New central vac kicking breaker

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i think we need more information.......

i don't think that the wire supplying this is stranded, i would venture to say it is in a house. concerning the windings being worn out, possibility but again i don't think so because it is a warranty service call.


1. is it in a house
2. how old is the vac
3. what have you tried to do to remedy the problem
4. is it a dedicated circuit (no splices or taps)
5. what is the model # of the vac


something is missing here, most vacuum systems are rather reliable (as far as the motor operation goes). i have wired for many of them and very rarely is there an issue.

sort of like GFCI's, if they trip often....bad GFCI if a breaker trips often (and no overload is present)....bad CB
 
sameguy said:
I think I read when a vac is plugged it draws less; it isn't doing work in a vacuum . I was thinking a bearing or the insulation on the windings could be going.
If this is new call the vac manuf. and find what the inrush should be.
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I agree 100%, if the line is plugged the vac will draw less amps
 
I used to service a group house that was manned by foreign nurses. the central vacs would be run until the machines were litereally full all the way to the motor, then they would call to say it was broken. No one could ever teach them that the bag had to be emptied. I would disconnect the exhaust and the intake and make sure the thing doesn't have issues before messing with the power, these things are generally pretty reliable.
 
breaker trip on a motor load at start up is often times a sign that the inrush current available is higher then the instantaneous trip setting of the breaker.

Square D breakers in my experience seem to have more trouble with this than many others, my solution is to use high magnetic breakers on certain loads that I commonly see this trouble with such as cut off saws, air compressors, 120 volt welders, just to name a few. All my temporary construction services utilize the HM breakers otherwise I will hear nothing but complaining from other trades that the breakers are no good or that I need to change them to 30 amps- not going to happen.

I dont know if homeline currently makes a HM breaker now some time in the past when I thought one would be handy they were not an option.

Another trick to get by if this is going to be a temporary load is to plug the machine into an extension cord not too undersized but small enough to reduce starting current because of the impedance of the cord. I have done this for carpenters having trouble with an air compressor tripping QO breaker often when starting, and it solved the trip problem their response I thought you were not supposed to use extensions if possible
 
Square D Homeline and QO have the same internal guts. The 15 and 20A 1-pole breakers are designed with an "exclusive Qwick-Open" mechanism that begins to open around 6x rating and clears in 1/60th of a sec. This is why Square D offers a high magnetic (HM) version of these breakers that begin to open around 8-10x which is more like the 'normally expected' pickup point of a breaker.
 
rwreuter said:
i think we need more information.......

i don't think that the wire supplying this is stranded, i would venture to say it is in a house. concerning the windings being worn out, possibility but again i don't think so because it is a warranty service call.


1. is it in a house
2. how old is the vac
3. what have you tried to do to remedy the problem
4. is it a dedicated circuit (no splices or taps)
5. what is the model # of the vac


something is missing here, most vacuum systems are rather reliable (as far as the motor operation goes). i have wired for many of them and very rarely is there an issue.

sort of like GFCI's, if they trip often....bad GFCI if a breaker trips often (and no overload is present)....bad CB
Click to expand...

1. yes
2. 2 years old
3. Change breaker and verify inside wiring
4. Dedicated on mwbc
5. n/a Nutone residential product, similiar to vx550c
 
Sounds like a lot of minor corrections might make problem go away. If it did work for 1st year then your mwmc is not likely at fault. The breaker that has triped so often might now be weak if for no other reason then simply over used. If problem still there i would have them check the vac.
 
I had a nutone unit trip as you say then it worse as time went on called the mfg and found it was in recall and they drop shipped a complete new unit to the owner i belive it was a vx5500 call nutone with the serial # . im sure theyd help
 
infinity said:
If he's under the 2008 NEC there is no longer a provision for a single receptacle in lieu of GFCI protection for this circuit. Unless of course he was in NJ where this is still permitted. ;)
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I'm not sure they made the exception for central vacs in garages in NJ. I know that they made an exception for garage door opener receptacles on the ceiling and receptacles for sump and sewer ejector pumps. Also, I don't know whether you can direct wire these vacs (as some have mentioned) especially if they come factory equipped with a cord and plug.

IMHO the units should come equipped with a twist lock plug or should have the ability to field change the plug to a twist lock so that you wouldn't have to GFI protect the circuit. It's done with above ground pool motors, why not vacs ?
 
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