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Posted by John Ross on July 9, 2006, 6:01 am
As you will see, my electrical understanding is quite newbie, to say
the least!
I wanted to know if a circuit breaker trips because of an overload,
does that mean all is ok and there is no damage to wiring etc.?
Here's why I ask: We are having a roof put on and the workers were
using the electrical outlet outside the house for their saws. Well I
noticed they had the breaker box open and asked why. They said when
they ran 2 saws at once it tripped the breaker. Is this anything to
worry about? I assumed because it cut off, the safety feature worked
and all is well. But then I wondered if the extra current going through
the wire before getting to the box could have damaged the wiring (if
that makes any sense). Also, I noticed they had the door to the panel
left open and still both saws plugged in. So it's possible they were
"taking turns" and may have overlapped again, thinking they could just
keep resettig it.
Is it very likely I have anything to worry about? If so, what to do?
Note: If it matters, this is a 45 year old house. Also, I was in the
house and did not notice anything go off--not that I can say every
thing was on in the house. Do these outside outlets usually have their
own circuit?
Thanks for any help,
--
John Ross
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Posted by Richard J Kinch on July 9, 2006, 6:05 am
John Ross writes:
> They said when
> they ran 2 saws at once it tripped the breaker. Is this anything to
> worry about?
No, if you wiring is properly sized and in good condition. Temperature
rises are not enough to damage wiring at marginally tripping loads like
this.
Now if you have bad or deteriorated wiring, then this sort of thing can
push it over the edge.
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Posted by Tony Hwang on July 9, 2006, 10:57 am
Richard J Kinch wrote:
> John Ross writes:
>
>
>>They said when
>>they ran 2 saws at once it tripped the breaker. Is this anything to
>>worry about?
>
>
> No, if you wiring is properly sized and in good condition. Temperature
> rises are not enough to damage wiring at marginally tripping loads like
> this.
>
> Now if you have bad or deteriorated wiring, then this sort of thing can
> push it over the edge.
Hi,
Being external outlet, it could be on GFCI.
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Posted by peter on July 9, 2006, 3:28 pm
>
> Here's why I ask: We are having a roof put on and the workers were
> using the electrical outlet outside the house for their saws. Well I
> noticed they had the breaker box open and asked why. They said when
> they ran 2 saws at once it tripped the breaker. Is this anything to
Most circuit breaker breaks at 20A
Most circular saw draws close to 15A
Two circular saw draws 30A, which would cause the 20A breaker to trip.
Nothing wrong.
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