Electrical problems.?
Question:the electrical panel in my house is 20 yrs old. all of the breakers in the panel are hot to the touch. i have 2 slim 2 pole breakers 1 is for my waterheater, the other is for my dryer. the 1 for my water heater will trip, when i reset it about 5 min. later it will trip again. i could try running another circut for my water heater by was is my panel hot, should i change it out?
Answers:
Most of the answers you have gotten so far are true or pretty close to it. I'm going to assume that since you posed this question, you aren't an electrician. With tht being said, I'll explain all of this to you. The amperage (load) everyone is talking about is the number on the face of the breaker usually 30, 40 , or 50. Since you're not an electrician, i'll assume you don't have the equipment to check the amperage on the wires going to the water heater. The best thing you can do without calling a professional is to turn off the breaker to the water heater and check the wires. They should be tight. If they are loose this will cause heat and an increase in amperage( the breaker will trip!) Check the two wires on the breaker and the wiring inside the water heater. The water heater will usually have two panels one near the top and one near the bottom(some of the newer models connect on the very top and connect with two wire nuts.). Inside both of these are your heater elements. They will have two wires connected to each heater element. If it has not been serviced the should be screwed to a terminal, if it has been serviced, it will usually have a wire nut on it. Check to make sure these are tight, by pulling the wire on the screw terminal or holding the wire nut and pulling each wire individually. Also look at the wires and see if it looks like they have been hot - discoloration, brittle insulation, burns. If anything is loose tighten it. If not you probably have a problem with one of your heating elements and need to call a professional. You may also want to check on upgrading your current electrical panel because all of the newer technology will put a strain on an older panel.
check hot water heater for excessive draw, heater elements
can be replaced fairly easily.
Check for breaker size for the water heater. Make sure the breakers are suitable for the tank. Breaker boxes are normally a lil warmer to the touch. Electricity cause heat. If they are quite warm then it's time to get someone in to check ot out. You may be drawing too much for the size of the panel.
I would put in a bigger breaker or run the water heater on one line
Check the amp draw on the heater and compare it to the amperage on the nameplate. You may be drawing too much current. If this "hot to the touch" condition just started, you most likely have an element on its way out.
if it is a 100 A panel replace it and the wire from the meter socket will need to be replaced with 200a wire
upgrade to 200A there may be a bad pole on the water heater breaker and it is drawing twice the amps because its back feeding through the ground wire to get 120 V
Not good! The circuits are probably connected and rated properly. If you feel heat on them it is usually due to loose connections, which is very dangerous. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, get an electrician to check all connections. A thermal scan will show any loose connections. This is something you need to do soon to reduce the risk of fire.
There a few unknowns here. What is the panel rated for? What is the total max power coming into panel? Do you have a single master breaker to shut off all power to other breakers? A 20 yr. old panel is not that old and yet you say you only have two breakers? Is your house a mobile home? If you truly only have only two breakers then you have other outlets being used for something in addition to the water heater and dryer. Is the dryer 110v or 220v ? The tripping breaker for the water heater...is it being used for other things at the same time? Has something been added? Try running the water heater alone. If the breaker still trips then you have a heater problem or breaker problem. Change the breaker first to narrow the problem. You also did not mention the size of the breakers. They could be undersized but you need to check the wiring size (gauge) first. 15amp breaker requires 14 gauge wire.if the wire is 12 gauge and you are pulling more than 15 amps then your breaker will get warm. If you have 12 gauge wire you could change to a 20 amp breaker. Same scenario goes for the dryer BUT you also need to comply with the electrical requirements of each appliance. I am guessing that you have a low amperage service to your "home".probably 30 or 40 amps. and you are running everything on this. You might need to upgrade service to your home, run just one appliance at a time or change to a gas water heater and/or dryer. Also check to see if your home has aluminum wiring. If you added the water heater or dryer recently and they were hard wired then there is a paste/cream required to be added to the connection between the copper appliance wiring and the home aluminum wiring. If this was not done then that connection will corrode, cause an increase in resistance, heat up and draw more current and possibly trip your breakers or worse ...not trip the breaker and cause a fire.
For one, a 100 Amp service is plenty for homes, so you should not need to worry about getting a new panel box, or service line installed.
Two, if this has been going on for some time it is probably not a faulty water heater; specifically, if the water coming out really is hot. If it is significantly cooler than it used to be then I really would look into this possibility.
Now for electricity : There are ONLY two things that will generate heat with electricity as far as the home is concerned. Electricity in motion, or resistance. If your device is not drawing too much then there is not an increase in motion so it has to be resistance.
Is your panel box closed properly when you are not at the breakers? Have you had water in the basement, or maybe a serious leak? Maybe your water heater pressure valeve is failing causing water to spill out at certain times.
You need to pull the breaker out, first of all. Remove the wires from it, and take the breaker to a place of "Good Lighting"
Look at the screw to tighten the wires down - are they discolored in any way? Unloosen the screws until the opening for the wires is wide enough for you to see inside. Did the screw turn rather easy or was it irregularly tough at spots? Is the opening inside showing signs of corrostion.
You see, if these are truly 20 years old, and dampness is about the area they very well could be corroded to some degree - this will create resistance for the current to pass and resistance will generate heat. Also, if the wires were loosely tightened that will create resistance also since there is an Air Gap for the current to pass through.
If you do find this to be the case, I would seriously consider replacing my breakers. The main breaker should not have to be replaced - its wires are covered with a grease, which protects the wires and the inside breaker terminal.
Being 20 yrs old the water heater has probably been changed out and possibly has a larger amperage draw. Look at the nameplate on the heater and check the wire size out on the breaker. Could be you just need a bigger breaker. If you're not sure hire an electrician.
Hi,
Big saving for your home repairs/renovations...
Now is the right time to refinance your home loan for big saving and use this saving for your home renovations/repairs.I used " Loan Web" to refinance my home loan.It's legitimate.I got the lowest rate in the nation( through my extensive search).They managed to approve for me in just 3 days.Check it out here:
http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-1813149-103...
More Related Questions & Answers...