14 amps tripping 15 amp breaker??

thanks for the tips, ill figure something out

never laod a circuit more than 80% of its max

Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned about the breaker at this point. Run a single extension cord from a remote circuit, and then see if the problem stops.

Breakers have mechanical means to shut off if they get too hot. I truly feel like it's just doing its job.

No sense spending money on an electrician and/or breaker before you test things out first, unless you have burn-type odours in or near your panel, or discolouration.

-spek

@spek - just ordered two 25ft 14 gauge extension cords so that should solve my problem by bringing a new circuit into the mix. The most I'll be running on a single 15 amp will now be 9 amps, so well below the limit now.

I just don't understand how a breaker can trip at 4am with nothing being powered on that line...one guy mentioning the rain could be the reason, but still don't see how if no power was being drawn at that time.

Possibly it was about to trip from running earlier that day and built up, then at 4am when the a/c kicked on a different circuit while it was raining, it caused the built up one to trip?? who knows..

A breaker will become weak and let go at less than rated amperage when it has been used for an extended time at close to full amperage, but I caution you to look further if there is truly no load on the circuit when it has tripped. It's very rare for a weak breaker to let go when it is not under load, but still function at all at a load so close to it's rated max. It is MUCH more likely there is something else wrong within the circuit. I have seen drywall screws through the wire, wire staples pounded down like the electrician was nailing the damn thing down for hurricane proofing, rodent damage and so on. For whatever you think my words are worth, don't assume it's just a breaker failure. If you told me you had some kind of load on when this happens my "oh shit!" meter wouldn't be going off so loudly. If you'd seen some of the things I've seen over the years, your oh shit! meter would be all red lights and sirens too. If you're lucky it's just that one in a million touchy breaker, but I'm telling you there is no way I would use that circuit untill I was 110% sure it wasn't the wiring or receptical. The risk here is extremely high. Also, I agree, 14 amps on a 15 amp circuit is too close to the edge.

Should be fine.

if you didn't build the circuit its possible there are other things on it. 14/15 is quite frankly ridiculous and dangerous.

thanks for the input droopy, I'm going to inspect the outlet the best I can but unfortunately it's near impossible to check the whole wire inside the wall.

the fact that its only tripped 3 times over a month of running 14amps/15 daily, makes me believe it had something to do with the rain since it was heavy this past weekend.

now if it was tripping everyday, then obviously something is wrong, but I'm going to keep my eye on it and if it trips running 9amps then I'll probably avoid that circuit competely

appreciate all the tips guys!

samster123 said:

Should be fire.

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Fixed. Ignore this guys advice.

jacknpurp said:

@spek - just ordered two 25ft 14 gauge extension cords so that should solve my problem by bringing a new circuit into the mix. The most I'll be running on a single 15 amp will now be 9 amps, so well below the limit now.

I just don't understand how a breaker can trip at 4am with nothing being powered on that line...one guy mentioning the rain could be the reason, but still don't see how if no power was being drawn at that time.

Possibly it was about to trip from running earlier that day and built up, then at 4am when the a/c kicked on a different circuit while it was raining, it caused the built up one to trip?? who knows..

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Good choice on going with 14 ga cable.

Again, if you were running your lights etc @90%+ load at 0400, the continuous draw could have been enough to heat up the filament inside the breaker to trip it. Combine this with excessive (non-standard) humidity due to heavy rain, and the breaker did its job.

I'm subbed, so please let us know what you find after you've run the extension.

If you have further problems with that circuit, I can definitely help you do more troubleshooting without tearing the walls apart

-spek

ps. I used the term 'filament' above, but that is technically incorrect. It was used for simplistic intents-and-purposes reasons only. I'm sure someone who has more electrical experience than I will eventually call me on it

if it rained that day the cause for the circuit breaking may have been the sump pump kicking in

@spek - been almost a week since the new 14 cables were hooked up and the extra circuit added to the mix. no tripping yet so hopefully that solved it. i'll update again in a couple weeks, should be good to go now

jacknpurp said:

@spek - been almost a week since the new 14 cables were hooked up and the extra circuit added to the mix. no tripping yet so hopefully that solved it. i'll update again in a couple weeks, should be good to go now

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That's great news

Thanks for the update!

-spek

spend the 150 bucks have an electric guy wire it 220 and you will not have to worry about fires tripping breakers, 220 grabs half the amps, I would never run 1600 watts off 120 volts, heat those wires up in the wall and your in serious trouble, or run your own very easy to do , watch you tube videos

kinddiesel said:

spend the 150 bucks have an electric guy wire it 220 and you will not have to worry about fires tripping breakers, 220 grabs half the amps, I would never run 1600 watts off 120 volts, heat those wires up in the wall and your in serious trouble, or run your own very easy to do , watch you tube videos

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I would bet that running 220 would cost a lot more than $150. If I'm correct, the 120v 15A the OP is referring to is likely shared amongst other outlets/lights, so it wouldn't be as easy as slapping in a second breaker and joining the circuit, so that would incur fishing new cabling to the specific outlet through already finished walls.

I could be mistaken though.

Also, the OP will now be running 1000w on one 120v - 15A and 600w on the other, both within very safe limits.

-spek

Just so everyone knows breakers use heat decide when to trip. If the breakers are located in an area where it's hot or in direct sunlight as some older main panels are outside it could be derating the breaker. Just because a breaker says 15 amps doesn't mean it will take 15 to trip it. This may be irrelevant but its something everyone should know. There is an ambient temperature correction factor to use when figuring over current protection. And running a 240 volt circuit is easy, 220 volt is not common voltage as most residential houses have 120/240 single phase aka split phase services. If you decide to run a 240
volts circuit yourself make sure to use an appropriate breaker. You don't want to pull 120v from the same line in the panel that's a bad thing. You would need a 2-pole breaker

Hey spek, I just inspected two of the outlets and noticed that one only had 3 wires going to it...two middle screws had no wires connected..is that odd?

The other outlet had 5 connected wires...I'm guessing 2 positives, 2 nuetrals, and 1 ground...

also...I was able to tighten the screws a little bit by turning them counter-clock wise, figured they may have come a little loose over the years...

Samwell Seed Well said:

never laod a circuit more than 80% of its max

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this is the truth.


not many electronics actually pull the wattage/amps they are rated for, it is a generalization for the product based on numbers in a lab, not every electronic is tested and the specific amp labels.

additionally as bulbs get older, mag ballasts tend to draw more amps in order to power them.

it is possible that you 14amps, may have a startup amperage of over 15amp with ease. 80% the load of a circuit max ALWAYS.

jacknpurp said:

Hey spek, I just inspected two of the outlets and noticed that one only had 3 wires going to it...two middle screws had no wires connected..is that odd?

The other outlet had 5 connected wires...I'm guessing 2 positives, 2 nuetrals, and 1 ground...

also...I was able to tighten the screws a little bit by turning them counter-clock wise, figured they may have come a little loose over the years...

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Are the three wires black, white and bare? If so, this just indicates that it is an end-of-run outlet. The ones with two of each plus a ground means that on one side you have power in, and the other side would be power out to another outlet (or light/switch) on the circuit.

I hope I'm understanding you correctly, but it sounds like I am.

Also, they should be tightened clockwise; counter-clockwise would actually loosen them

-spek

spek9 said:

I would bet that running 220 would cost a lot more than $150. If I'm correct, the 120v 15A the OP is referring to is likely shared amongst other outlets/lights, so it wouldn't be as easy as slapping in a second breaker and joining the circuit, so that would incur fishing new cabling to the specific outlet through already finished walls.

I could be mistaken though.

Also, the OP will now be running 1000w on one 120v - 15A and 600w on the other, both within very safe limits.

-spek

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I have done it several times. The wire is around $0.72 per foot and you will probably need a new 220 breaker which ranges from $10 - $40 depending on the make of your fuse panel.