New appliance popping breaker/ bad breaker?

Hi, hoping to get some advice on a problem I am having in the kitchen.

We recently bought a new countertop air fryer and when air frying it eventually trips the breaker in the kitchen. It isn't immediate only toward the end of a 400+ degree cook (minute 10 of 15-20). Baking at 350 it's fine.

The house is <5 years old, the circuit is 20A GFI protected at the breaker and is dedicated to half of the counter top outlets. Only other loads on the circuit are an Amazon Echo. I tested the fryer alone and it does the same thing.

My first thought was the appliance was faulty. I've used other appliances (waffle makers/instant pot, etc.,) on that circuit and had no problems.

To be thorough I tried two different outlets on the same circuit and had the same result. Then for "fun" I used it on one of the island outlets (different circuit) and it ran without issue. We've used it multiple times since and have not had a problem.

The island circuit is also 20A GFI protected at the breaker, it's dedicated to just the island outlets and the other half of the counter top outlets.

My new thought is the breaker is failing. It's a Square D Homeline GFI and is fairly new as I mentioned. I was thinking of swapping them in the breaker box to see if the problem follows the breaker. I am posting here to see if there is anything else I should look at or check prior to taking things apart...

Appreciate any input,
Jake

 

You just proved that circuit is the problem. It could be a weak GFIC. Are you sure it's 12 gauge and 20 amp breaker?

 

Thanks for the reply. I can't think of anything else that could be wrong apart from the breaker. I'll swap it and see what happens, they are expensive but probably the simplest way to check

It's definitely 12ga wire and a 20A breaker.

 

What else is on the circuit and goes off when the breaker trips? Refrigerator by chance? Range hood? Disposer? How many amps is being drawn from the breaker when it trips, have you had this checked yet? The Square D Homeline breakers and panels are warranted for 10 years.

 

Nothing else is on the circuit, just counter top outlets. Fridge, range hood, and disposal are on different circuits. I've tried with nothing else plugged in and it still trips.

The air fryer is 15A appliance.I am not sure how to check the current draw when it trips. I have a killawatt somewhere I could try to use that I suppose.

 

Try it on a 15 amp circuit if it does not trip that breaker then odds are extremely high that it is a bad breaker.
Doing a swap would confirm this.

 

If you have another 20amp GFCI breaker in the panel try swapping the circuit over to that one and see if the same thing happens. This way you don't have to buy another breaker until you know it is the breaker causing the problem.

If you do this be sure you move the neutral wire over to the other breaker you are going to test with.

 

Check the connections at the breaker. The increased current could be heating up a loose connection.