Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - a/c breaker problems

Hi, I have a rudd a/c approx 6 years old; starting this year the 40 amp breaker opens once a day. Once its reset it holds for the rest of the day. The breaker does not seem to be hot. the mfg recommends minimum 40 amp breaker, max 50 amp breaker. Do you think the old breaker could be weak and needs to be replaced or should I go to a 50 amp breaker. The wire in the panel box is #8 multi twist cooper wire. Is that adaquite for a 50 amp breaker? Amy suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks jabrx1@pacbell.net

jabrx1:

If the 40 amp breaker held before, putting in a larger one would only be curing the symptom and not the problem.
The breaker is likely telling you something.
The first thing to check is that the outdoor condensing unit coil is clean. Thge refrigerant liquid line, which is the smaller one should not be hot. In moderate weather it should be about 100 deg F, which will feel like room temperature.
The next possibility is a problem with the compressor or the electrical starting components. This will likely take a service man to troubleshoot unless you have electrical test equipment and know how to use it.
Another possibility is the thermostat causing the unit to shortcycle which doesn't allow the required 3 minute off time between cycles.
The easiest thing to do after checking for a dirty condenser would be to replace the breaker with one of the same rating as what you have now.

Thanks for the info, I'll check out the coils. Jery