick in more often than just the fan running) it tends to trip.
For instance...if it's on 8 all day, at 2- 3pm, the circuit blows. If its on 4-5 all day, and you turn it up to 8-9 in the afternoon, the circuit immediately blows. If you leave it on 8-9, reset the circuit, and turn it on again, it immediately blows. If you dial it back to 4-5 before you turn it on again, it will run ok most of the time.
|
Mike Rintzler
Citizen
Username: Beanpoppa
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 - 9:21 am: |
|
When you turn it on with the t-stat set to 8-9, the circulating fan and compressor are starting up at the same time. Since motors pull the most current when starting, that's the most current the a/c will ever pull. That's why it's blowing immediately. As for the 2-3pm thing- because the breaker is mechanical, it will behave differently depending on the ambient temp. It could be that the ambient temp at your breaker panel is higher at 2-3pm, making the breaker for susceptible to tripping. It could also be that since the a/c is running more often, the circuit is hotter, making it trip more.
Replace the breaker, and see if it keeps tripping. |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page