Breaker Switch Mystery ??
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Breaker Switch Mystery ??
Y'all I need advice big time. I live in an apartment. It has a fuse box in the suite. There is also a main breaker for the suite in a secured room in the under ground parking lot. Every time I turned on my oven it flips off the breaker downstairs and i loose all power within my apartment. The breakers on the fuse box in my suite however do not flip off. I then have to call the management company and have them send someone out to go downstairs and flip the breaker back on. We thought it was the stove causing the problem so I had it replaced. The problem still happens with the new stove. What else could be the problem ? Could it be a faulty breaker downstairs ? Wouldn't the dishwasher or having a bunch of other stuff cause it to trip then too ? It has only tripped when the oven was turned on. It has never tripped when it was off and it trips even if the oven is the only thing on. Could something else be causing it ? I had a light in the diningroom that blew about 2 months ago but it had been looked at by an electrician and he said it was fine. The light switch had had a flash of blue light that sparked the day i turned it on and the light blew. That switch is on the rear side of the wall of the oven. PLEASE HELP WITH SUGGESTIONS ! I haven't been able to use the stove for over six weeks
#2
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Does the stove have a breaker in your apartment? What size is that breaker? Is this your stove, or does it belong to the apartment?
It high time that you made management address this problem. A lawyer will help you make sure they get to the bottom of the issue.
It high time that you made management address this problem. A lawyer will help you make sure they get to the bottom of the issue.
#4
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Before hiring a lawyer, I would start barking up the chain of command with management. in writing by certified mail. Give them every reasonable chance to solve it themselves.
If you get no results, contact your local authority (electrical inspector, housing inspector etc.) and ask for advice.
If you do get to the lawyer stage, don't forget to claim all the money you've spent on restaurants and takeout.
If you get no results, contact your local authority (electrical inspector, housing inspector etc.) and ask for advice.
If you do get to the lawyer stage, don't forget to claim all the money you've spent on restaurants and takeout.
#5
You say that the oven is the problem, but you also say that you have not been able to use the stove for six weeks. Question - are the stove top burners working okay and the breaker only trips with the oven or do the surface burners also trip the breaker?
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So the breaker switch in the apartment for the stove says 40 on it. I turned it off to test all the other lights and plugins in the house. They all work so the stove is the only thing hooked up to that "40" breaker ? Since the stove was replaced and the stove is solely on that breaker it must be the breaker, yes ? Would it more likely be the "40" in the apartment or the main breaker downstairs in the parking lot. The one in the apartment never tripped - it was just the one downstairs. Perhaps it tripped downstairs because the one up here is faulty and didn't trip...which makes more sense since i could have everything else on in here except the stove and nothing trips. Thoughts ?
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40 amps is correct for the stove.
Now the next question is, what is the amperage of the main breaker. This is the one they have to keep resetting in the locked room.
Now the next question is, what is the amperage of the main breaker. This is the one they have to keep resetting in the locked room.
#9
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Try turning off all the breakers in the unit except the range's. See if the suspect light still works. Turn the range on and see if it blows the main.
Have the wiring checked in that suspect switch box. Insulation may have overheated or frayed in there. Is there any chance the main feed from downstairs goes thru that box? It shouldn't but you never know.
Also the breaker downstairs may be a different type that is more sensitive than the one for the range.
Tangentially, I seem to recall reading something in the NEC about tenants having access to all circuit breakers powering their unit. Maybe that is just for branch circuits, not a single main breaker, presumably at the meter panel.
Have the wiring checked in that suspect switch box. Insulation may have overheated or frayed in there. Is there any chance the main feed from downstairs goes thru that box? It shouldn't but you never know.
Also the breaker downstairs may be a different type that is more sensitive than the one for the range.
Tangentially, I seem to recall reading something in the NEC about tenants having access to all circuit breakers powering their unit. Maybe that is just for branch circuits, not a single main breaker, presumably at the meter panel.