Range & Dryer Breaker Tripped

[Little Bill]

I did a panel change a few weeks ago and saw the HO today and she said she thought she was going to have to call me. Her brother was going to use the stove to make some tea and noticed it wasn't getting hot so he went to check the panel. He said the breaker for the stove and dryer was tripped. He turned them back on and said everything was fine then. I asked if they were tripped or just off. He didn't know, just that he turned them back on. I asked because it was inspected last week and the house hasn't been used much since, their mother has been real sick and just passed away Thursday. I thought maybe the inspector might have hit the breakers when he took off/replaced the cover. I can't remember if I turned the stove on or just checked the voltage when I finished the change out. I do remember checking the dryer by turning it on. I asked the lady if she has used the stove and dryer since I did the change and she said she had several times.

What would cause the stove and dryer to trip should there be a problem? I haven't gone over to check anything yet, just trying to get some ideas if I have to go back.

 

[Gac66610]

Why was the panel replaced?

 

[hurk27]

Without knowing whether or not they were tripped you would be guessing in the dark, I can't see anything that would cause them to trip together as it would have to be a problem with each appliance, a common point of the panel would not cause them to trip, unless she was hit by a surge while both was on or if the transformer is supplying a higher voltage then the appliance is rated for, a bad primary on a transformer can cause a higher voltage with just a few turns shorted, this is about the only test I could see that might lead to a reason.

 

[hurk27]

of course the above is assuming that the correct size breaker was installed on both appliances which is why I didn't even mention it above but just thought about it? but it wouldn't be the first time I saw a dryer on a 2-pole 20 or a range on a two pole 30:happyyes:

 

[Little Bill]

of course the above is assuming that the correct size breaker was installed on both appliances which is why I didn't even mention it above but just thought about it? but it wouldn't be the first time I saw a dryer on a 2-pole 20 or a range on a two pole 30:happyyes:

Everything is sized correctly, 30A 2-pole for the dryer and 40A 2-pole for the range. I believe there were only four 240V loads, range, dryer, water heater, and HVAC. They didn't mention any problems with the water heater or HVAC. No mention of lights flickering or any other problems. I know everything would be a guess for now, it's just praying on my mind as to what could have happened.

 

[Little Bill]

Why was the panel replaced?

It was an old fused panel and they wanted it updated.

 

[Gac66610]

what i figured, wondered if the range and dryer were blowing fuses and they were tired of buying new fuses, thought a new panel might fix problem
just a thought

 

[hurk27]

Everything is sized correctly, 30A 2-pole for the dryer and 40A 2-pole for the range. I believe there were only four 240V loads, range, dryer, water heater, and HVAC. They didn't mention any problems with the water heater or HVAC. No mention of lights flickering or any other problems. I know everything would be a guess for now, it's just praying on my mind as to what could have happened.

the only thing other then a fault is over voltage, but only you know the condition of the existing wiring as to whether or not a fault was possible, over voltage would just be something I would test for if it trips again, existing equipment problems might have been a reason behind the up-grade? it would be a question I would ask?

Electric dryers are known to have elements that can fault to ground but not trip the breaker right away, bad wiring on the back of the range or a faulty oven element that cause the breaker to trip over time is another possibility, and they thought it was just an undersized service that was the problem?

 

[hurk27]

what i figured, wondered if the range and dryer were blowing fuses and they were tired of buying new fuses, thought a new panel might fix problem
just a thought

Wow guess our thoughts are on the same track and at the same time lol

 

[Gac66610]

Wow guess our thoughts are on the same track and at the same time lol

Been there, don't want to go back :happyno:I ask a lot of questions before starting an upgrade, I also look around to see how many fuses are sitting around

 

[Gac66610]

You could check the KW rating on the appliances, just to be sure
only if they call, and after you check your end of things, not saying you didn't do it right, just saying, we are only human
Then you can tell them if you need to dig deeper :service charges will apply

 

[Little Bill]

the only thing other then a fault is over voltage, but only you know the condition of the existing wiring as to whether or not a fault was possible, over voltage would just be something I would test for if it trips again, existing equipment problems might have been a reason behind the up-grade? it would be a question I would ask?

Electric dryers are known to have elements that can fault to ground but not trip the breaker right away, bad wiring on the back of the range or a faulty oven element that cause the breaker to trip over time is another possibility, and they thought it was just an undersized service that was the problem?

I didn't do a service upgrade, just a panel change-out. The HO (now) knew her mother wasn't doing well and when something happened she wasn't going to keep the house. She has a condo in another city that she is trying to sell and she had her realtor look at her mother's house to give her an idea of what it would sell for. Of course the realtor found everything that was wrong with the house and pointed them out, especially the fused panel. There is nothing wrong with a properly wired and sized fuse panel but realtors and HI scare people when they tell them they have to be replaced. The truth is, insurance companies in most cases, refuse (pun not intended) to provide coverage to houses with fused panels when they are sold or when people change insurance companies. She contacted me about changing the panel and I told her I would, but there wasn't anything unsafe for now and that she could wait until it was needed to sell the house. But she wanted it done now so I did the job.
She said that they only had to replace a fuse every now and then but usually one of the smaller ones. Another thing she was glad about after the change was that I marked the panel as required. Nothing was marked at all in the fused panel, only the separate disconnect for the water heater and HVAC.
So in short, problems with fuses blowing was not the reason for the change.

 

[Gac66610]

I didn't do a service upgrade, just a panel change-out.
So in short, problems with fuses blowing was not the reason for the change.

It was just a thought, like i stated i have been there

 

[hurk27]

We don't know how to advise unless we ask

But with that last post it kind of puts you back to square one, so lets just hope they have no more trips or it was an error on the inspectors part in replacing the panel cover, other then what has already been posted I can't think of anything else that would cause two 240 volt appliances to trip their breakers when they are on separate circuits?

 

[Little Bill]

We don't know how to advise unless we ask

But with that last post it kind of puts you back to square one, so lets just hope they have no more trips or it was an error on the inspectors part in replacing the panel cover, other then what has already been posted I can't think of anything else that would cause two 240 volt appliances to trip their breakers when they are on separate circuits?

I know that. Sorry if I sounded like I was overly defending myself. I just wanted to give all the facts I know. I wish her brother could have told me if they were tripped or just off. I do hope they have no more trips but in a way I would like to recheck everything to make sure I didn't do something wrong.

 

[Gac66610]

One thing I do, is give HO's a call and just ask if everything is working okay. It does a couple things, keeps line open for future work and HO's will remember when a friend asks if they know an good electricians. Then while doing this "courtesy call" you could ask her brother if he had to turn breaker off then on or just on, might let you know whether or not it was tripped, and he might not remember.

I appreciate your "overly defending" shows pride in workmanship:thumbsup:

 

[jumper]

Without more info, I vote for the breakers being off. Many people, including me, turn off breakers when moving an appliance in any fashion. Inspector, HO, or possibly you could have turned them off.

 

[Little Bill]

One thing I do, is give HO's a call and just ask if everything is working okay. It does a couple things, keeps line open for future work and HO's will remember when a friend asks if they know an good electricians. Then while doing this "courtesy call" you could ask her brother if he had to turn breaker off then on or just on, might let you know whether or not it was tripped, and he might not remember.

I appreciate your "overly defending" shows pride in workmanship:thumbsup:

I did talk to the brother and he couldn't remember or didn't know the difference between off and tripped. I did talk to her a few times after the change out and she reported no problems.
The inspection was done about a week after I was done. They don't get in a hurry when the power is still on.