breaker problem causing high usage?
#1
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breaker problem causing high usage?
Hi,
We were having problems with our well pump tripping off sporadically. While inspecting the box/breaker I noticed that the meter was spinning rather fast, especially since nothing was running. We have just moved in here and hadn't looked at a meter for a while so I made the assumption that it was normal.
Noticed a spark when shutting the breaker again so we replaced it. Once we put the new breaker in the pump ran fine and no longer tripped, and the meter was running much slower. So my question is, can a malfunctioning breaker cause the meter to run exceedingly fast? I thought maybe it was sending power into the ground, if that is possible. This went on for about 5 days so I am not looking forward to the bill...
We were having problems with our well pump tripping off sporadically. While inspecting the box/breaker I noticed that the meter was spinning rather fast, especially since nothing was running. We have just moved in here and hadn't looked at a meter for a while so I made the assumption that it was normal.
Noticed a spark when shutting the breaker again so we replaced it. Once we put the new breaker in the pump ran fine and no longer tripped, and the meter was running much slower. So my question is, can a malfunctioning breaker cause the meter to run exceedingly fast? I thought maybe it was sending power into the ground, if that is possible. This went on for about 5 days so I am not looking forward to the bill...
#2
Welcome to the forums!
I've never heard of a breaker allowing power to drain while switched off. My guess is that you corrected the cause of the drain while replacing the breaker.
I've never heard of a breaker allowing power to drain while switched off. My guess is that you corrected the cause of the drain while replacing the breaker.
#3
By the way, the breaker itself could not possibly dissipate a significant amount of electricity (and waste it) without getting extremely hot. You would have noticed that in the way of a burning smell.