Why would my circuit breaker open?

[Wade Lippman]

The house is 10 years old; I have lived here 4 years. Any electrical I have looked at has been competent.

Today the breaker to the utility room outlets (washer, gas dryer) opened. I reset it and everything was fine. Its been fine for 4 years at least.
I have never had a breaker just open for no reason.
What might the reason be?

Getting behind the machines to look at the outlet wiring will be a chore.
Thanks.

[Myk Rian]

Could be a weak breaker. Go to HF and get a clamp-on amp meter.

[Rich Riddle]

There might have been something that made the circuit breaker "open." Is this also a newer circuit breaker that also has the neutral (white) wire attached to the circuit breaker? They are arc fault circuit breakers and more conditions cause them to trip than typical circuit breakers.

[Wayne Lomman]

Could be an intermittent minor overload or anything. It just proves your breaker is working. If it does it again I would call an electrician but not yet. Even a supply surge can do it. Cheers

[John Terefenko]

Were you using the machines?? Did they both come on at the same time?? Could have been a quick surge. As others have said just watch it for now before you make any sudden moves.

[Kev Williams]

It's possible the breaker was like 99% tripped but didn't make it past the 'hump' My big compressor 30amp breaker did that once, kinda. I turn all my work breakers off every night, and when I got to that breaker, the moment my finger barelly grazed the switch, it flipped into the 'tripped' position. It probably would've flipped eventually by itself. Next day the breaker tripped normally half way into the day. Turned out the motor was in need of new bearings...

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

Was it especially warm in the area you have the breaker?

If you have one of the infrared thermometers, you can check the relative temp of that breaker verse the other in the panel. If it is running "hotter" than the others, it may be an indication or a problem.

Aside from some of the reasons already mentioned, if the breaker is not well seated in the panel, you can get these types of trips. Unless it happens again, I would not worry any it. If it does, call an electrician.

[Wade Lippman]

Nothing is new or changed. The machines are 10 years old, but the previous owner used it as a summer cottage and our children are gone; so they have seen little use.
My wife says they were both running when she left. When she came back they both seemed done, but when she put the wash into the dryer, it wouldn't start.

Next time she uses it I will test the voltage and temperature. I appreciate your help.

[Roger Nair]

Is it not normal to use a dedicated circuit for each major appliance, even if the dryer is gas fired?

[Wade Lippman]

The breaker is well seated. All the breakers a degree above room temperature; nothing odd about the laundry room one.

The washer draws:
5.4 to start agitation
2.6 to agitate
12 to start spin
3.4 to spin

The dryer drew 19.4 to start, and 5.2 to run.
Just for fun I started the dryer while running an 1800w heat gun on the circuit. No problem.

The clothes in the dryer were dry when the breaker went, so it wasn't starting.

I have some spare breakers; I might as well swap it out while the cover is off. Can't hurt.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Could even have been a voltage sag (brown-out) by your electric utility provider. If voltage drops while in use, the amps rise. CB trips.

[Wade Lippman]

When I pulled the breaker out, the wire just fell out. I have never had that happen before!
Could that have caused the problem?

I tried all my breakers and a quarter of wires were loose, as were a quarter of the neutral/ground connections.

[Curt Harms]

When I pulled the breaker out, the wire just fell out. I have never had that happen before!
Could that have caused the problem?

I tried all my breakers and a quarter of wires were loose, as were a quarter of the neutral/ground connections.


Good thing you checked. Loose connection=higher resistance=more heat? I had similar with a GFCI outlet. Making a change, pulled the device out and the wire pulled out.

[Jim Koepke]

When I pulled the breaker out, the wire just fell out. I have never had that happen before!
Could that have caused the problem?

I tried all my breakers and a quarter of wires were loose, as were a quarter of the neutral/ground connections.

Finding something like this would have me wondering if the rest of the connections in the house were loose.

Is your wiring copper as opposed to aluminum?

I would want to know why the wires were loose at the breakers.

jtk

[Wade Lippman]

Finding something like this would have me wondering if the rest of the connections in the house were loose.

Is your wiring copper as opposed to aluminum?

I would want to know why the wires were loose at the breakers.

jtk

It is all copper. The utilities wires are aluminum, but they were tight and well coated.
The few outlets or switches I have had occasion to look at were connected properly.