mhardy6647
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Any of y'all ever tripped a breaker?
- Thread starter FriedChicken
- Start date
2 pages in and noones mentioned trip curves?
Just because you have a 20A rated breaker, doesn't mean it'll pop as soon as you hit 20.1A.
In fact, it may hold 22A for 4 hours. It may hold 25A for 1 hour and it may hold 30A for a minute. (numbers are made up for examples sake).
Look up the trip curves. Heres a modern type C MCB circuit breaker.
If you are tripping breakers, its more than likely not from a steady overload but more of an in-rush peak or short circuit (magnetic trip) condition. This is most likely from turning on multiple large amps without soft starts, or sending steady state sines to multiple channels (in-rush trip), or shorting amplifier outputs (short circuit).
Here in NZ, most modern houses use 20A circuits with 230V. You can load a circuit with 4600W, and you can load most single wall socket outlets with 2400W.
Actually, no. Well here in NZ anyway, the older the protection, the less likely it is to trip, and the more likely it is to start a fire.
Just because you have a 20A rated breaker, doesn't mean it'll pop as soon as you hit 20.1A.
In fact, it may hold 22A for 4 hours. It may hold 25A for 1 hour and it may hold 30A for a minute. (numbers are made up for examples sake).
Look up the trip curves. Heres a modern type C MCB circuit breaker.
If you are tripping breakers, its more than likely not from a steady overload but more of an in-rush peak or short circuit (magnetic trip) condition. This is most likely from turning on multiple large amps without soft starts, or sending steady state sines to multiple channels (in-rush trip), or shorting amplifier outputs (short circuit).
Here in NZ, most modern houses use 20A circuits with 230V. You can load a circuit with 4600W, and you can load most single wall socket outlets with 2400W.
If they get older they are more easy to trigger. Wait until its 30 years old.
Hehe they get more easy to trigger than the pope on a naked beach.
Actually, no. Well here in NZ anyway, the older the protection, the less likely it is to trip, and the more likely it is to start a fire.
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AudiOhm
Senior Member
People do not realize that you can have a maximum of 8 receptacles and 4 lights on each breaker.
The contractor will do his best to use the least amount, and cheapest options to wire your home.
Codes may vary in your area, but are mostly the same.
and
The panel breaker is installed to protect the wire/outlet in the wall, not the device connected to it...
Ohms
The contractor will do his best to use the least amount, and cheapest options to wire your home.
Codes may vary in your area, but are mostly the same.
and
The panel breaker is installed to protect the wire/outlet in the wall, not the device connected to it...
Ohms
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2 pages in and noones mentioned trip curves?
Just because you have a 20A rated breaker, doesn't mean it'll pop as soon as you hit 20.1A.
In fact, it may hold 22A for 4 hours. It may hold 25A for 1 hour and it may hold 30A for a minute. (numbers are made up for examples sake).
Look up the trip curves. Heres a modern type C MCB circuit breaker.
If you are tripping breakers, its more than likely not from a steady overload but more of an in-rush peak or short circuit (magnetic trip) condition. This is most likely from turning on multiple large amps without soft starts, or sending steady state sines to multiple channels (in-rush trip), or shorting amplifier outputs (short circuit).
Here in NZ, most modern houses use 20A circuits with 230V. You can load a circuit with 4600W, and you can load most single wall socket outlets with 2400W.
Actually, no. Well here in NZ anyway, the older the protection, the less likely it is to trip, and the more likely it is to start a fire.
I just wanted to point out that US uses 120V instead of 220-240V. So even if its 20A, its just 2400W. There is a higher tendency to trip the breakers.
HI
That has never happened to me but I have witnessed it. Back in my subjectivist days, some audiophiles friend ran Krell Reference Mono Amplifiers to bi or was it tri-amp and Apoge Grand Apogee .. On some cuts, the breaker tripped up, regularly, at relatively elevated levels. Say 90~95 dB. He had "dedicated" circuits: each amplifier being fed its own 20 Amp line... Another friend had a Krell KSA-200 on Apogee Scintilla and did trip the breaker too, on some occasion, whether it was poor electrical job or system or the amps drawing too much.. I don't know. Those were Class A monsters who heated the room so much that these guys didn't need to turn on the heater during the winter.
Today my current system total power consumption on stereo, doesn't go over 150 watts for a pair of Class D active monitors and a pair of Class D subwoofers plus the AVR used a a Pre...
That has never happened to me but I have witnessed it. Back in my subjectivist days, some audiophiles friend ran Krell Reference Mono Amplifiers to bi or was it tri-amp and Apoge Grand Apogee .. On some cuts, the breaker tripped up, regularly, at relatively elevated levels. Say 90~95 dB. He had "dedicated" circuits: each amplifier being fed its own 20 Amp line... Another friend had a Krell KSA-200 on Apogee Scintilla and did trip the breaker too, on some occasion, whether it was poor electrical job or system or the amps drawing too much.. I don't know. Those were Class A monsters who heated the room so much that these guys didn't need to turn on the heater during the winter.
Today my current system total power consumption on stereo, doesn't go over 150 watts for a pair of Class D active monitors and a pair of Class D subwoofers plus the AVR used a a Pre...
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Those Krell amps are monsters and draw lotsa current. Most likely the electrical mians was operating properly and the amps where simply drawing more current than the AC mains was designed for.
Our rocking post-teen combo would bust the breakers at the club on occasion...
It was a deafening silence except for the drums when it would creep up on us.
At home, my rack plus the PC stuff plus some of the kitchen is on the same breaker.
One monoblock amplifier here "could" put the 15A/120V breaker near its limit, if pressed.
Yes, the breaker has popped, once when doing a loud REW Sweep (with whaterer else was on at the time).
The last time I remember was when I added the vaccum cleaner to the load, and may have had the 8 flourescent tubes in the kitchen on along with the PC and laser printer and TV and sound and etc.
I had to replace the breaker once. It broke.
I bought the hardware to run a 20A dedicated line to the rack a few years ago, but never did.
Much better than 99.98% of the time (that would be 105 minutes a year) it isn't an issue.
That's all we had to shoot for back in my Telecom days, so, good enough.
It was a deafening silence except for the drums when it would creep up on us.
At home, my rack plus the PC stuff plus some of the kitchen is on the same breaker.
One monoblock amplifier here "could" put the 15A/120V breaker near its limit, if pressed.
Yes, the breaker has popped, once when doing a loud REW Sweep (with whaterer else was on at the time).
The last time I remember was when I added the vaccum cleaner to the load, and may have had the 8 flourescent tubes in the kitchen on along with the PC and laser printer and TV and sound and etc.
I had to replace the breaker once. It broke.
I bought the hardware to run a 20A dedicated line to the rack a few years ago, but never did.
Much better than 99.98% of the time (that would be 105 minutes a year) it isn't an issue.
That's all we had to shoot for back in my Telecom days, so, good enough.
Not under normal conditions... but accidents have happened.
My main system (tri-amped) with class A and high biased AB amps draws a lot of power. My whole system is on a single 120V 20A circuit that I had wired with #10 wire to reduce the voltage drop. I have considered moving over to class D, but I like what I have and my solar panels cover the cost of the electricity.
That elevated bit of usage after 6:30 PM is my turning on the system! The other peaks are kitchen usage.
Speedskater
Major Contributor
That type of rule does not apply to USA homes.
DonR
Major Contributor
All the time. Toaster and microwave on the same 15A circuit. Had a dishwasher, fridge and washing machine that also share the same circuit. The breaker occasionally blew until I replaced the washing machine (and eventually dw and fridge). My 3/4 hp well pump kept blowing the 15A breaker but that was a faulty breaker. Replaced it with a 1/2hp pump (does the job fine) and the new breaker has never tripped. I once had my home cinema system trip. AVR, plasma, SW and 2 Samson Servo amps all coming up at once. I left the SW on standby, put the outboard amps on a power strip triggered from the AVR and powered the TV up last. No more tripping.
AnalogSteph
Major Contributor
Nice space heater you've got there.That elevated bit of usage after 6:30 PM is my turning on the system! The other peaks are kitchen usage.
Does this include A/C power (looks like it might)? Which would add another Pd/CoP to the system itself.
Dismayed
Senior Member
I upgraded to Martin Logan 11A speakers and now the additional draw is tripping my breaker at power up. It’s on the same circuit as our dining room lights and where my wife has grow lights running. I’m getting an electrician in to wire a dedicated stereo circuit.
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Dismayed
Senior Member
The electrician visited on Friday to wire a dedicated circuit for my stereo. No more tripped breaker!
I haven’t personally tripped a breaker/rcd device but the mouse that fried itself chewing the internal wires in my oven did. You ever dismantled a cooker to find an issue?, there’s a bazillion screws/panels and doodads to dismantle before you discover a teeny very dead mouse with its teeth sunk into a wiring loom.
When we had an addition built a temporary kitchen was set up in the den of our house (~1963, not updated). My mother-in-law was visiting from overseas for a few weeks. Her and my wife would use the electric hotplate or microwave at the same time they fired up an electric kettle. And all on the same circuit as my stereo system. They blew the breaker several times while the amp and preamp were turned on. I had to send the Bryston 4B to Canada to be repaired, and the Audible Illusions 2B was not worth salvaging... That was costly.
The electrician for the addition thought I was crazy when I had him run two 20 amp circuits to the wall where my stereo and the TV were likely going to be placed. But that was far less costly then the amp repair and preamp replacement.
The electrician for the addition thought I was crazy when I had him run two 20 amp circuits to the wall where my stereo and the TV were likely going to be placed. But that was far less costly then the amp repair and preamp replacement.
Dismayed
Senior Member
I have Martin Logan electrostatic speakers that each have an amp in them to drive the woofers. And they need a beast of an amp for the panels.
I run an avr plus four two channel power amps and a sub's amp plus plasma tv....the amps are class D, tho so that probably helps a bit.
I was expecting TC to have like 4 1000W Subs or something, I've always been curious about these things.
