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There is no forum for this specific sort of topic, so I thought I would ask the question here.
One of the breakers in my fuse box keeps flipping off. It happens at night if I have a few lights on and run the microwave. The breaker was replaced, but it still happens. As far as I can see, every switch, outlet, and appliance in the apartment seems to run off that one breaker save for the HVAC and one wall outlet in the kitchen. Is this a bad thing for so many outlets/switches, etc. to run off of one breaker?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Yes, it could be. A microwave is one of the greediest appliances, using 600-1,500 watts, about 8.3 amps. If you have a 15 amp circuit, that's already using over half of it. Add a bunch of lights, more importantly a refrigerator and you go over, causing the circuit breaker to open. If it's an older building they may not have had microwaves when it was built.
There is no forum for this specific sort of topic, so I thought I would ask the question here.
One of the breakers in my fuse box keeps flipping off. It happens at night if I have a few lights on and run the microwave. The breaker was replaced, but it still happens. As far as I can see, every switch, outlet, and appliance in the apartment seems to run off that one breaker save for the HVAC and one wall outlet in the kitchen. Is this a bad thing for so many outlets/switches, etc. to run off of one breaker?
Absolutely, and certainly not up to current codes. Since this is an apartment, your options are somewhat limited. If you want to stay there and use a microwave, get the smallest countertop one you can. That isn't good advice, merely practical.
As far as I can see, every switch, outlet, and appliance in the apartment seems to run off that one breaker save for the HVAC and one wall outlet in the kitchen.
What about switching the microwave to that "other" kitchen outlet? Simple enough to test.
I think 10 for 15 amp breakers and 12 for 20 amp breakers. But I'm not an electrician, it's just what I remember.
Yep- electrician you ain’t.
There is no code for the number of receptacles on a single circuit.
Today, electricians usually wire lights and receptacles on separate circuits.
OP- use another receptacle on a different circuit.
Yes, you are running too much load on that circuit. They have an amp rating on them. You're exceeding that. If you have another outlet you know is on a different circuit, put the microwave on that. If you still have trouble with it tripping, limit how many things you are running at the same time.
The microwave takes up a lot of power and causes an overload, whenever the oven and other kitchen electrical appliances are on. And it is always the same resettable fuse / breaker (out of a set of 25) that trips the current. So when the microwave is on, we make sure that the oven and other kitchen electrical appliances are not.
Do you have a different outlet, on a different breaker, you can plug the microwave into?
No, it is not my microwave, it is a built-in. It was probably put in some years ago. It is super new, but it is not super old either.
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