Don’t trip me up- Cle Elum and Wenatchee Home Inspection

Don’t trip me up- Cle Elum and Wenatchee Home Inspection

Circuit Breaker (definition) n : An over current protection device that is designed to automatically cut off the flow of electrical current when the flow of the current through the circuit breaker exceeds its rated capacity.

Unlike a fuse which requires replacement when overloaded, a circuit breaker can be reset much like a switch.

Most people have tripped a breaker here or there when they plugged something that drew too much current, or in the case of my friend who cut through his saw cord with his saw.

Circuit breakers that trip often can be a nuisance. But this is an indication of something going on. Either the breaker has gone bad or (which is most likely) the circuit is be over loaded (too much current) and causing the breaker to trip.

What we see here is one home owner’s solution to this issue. They over fused all the circuits.

With 12 gauge wires you can have no larger than a 20 amp circuit breaker and 14 gauge wires can have no more that a 15amp circuit breaker.

So all these circuits are over fused.

Over fused is any circuit that is protected from over current by a fuse or circuit breaker that is over sized for the capacity of the circuit conductors.

So with all these 30 amp circuit breakers they have created a very hazardous condition that can result in overheating of the conductors (wires) and may result in an electrical fire.

Think of it as a wall heater but your walls are the ones getting hot.

When you see this kind of work performed it will make you very leery of what could be going on in the rest of the electrical system.

“Inspecting the World-One Home at a time”

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

NCW Home Inspections LLC-509-670-9572

Don’t trip me up- Cle Elum and Wenatchee Home Inspection