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Some breakers can trip totally off. If the breaker is continually turning off without a wiring issue, then the breaker could be going bad.

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Q: Do some electrical breakers when they are tripped go into the off position instead of the normal tripped position I have a cutler hammer breaker that tripped but is in the off position?
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In wiring for 220v can one use 2 15a breakers instead of a ganged 30a breaker?

Yes, you just have to be sure you are grabbing power from each of the two legs.


What is a tripped circuit breaker?

As far as a fuse like in a car or even larger versions of the fuses in a car you should be able to see inside the little wire; if the fuse has burnt amd is split in two parts the fuse has been broken. In a circuit breaker it works a little differently, instead of burning out and needing to be replaced, the breaker will "trip" this means there is too much current being drawn through the circuit and the setup cannot handle it. A breaker instead will click to the off position and the switch will flip from on to off. These are much easier to locate than a burnt fuse because in a breaker box usually all the switches are turned to on and in the same direction, so the one breaker that did trip will be pointed in the opposite direction. Simply flip the switch from off to on and its been reset. If the breaker keeps tripping then there is either a short or you have too many loads (appliances) running on that circuit, for instance a power strip with 6 things plugged into it all running at the same time.


Any problems with shared neutral for for 4 15 amp breakers each on dedicated circuits?

Yes. If it a residential home then you can only have two breakers per neutral and they need to be on opposite legs of your panel. If it is a commercial 3phase panel then you can only put 3 breakers on a shared neutral. Here's why. In your panel assuming its residential you have two power wires and one neutral and these power wires are called legs. If you attach two breakers on the same leg that is across from each other on opposite sides of the panel or skipping a space between breakers on the same side at 15A apiece you return on the neutral will not be balanced and you will have the possibility of 30A coming back to your panel on the neutral which will fry a 14 Awg or even 12 Awg for that matter and cause a fire. Now if the breakers are in tandem that is they have the breaker tie that connects two breakers together they will be on separate legs and then only will your breakers/circuits be balanced and it will be safe to share a neutral on. If two tandem breakers are connected to a single neutral and they are all 15A breakers your return would be 30A again because although your tandem breakers are balanced now you have two tandem breakers returning a potential 15A per two breakers and that adds up to 30A. The next problem you have is when you share a neutral as per the National Electric Code if one breaker trips the other breaker also sharing that neutral must trip so that when the power is off any current that could possibly return through the neutral wire will be cut off. So now this creates another problem with 4 breakers sharing the same neutral is now there is no way to get all four to trip at the same time if there was a ground fault (a short) or an overload. and someone could get nailed by any current coming back on the shared neutral. All the same applies for 3phase except there are 3 power wires and you can use 3 breakers with a 3 breaker tie instead of just two. You either need to run one neutral per tandem breaker or four neutrals for four circuits/breakers. Tandem breakers controlling two separate circuits are a pain because when one breaker trips they trip the other circuit also. Tandems are mostly used for two circuits going to the same appliance so that no power on either leg reaches the appliance when it needs to be off.


Can you use mini breakers instead of regular breakers?

Yes, but only use them if absolutely necessary and I would never install more than one set of min-breakers in a service panel. Otherwise you can overload the panel.


Can you use a 30 amp time delay fuse instead of a 30 amp inverse time circuit breaker?

Fuses and circuit breakers are rated differently as applied to electrical loads. A motor load of 12 amps would require a fuse rating of 21 amps ( 12 X 1.75=21) or the next standard size of 25. A breaker for the same load of 12 amps would be a 30. (12 x 2.50=30) However if your circuit is number 10 copper wire and supplies 30 amp rated receptacles, you would be perfectly safe in using the fuses.

Related questions

Can you use a 100 instead 20 to change breakers?

To replace breakers in an electrical box it is extremely important the replace the breaker with the same wattage. Do not replace a 100 breaker with a 20 breaker is can cause damage.


What is miniature circuit breakers?

miniature circuit breaker or MCB in low voltage electrical network instead of fuse.


In wiring for 220v can one use 2 15a breakers instead of a ganged 30a breaker?

Yes, you just have to be sure you are grabbing power from each of the two legs.


Where is the fuse block on a 86 Harley flst?

Harleys didn't use fuses in 1986. Instead they used self-resetting breakers which will protect your bike's electrical system for many years without having to be replaced. On Softail models the main 30amp breaker is located on the plastic rear fender extension and the three 15amp breakers (lights, ignition & accessories) are located under the dash rearward of the speedometer.


Where is the fuse block on a 86 flst?

Harleys didn't use fuses in 1986. Instead they used self-resetting breakers which will protect your bike's electrical system for many years without having to be replaced. On Softail models the main 30amp breaker is located on the plastic rear fender extension and the three 15amp breakers (lights, ignition & accessories) are located under the dash rearward of the speedometer.


Is it possible to use an Air Circuit Breaker for protection on 11KV line instead of SF6's Circuit Breakers?

Craig, Please refer to Australian Standard AS3000:2007 for the answer.


What is a tripped circuit breaker?

As far as a fuse like in a car or even larger versions of the fuses in a car you should be able to see inside the little wire; if the fuse has burnt amd is split in two parts the fuse has been broken. In a circuit breaker it works a little differently, instead of burning out and needing to be replaced, the breaker will "trip" this means there is too much current being drawn through the circuit and the setup cannot handle it. A breaker instead will click to the off position and the switch will flip from on to off. These are much easier to locate than a burnt fuse because in a breaker box usually all the switches are turned to on and in the same direction, so the one breaker that did trip will be pointed in the opposite direction. Simply flip the switch from off to on and its been reset. If the breaker keeps tripping then there is either a short or you have too many loads (appliances) running on that circuit, for instance a power strip with 6 things plugged into it all running at the same time.


What safety devices does most modern house use instead of fuses?

Circuit breakers which are basically an automatic off switch if the current goes over the amps listed on the face of the breaker. The breaker will simply "trip" or turn off if you have a power surge that exceeds the amps. They do not burn out like fuses do, so you generally do not have to replace them if they are tripped. Simply fix the cause of the surge and flip the breaker back on.


What would make the main breaker blow instead of the single breakers?

The sum of the breakers in a panel exceeds the rating of the main breaker in almost all applications. This is because of the design usually anticipates that all devices won't operate at once or at full load. So if you had 100 Amp service and you had ten 20 Amp breakers each happily drawing 15 amps that would be 150 Amps and the main would trip. You need to heavy up your service.


Can you use molded breakers instead shunt trip breakers for an Ansul fire suppression system?

Moulded breakers or shunt trip breakers - selection is defined by the current rating requirement.


Can you use a 60 amp breaker for a airconditioner with heat instead of two thirty amp breakers?

No. If your AC is currently running on a 30 amp 2 pole breaker, then it is a 220 volt unit. You cannot substitute one 60 amp single pole breaker as you'll only be supplying 110 volts and the AC unit won't work. In fact you could damage it.


What is a difference between 10KA and 22KA circuit breakers?

The previous answer is incorrect, and I would advise that user to not give out information if they are going to give completely misguided information. The interrupting rating of a breaker is the maximum current that the breaker is designed to handle, at the breaker's rated voltage, before damage will occur to the breaker. A breaker will trip at FAR LESS than the interrupting rating, but it is extremely dangerous to expose the breaker to any situation where it will have more than the rated interruption current. the breaker is designed for. The reason some breakers are rated at 22kA instead of 10kA is because they typically have far larger conductors hooked up to them, so with the lowered impedance on the circuit there is more of a chance for the breaker to experience a higher fault current at the breaker. So electricians install 22kA breakers to handle the higher "available fault current."