Thread: Breaker Tripping

Hy Guys (& Gals)
Had a tenant call me this morning.
He said the breaker tripped about 10 times last night.
I've had the house over 5 years and not had this reported to me before now.
This is and old 100 amp Bryant panel.
100 amp back fed breaker.
I went out there this morning to investigate.
The time the breaker tripped was between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM
Electric WH was not in use
Electric stove was not in use
AC window was not in use
Dryer was not in use
Only a few lights, TV, were on.

I found:
Using amp meter, there was about 1 amp on each leg with only 1 light on. (Plus TV, XBox, and a few other things draw current even when off)
I was able to tighten the connections on 100 amp breaker about 1/2 turn each.
I turned on all 4 stove burners, oven, WH, window AC, and every light.
Current draw was 65/69 amps on each leg of the 100 amp breaker.

Should I just replace the breaker, or could there be something else?

Thanks

At least by replacing the breaker you have removed that as the source of the problem. Is there another breaker in the panel you can just trade with to see if either circuits trip?

Originally Posted by Ian Page

At least by replacing the breaker you have removed that as the source of the problem. Is there another breaker in the panel you can just trade with to see if either circuits trip?

Largest breaker is only 50 amp.

I'm thinking it's most likely the breaker, which is only $42 at Lowes.
I just hate to replace it if I need to check something else first.

Did they happen to notice if the breaker was hot to the touch when switching it? Are we taking the main breaker and they didn't mean a different one? My guess, worn breaker or loose connection, long shot is main breaker loose, or other loose breakers, possible arcing???

Another long shot, tenant wants to bug you between 10pm and 5am...

Originally Posted by Mike Kleisch

Did they happen to notice if the breaker was hot to the touch when switching it? Are we taking the main breaker and they didn't mean a different one? My guess, worn breaker or loose connection, long shot is main breaker loose, or other loose breakers, possible arcing???

Another long shot, tenant wants to bug you between 10pm and 5am...

I don't think wanted to bug me.
Since it was after 10PM, and he did not think it was an emergency, he texted me.

Yes, I am talking about the main, but it is a back feed,
The main is loose fitting
Other breakers did not seem to be loose fitting.
No the tenant did not notice if anything was hot.

A main breaker tripping 10 times is either a serious problem or a bad breaker. I would remove it and look for signs of arcing, especially since you say it is loose. If no arcing, replace the breaker. If it has arced you may need to replace the panel. This could cause a fire, so I would consider this urgent.