Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Dryer tripped OUTDOOR breaker
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inxs44
11-28-04, 10:35 AM
Hello,
The other night our electricity went out, the breaker outside (not inside) was tripped. We narrowed it down to our dryer, which is 14 yrs. old. We called an electrician who said if it's one appliance causing the problem that the issue is not electrical. My questions are: Why doesn't the inside breaker trip? And, should we just replace the dryer (assuming that's definitely the problem) or should we have an appliance repair person check it out first to confirm?
Thanks, in advance, for any advice!
Rina
The other night our electricity went out, the breaker outside (not inside) was tripped. We narrowed it down to our dryer, which is 14 yrs. old. We called an electrician who said if it's one appliance causing the problem that the issue is not electrical. My questions are: Why doesn't the inside breaker trip? And, should we just replace the dryer (assuming that's definitely the problem) or should we have an appliance repair person check it out first to confirm?
Thanks, in advance, for any advice!
Rina
GregH
11-28-04, 11:03 AM
Rina,
You will have to describe in greater detail where this outside breaker is, what it controls and in what kind of panel it is in.
How exactly did you "narrow" down that the dryer caused the outdoor breaker to trip.
Does your dryer work now or does is trip a breaker?
You will have to describe in greater detail where this outside breaker is, what it controls and in what kind of panel it is in.
How exactly did you "narrow" down that the dryer caused the outdoor breaker to trip.
Does your dryer work now or does is trip a breaker?
inxs44
11-28-04, 12:08 PM
Hi again, The panel outside is located next to the meter. It's like a large circuit breaker covered by a (now very rusted) metal box. When our electricity first went out, we called our electric company, they came out, a guy flipped this large switch off and then on, and the electricity came back on. He had no idea why it happened, but said if it happened again, we probably had an electrical problem. I was doing laundry at the time, which I left till the next the day. The next day I tried to finish the laundry and electricity went out, my husband flipped the switch outside, it came back on. We confirmed it was the dryer by turning off all lights, etc. and just running the dryer - it happened again. Since not using the dryer for the past 3 days, it has not happened once. I haven't been using the dryer at all. Hope this is helpful.
Thanks again,
Rina
Thanks again,
Rina
GregH
11-28-04, 04:47 PM
Rina,
Ah, ok.
That will be a main breaker of some sort that serves your whole house.
There is a possibility that there is nothing wrong with your dryer but rather the outside breaker is weak and needs replacing.
What you need to do is call a different electrician, one that is prepared to come and diagnose this for you.
What is needed is to use a clamp on ammeter to check to see how much current the dryer is drawing and also how much current is flowing through the main breaker.
This will determine where the fault lies.
How many amps is the outside breaker? This is usually stamped somewhere, often on the end of the handle.
Ah, ok.
That will be a main breaker of some sort that serves your whole house.
There is a possibility that there is nothing wrong with your dryer but rather the outside breaker is weak and needs replacing.
What you need to do is call a different electrician, one that is prepared to come and diagnose this for you.
What is needed is to use a clamp on ammeter to check to see how much current the dryer is drawing and also how much current is flowing through the main breaker.
This will determine where the fault lies.
How many amps is the outside breaker? This is usually stamped somewhere, often on the end of the handle.