I installed a second 20 amp circuit for my kitchen so I could microwave one thing and toast another without tripping a breaker. The answer could be that simple.

 

Thanks all.

I installed a second 20 amp circuit for my kitchen so I could microwave one thing and toast another without tripping a breaker. The answer could be that simple.

Actually the microwave tripped the kitchen breaker (I have GFI in kitchen) several times; we shifted it to another socket on a different circuit and it works fine.

Some pointed out that an earth leakage as a possible problem. Well, would that be solved by changing the power supply cable of the coffee maker?

Thanks

 

Thanks all.



Actually the microwave tripped the kitchen breaker (I have GFI in kitchen) several times; we shifted it to another socket on a different circuit and it works fine.


Some pointed out that an earth leakage as a possible problem. Well, would that be solved by changing the power supply cable of the coffee maker?

Thanks

Please!

THIS IS A TECHNICAL FORUM. YOU DO NOT HAVE A BREAKER IN YOUR KITCHEN. YOU MAY HAVE A GFI OR GFCI BREAKER IN YOUR PANEL, BUT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW, SO WE FIND OURSELVES ASSUMING THAT YOU DO NOT. USE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY, OR GO ELSEWHERE.

 

Please!

THIS IS A TECHNICAL FORUM. YOU DO NOT HAVE A BREAKER IN YOUR KITCHEN. YOU MAY HAVE A GFI OR GFCI BREAKER IN YOUR PANEL, BUT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW, SO WE FIND OURSELVES ASSUMING THAT YOU DO NOT. USE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY, OR GO ELSEWHERE.

Sorry for the confusion! I meant the GFI outlet. Hope it is not that bad mistake

 

let's educate the newbie:

Post #1: I live in the us. When I plug it, it will work for some time, then the breaker trips.
All sorts of things come to mind: breaker for the kitchen and/or one on the appliance

Post #2:

Thanks all. The home is old; but re-innovated recently. In kitchen, they installed outlets with built-in breaker (I do not know what they call them formally!). So, in kitchen, the breaker breaks sooner than the AC socket, so I suppose it handles less load.

Ahh, with the 15kA stuff we know it's the one in the house breaker box. He doesn;t now what the AC socket thing is.

Post #22:

Actually the microwave tripped the kitchen breaker (I have GFI in kitchen) several times; we shifted it to another socket on a different circuit and it works fine. Some pointed out that an earth leakage as a possible problem. Well, would that be solved by changing the power supply cable of the coffee maker?
Thanks

Nothing is horrible here, but I think I can help.
New kitchens at one time were supposed to have two 20 A GFCI circuits. They could be implemented as a breaker in the electrical panel or in an outlet. They may be wired such that one "outlet" protects anything downstream as well. Some have lights, test and reset buttons. The lights are useful when used outside. Another area with 20 A GFCI circuits is supposed to be the bathroom.

What is a GFCI? In simple terms it measures the amount of current coming on on the hot and leaving in the neutral wire. It does this with a simple transformer. It does not need a ground to work. When the appliance has a ground, an inadvertant connection to ground can cause this sort of device th trip. Double-insulated stuff like drills have no way for a stray wire to get lost and contact ground because there isn;t one.
I'll bet now the GFCI's are a little smarter and use time/current relationships to know when to trip. The general idea is 10 mA across the heart muscle of a normal heart can result in death. So, we try to prevent electrocution from the hair dryer falling into the bath tub.

What would be nice to know is whether this coffee maker has a 3 prong plug? Next question is what kind of exposed metal are we talking about?
Without either, GFCI issues are almost non-existant.

As far as I know GFCI's won't trip when their current rating is exceeded. That's the breaker's job.

Well later, the powers that be said, we want to detect bad extension cords that have frayed under the rugs amoung other things. So, with the invention of the microprocessor and signal processing the new device detects wires intermittantly touching and letting go. They have deem this an AFCI or Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter. they have combined the AFCI and the GFCI as well.

And now, they want you to use them nearly everywhere. Some of these devices have issues and false trip and had to be replaced because of the design. A worn switch could cause an AFCI to trip. GFCI's an refrigerators sometimes don't get along.

GFCI's are also designed to only like the right polarity.

For the babies in the house, they have introduced "tamper proof" receptacles. The kid can't stick a key into one side of the outlet. He would have to be very co-ordinated and stick two keys in both sides of the receptacle.

The 15A plug (two straight blades and one round one). if one is offset it could be 120 20A. The 20 A receptacle accepts both.

So, what I'm saying is:
The GFCI to trip really needs a metal case or some way to "find ground" A water line that goes to the coffee maker for instance.
Some exposed metal part and a defect.

The AFCI could be anything that can arc inside.

Heat causes material to change shape. So, the heating element could short.

The device doesn't tell you why it tripped.

Ideally a 20 A circuit should handle 20 A forever without tripping.

GFCI's don't like what's called a "shared neutral". You can't "borrow" a neutral from a nearby circuit.

I tried to educate the OP/TS/Newbie. i saw a few rough edges that a crystal ball might see. Let's define the terminology and assess what one might have.

 

THIS IS A TECHNICAL FORUM. YOU DO NOT HAVE A BREAKER IN YOUR KITCHEN .

Point #2: You are correct. I have two. And two in my remodeled bathroom. And one in my front yard. And one in my back yard. I'm amazed that someone so obviously young as you were able to see that from so far away.

Point #1. You are correct. It also is an advice platform for newbies, noobs, greenies, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th world countries, and mechanical engineers. This may come as a shock, but not everyone has your experience level, or your myopic view of available technology. Turn off the Caps Lock and CTFD.

ak

 

When I plug it, it will work for some time, then the breaker trips. I could not find a technician willing to check it--I live in a small town. I took it to a car electrician, and he told me that there was a short circuit, and he fixed it. I took it back home, and the problem occurred again. Took it to his shop, and we plugged it, and it worked fine for maybe 15 min. So, I thought maybe the kitchen socket does not withstand the supply needed for this machine--I am not sure, but I think it is 1200 watts. I operated it on the AC socket and it worked for maybe 30 min, and the problem occurred again. (the ac plug says 120v, 1800 watts)

First guess: 4-digit watts + 4-digit delays = thermal based problem. Look for something that is expanding / moving / changing with heat. It takes only a few microinches of expansion for something to make inappropriate contact.

Clue: After the breaker trips and you reset it, immediately restart the device. If the breaker trips again much more quickly than 15 minutes, this is partial confirmation. If so, then let the device cool all the way down and repeat. In this way you can confirm or eliminate a very common problem in older appliances.

ak

 

THIS IS A TECHNICAL FORUM. [...] USE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY, OR GO ELSEWHERE.

The timestamp on this post roughly correlates to the announcement of the outcome of the presidential election so I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this little emotional outburst was directed at Trump and not the OP.

But if I'm wrong about that, I would invite YOU to leave instead.

 

But if I'm wrong about that, I would invite YOU to leave instead.

I bounced out and read his postings (didn't take long). No loss.

ak

 

Thanks for the education, help, and "support"

I connected it today to the outlet supplying the stove/oven. As of now, it works; but I only used it for about 20 min, where last time it lasted for 30 min when I connected it to the outlet supplying the AC. I checked the breaker, and confirmed that when I connected it to the AC outlet the tripped breaker was 15 amp. There is a set of 20 amp breakers, but not sure for which outlets used.

Will update later.

Thanks.