Completely amateur question concerning safety/usage. Breakers & Amperage

[Donk]

Ok. The title may be confusing, but my point is that I only know what I can research on electrical work, and do not practice anything that would put myself or others in danger. Here's the scenario:

I recently bought a townhouse that consists of 4 'half-levels', more commonly called a 4 level, split-level. I've had an issue with popping breakers since the get go.

When I first got the house, one room did not receive any power, the next had one dead outlet (only 2 rooms on that level other than bathroom). There were no flipped breakers, and my outlet tester read hot to ground (or something close to that). Anyway, I researched and figured out that the circuit included both rooms, and the last outlet with power must have an issue. The exit ground had snapped and disconnected. I cleaned the outlet thoroughly of any debris, saw no scorch or indicator marks, and reconnected the ground. Both rooms have power without any issue now.

The issue that I really have today is this. Apparently the first floor (living room/tv/stereo) and the fourth floor (master bedroom. Just lamps, tv, dvd, and tivo) share a breaker. The breaker will often flip if you turn on a vacuum cleaner or the stereo in one room. It isn't consistent at all concerning the amount of power being drawn. Sometimes it'll flip when hardly anything is on, sometimes when everything is on. The A/C isn't turned on, so there is no occasional large draw going on in the background (The A/C blows hot air I just discovered, but that's another day).

At the breaker box, I see that the breaker that keeps flipping is a 10A. Considering the aged look of the box, I went to Lowe's with the intention of getting a new 10A or two to replace it. Also, with possibly the intention of splitting the two rooms into separate breakers to lessen the load. Of course, I could only find 15A breakers on the low end at the store, and this has made me wonder if there is any reason for that. After finding a thread or two on this forum, I've become concerned that I'm looking at a decent electricians bill.

So what's up? Do these 10A breakers on a shared circuit suggest bigger problems ahead? I'm suspecting that I can't just switch out with higher amperage breakers, so I intend to get some professional assistance in fixing the problem. I've been in the crawlspace, and did not see any symptoms of surges or romex installation issues. The place was built in like 1970, and was supposedly rewired while renovated just before my purchase.


I know that I was stupid not to have had an inspection done, especially as I had already gotten 2 at other houses I was looking at. I purchased the house from family and was told that everything had been done to code and was basically all new. That's a separate issue, and this should just be seen as me being an idiot and not getting it inspected.

Sorry for the essay, but I'm just trying to provide as thorough a history as I can, and to pre-answer any questions that you may have. Thank you very much for your help. I'd also like to get some opinions on whether I should get my inspector out there to check the electrical and then an electrician, or just the electrician? I don't need any creatively formed billing expenses. Thank you!

 

[wbalsam1]

May I suggest a survey of existing conditions by either a well known and trusted electrical contractor, or a well known and trusted electrical inspector.

 

[infinity]

I agree that you need to hire a licensed electrician to look at what you have. My guess is that the 10 amp CB's were recently installed during the renovation to get around the AFCI requirement for 15 and 20 amp circuits in the bedrooms.

 

[Donk]

Well,
I read the FAQ after posting.. and since I don't really qualify to post here, this whole thing may get deleted.
However, when I ran home for lunch I figured out that I had been mistaken on one slight detail.

The 10 that I remembered seeing on the old breakers was not the Amperage. it was the same 10 that is on every single breaker. Turns out that the one that keeps flipping is a 15 after all. Judging by the completely sunwashed and dilapidated look of the breakers, I'm thinking that they are all likely worn out and could use replacement.

That still has me employing an electrician. However, should it be as simple as I am hoping, I may at least split the one circuit into two.
I do have a multimeter and test lights, and I have in the past tested for current on the lines after the main breaker is flipped (I was hunting a drain during the room w/o power episode). So, after I cut the main, test for power, and remove the facing on the breaker box, I hope to find two separate grounds and neutrals running to the same breaker. If that is the case, I would move one down to an empty slot and rewire accordingly.
After reading some other threads, do I understand correctly that bedrooms must be on AFCI breakers? So, I'd need to obtain some of those if I did the job. Of course, if it isn't two separate wires, I don't touch a thing and call the electrician.

And the condition of the box being sunwashed and et cetera... yes. It is outside, not so protected from the elements. I'm hoping that I can find a weatherproof panel enclosure that I can replace the current one with. Or, if/when I get all of the wiring updated that would be an additional item brought up to snuff.

So, thanks for the help!
Oh, and if I was to do any of the very minimal level work; don't worry; none of you would be encouraging me to do so. I'm a sponge for researching and learning how things work, and it would be by my own judgement, stubborness, and idiocy if I were to put any of that knowledge to work. (Though I am not too prideful to turn it over to a professional when it is warranted)
Consider yourself disclaimered.

 

[George Stolz]

Donk, as you suspected, you're a shade outside the forum rules here.

I will answer one question before I close the thread:

After reading some other threads, do I understand correctly that bedrooms must be on AFCI breakers?

New outlets (receptacles, lights, smokes - anything that uses power) in a bedroom must be on an AFCI-protected circuit. There is usually no requirement to add AFCI to an existing outlet. You would probably be hard-pressed to find AFCI breakers to have installed in your old panel, depending on the particulars.

I echo the comments of the previous posters, you should consult with a qualified electrician/inspector to determine the cause of the overload and how to correct it. Good luck in your search.