Good news! Another video w/ Bert. He finds a breaker tripping periodically in the field and has reason to believe that it's a case of the breaker overheating. He explains how to diagnose and repair that type of situation.
If you find a point of high temperature in an electrical circuit, keep in mind that those are points of resistance. Those single points don't cause the entire circuit to overheat. However, undersized wires have higher temperatures over a length of space, and the heat is a bit more widespread. Overheating happens where the increased resistance is, but that doesn't increase the overall current of a circuit. The voltage drops, and there's less current overall in the entire circuit.
When a breaker trips periodically, Bert checks for poor connections due to loose or corroded connections. In those cases, the amp draw may be normal, but the wires will run hot, and the breaker will pick up heat. Bert removes the breaker and checks connection points; in this case, he notices discoloration on one side. That indicates a loose connection or a pitted contactor, both of which cause overheating and intermittent breaker tripping.
Only licensed electricians should do work on electrical components like breakers; the Kalos techs are licensed electricians and can do that type of work inside panels.
Read all the tech tips, take the quizzes, and find our handy calculators at https://www.hvacrschool.com/.
If you find a point of high temperature in an electrical circuit, keep in mind that those are points of resistance. Those single points don't cause the entire circuit to overheat. However, undersized wires have higher temperatures over a length of space, and the heat is a bit more widespread. Overheating happens where the increased resistance is, but that doesn't increase the overall current of a circuit. The voltage drops, and there's less current overall in the entire circuit.
When a breaker trips periodically, Bert checks for poor connections due to loose or corroded connections. In those cases, the amp draw may be normal, but the wires will run hot, and the breaker will pick up heat. Bert removes the breaker and checks connection points; in this case, he notices discoloration on one side. That indicates a loose connection or a pitted contactor, both of which cause overheating and intermittent breaker tripping.
Only licensed electricians should do work on electrical components like breakers; the Kalos techs are licensed electricians and can do that type of work inside panels.
Read all the tech tips, take the quizzes, and find our handy calculators at https://www.hvacrschool.com/.
You are exactly right! I had a breaker supplying a condenser unit that wasn't working properly. I was reading the proper Voltage but the Current wasn't being supplied. It turned out that a 40 Amp breaker was overheating where it connected to the buss bar. I had to install a new breaker and re-locate it to a different position in the breaker panel because the buss bar conection was burned as well as the breaker. I was getting proper Voltage but not the Current
I pray you and your KALOS family are safe and y’all have weathered the storm ⛈
Hey all, can we talk about ULTRASONIC LEAK DETECTORS!?!?!? Please?!!!? 🙏🏼 Are you in Orleans ?
I had a GE 3-pole TED 480V breaker doing the same for me, tripping intermittently and it drove me nuts. breaker rated 100 A and current was not more than 70 A. I noticed that the breaker body is a little bit hot but I didn't think it was a big deal. finally decided to retighten the cables going to the breaker, then the problem was solved and tripping is gone
lucky there was no damage to the breaker nor the cable end termination. it was a loose connection
thanks for sharing, the fundamental is the same whether small residential panel or large commercial one!
At my shop we are an electrical contractor and some of the service technicians are also licensed residential electricians
Bert is the man Service area Kanata??
Stay safe with the incoming hurricane!
👍
Thank you Bryan and Bert good stuff
Bert's right – The ol' sniff test can tell you a lot.
Thanks Bert
I think that all Liscensed HVAC contractors are certified electricians
The use of a thermal imaging camera will find an overheat condition immediately. I use one for automobile diagnostics all the time.
Thank you sir
Happy BERTday 🎉