FHA permanent heat source question

[Mike Ault]

I know. But remember they had ice storms one winter and even the wind generators froze up. And the desert gets cold at night.

And we actually got 3 inches of snow on us at Padre Island one Christmas when we decided to go south to miss the snow up here. That storm made it all the way to Jamaica.

 

[Airstream]

Anytime you have a high load for extended periods of time, your standard 15 amp receptacle will show signs of that condition. The plastic can discolor, the interior contacts get weak from the heating/cooling cycle and will even show signs of arcing. That arcing is many times visible on the surface of the receptacle as black streaks radiating from the slot. A 15A receptacle at 120V is rated for a total of 1800 watts. You should only load a circuit to 80% of its capacity. That would be 1440 watts. Many portable heaters are rated at 1500 watts. See what eventually happens if you leave that heater plugged into the same outlet for a heating season or two as a primary source of heat.

In my house (built in 2021) just about all the circuits are GFI circuit breakers. I have had to change a few of them because they would trip and the receptacles would go out in the Living Room or our bedroom. Once they start tripping, they don’t last long. I’m sure they do that for the very reason you are stating regarding overloaded circuits or the possibility of arcing.

 

[Airstream]

And we actually got 3 inches of snow on us at Padre Island one Christmas when we decided to go south to miss the snow up here. That storm made it all the way to Jamaica.

Climate change.

 

[Dublin ohio]

In my house (built in 2021) just about all the circuits are GFI circuit breakers. I have had to change a few of them because they would trip and the receptacles would go out in the Living Room or our bedroom. Once they start tripping, they don’t last long. I’m sure they do that for the very reason you are stating regarding overloaded circuits or the possibility of arcing.

Are they GFI or are they arc fault breakers. Arc fault became mandatory for many rooms quite a few years ago, particularly bedrooms.

 

[Airstream]

Are they GFI or are they arc fault breakers. Arc fault became mandatory for many rooms quite a few years ago, particularly bedrooms.

My guess is they are more like arc fault. Wasn’t sure of the terminology. When I replaced them I just went by the numbers on them. And they sure are sensitive like GFI’s.

When I look at my fuse box they are almost all those type of breakers. Expensive breakers to say the least.

 

[Mike Ault]

Just replaced one in my motorhome. $70 versus $20 for the same amperage.

 

[Dublin ohio]

My guess is they are more like arc fault. Wasn’t sure of the terminology. When I replaced them I just went by the numbers on them. And they sure are sensitive like GFI’s.

When I look at my fuse box they are almost all those type of breakers. Expensive breakers to say the least.

Definitely arc fault. A gfi won't typically trip due to a small arc. They measure the difference in potential between the hot and neutral and trip if there is a very small difference. I used to see nuisance tripping due to a steamy shower. The steam would condense on the face of the receptacle and the current would track just a little across the face of the receptacle and trip the gfi. If I remember correctly, arc fault breakers were developed because very minor arcs would ignite lint, dust, cobwebs that could build up inside of the outlet boxes, or even items outside of the box due to a loose plug in

 

[Airstream]

Definitely arc fault. A gfi won't typically trip due to a small arc. They measure the difference in potential between the hot and neutral and trip if there is a very small difference. I used to see nuisance tripping due to a steamy shower. The steam would condense on the face of the receptacle and the current would track just a little across the face of the receptacle and trip the gfi. If I remember correctly, arc fault breakers were developed because very minor arcs would ignite lint, dust, cobwebs that could build up inside of the outlet boxes, or even items outside of the box due to a loose plug in

I don’t know why these tripped. When I put new breakers in the problem was solved. I figure since our house was built during the pandemic it had something to do with the virus