A washing machine can trip a breaker due to a fault inside the washing machine or a fault with the cord or plug. There could be a fault with the power socket which the washing machine plugs into. A fault inside the switchboard or with the cable between the power socket and switchboard could also be to blame. This post aims to discuss why a washing machine would trip a breaker and six different locations where the fault could be found from an electrician’s perspective. Why A Breaker Trips? A breaker tripping can be an annoyance but it occurs for…
Author: Josh Jordan
A faulty water heater element is the most common reason why a water heater will trip a breaker. The fault could also originate inside the heater thermostat, switch, cable, or switchboard. This post will discuss where the fault could be occurring and why the breaker will trip from an electrician’s perspective. Why A Breaker Trips? Circuit breakers are designed to automatically shut off power when an electrical fault occurs. They are designed to prevent faults from developing into situations that can harm people or property. For example, a short circuit or overload fault has the potential to cause a fire…
A TV tripping a breaker could be due to an electrical fault inside the TV, the TV cord or plug, the multi board (if the TV is plugged into one), the power socket the TV is plugged into, the switchboard, or the cable between the power socket and switchboard. This post will discuss why a breaker trips, and basic ways to determine why this fault is occurring from an electrician’s perspective. Why A Breaker Trips While it can be annoying, a circuit breaker trips for very important reasons. This is either to prevent an electric shock occurring or a fire…
A circuit breaker will trip when water enters an electrical enclosure and creates a short circuit across live components. This is a common occurrence with outdoor lighting, outdoor power sockets and outdoor appliances which are exposed to the weather when it rains. This post will talk about why a circuit breaker would trip when it rains and three things that could be causing it – from an electrician’s perspective. Why Rain Causes Breakers To Trip Rainwater conducts electricity. This allows electrical current to flow freely. This is the opposite of an insulator which doesn’t allow current to flow. Touching a…
A generator could be overloading due to a failing AVR (automatic voltage regulator) or a battery in poor condition. Either of these can cause voltage drop from the generator resulting in overloading occurring. It’s also a good idea to ensure that the generator has fresh fuel and oil levels topped up. If these are not maintained it can result in the generator not working optimally leading to situations where it trips with nothing plugged in. This post will discuss why the generator is overloading, especially with nothing plugged in from an electrician’s perspective. Generator Basics A generator is a machine…
A heat pump is blowing a fuse because a short circuit, overload or ground fault is occurring. This could be occurring inside the heat pump, inside the outdoor unit, in the heat pump switch, in the switchboard or even in the cable between the heat pump and the switchboard. This post will go into common reasons why a heat pump is blowing a fuse and what can be done about it. Let’s first discuss why a fuse will blow in the first place. What Is A Blown Fuse? Electrical faults have the ability to cause fires and electric shocks. A…
A range hood doesn’t need a dedicated circuit for any special reason relating to the range hood. However, the circuit that the range hood is plugged into must be able to handle its full load current and the full load currents of any other appliances on the same circuit. This post aims to give you four different considerations when wiring for a range hood. Range Hood Wiring Overview A range hood can either be hard wired or have a plug. It will be plugged into a power outlet. This power outlet will be wired with a cable that originates in…
A garbage disposal doesn’t necessarily need its own dedicated circuit but the circuit must be able to handle its operating current (and the current of any other appliances on the same circuit). This post will go into 4 considerations you need to make when wiring for your garbage disposal unit. Garbage Disposal Wiring Overview A garbage disposal is typically plugged into a power outlet to operate. Power outlets will be wired with a cable that leads back to the switchboard. In the switchboard, this cable will terminate into a fuse or circuit breaker. The goal of this circuit breaker is…
A washing machine doesn’t necessarily need to be on its own dedicated circuit. However, a washing machine should be on a circuit that can handle its full operating current as well as the operating current of any other appliances on the same circuit. This post will go into four things you should consider when wiring for a washing machine. Washing Machine Wiring Overview A washing machine is typically plugged into a wall socket. This wall socket will be wired with a cable that leads back to the switchboard. In the switchboard, this cable will be terminated into circuit protection devices (breakers).…
A refrigerator doesn’t need a dedicated circuit for itself but it needs to be on a circuit that can handle its operating current. The cable on this circuit must also be protected with a circuit breaker that trips off power if it is overloaded. This prevents the cable from heating up and potentially causing a fire. This post will discuss four considerations you should make when deciding if a refrigerator should be on a dedicated circuit. Refrigerator Wiring Overview A refrigerator will be plugged into a power outlet. This outlet will have a cable that tracks back to the switchboard…