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Electrical/Wiring Question in the U.S.
ManonvonSuperock
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I'm concerned that some wiring problems in my apartment may be a safety issue, but I'm completely unfamiliar with that type of thing to be able to speak confidently about it.
First, our kitchen breaker was flipping off under the use of the fridge, computer, and microwave.... then just the fridge and computer, then finally, just the fridge. If I understand correctly the maintenance guys come and drop a 30 amp breaker in.
We go a few months without any issues and my kitchen breaker has flipped again one morning, but I find that flipping it back on does nothing. Maintenance comes and flips the adjacent breaker (controls all of upstairs) and it causes both upstairs and the kitchen to come back on.
Maintenance leaves and both upstairs and the kitchen start flickering and there's a distinct burning smell. I try to flick the breakers back on, and there's the sound of crackling electricity and the smell comes back as the lights flicker on and finally off.
Maintenance comes back and swaps out the 20 amp breaker controlling upstairs for a 30 amp one.
So to me, this seems like an irresponsible solution. But then again, I said I know nothing of wiring, and I don't.
My questions are as follows:
My power bill is higher than what I believe to be normal for a place this size with the amount that I use the air condition.
1. Could I somehow be losing trace amounts of power due to poor wiring, causing my bill to go up?
This seems like a health risk, but obviously having it corrected would be costly and my landlord would certainly be reluctant to do so for that reason. (We had sewage overflowing from the ground off and on for nearly a year outside within inches of our kitchen because they were too cheap to rerun like 24 feet of old sewage pipe.)
2. Is there some way to have this inspected by an outside authority (professional electrician or building inspectors) that would then put our landlord in the position of being legally obligated to correct the issue?
3. If I were to go through the trouble of having this corrected, would it even be worth it considering that our neighbors' apartments probably have the same safety risks; so even if they re-wire our pad, theirs could easily still go up in flames?
4. Should I ignore the problem and get renter's insurance, hoping (not to die) and for a payout on the items I was going to try to sell next year anyway?
In the state of Mississippi if it matters.
First, our kitchen breaker was flipping off under the use of the fridge, computer, and microwave.... then just the fridge and computer, then finally, just the fridge. If I understand correctly the maintenance guys come and drop a 30 amp breaker in.
We go a few months without any issues and my kitchen breaker has flipped again one morning, but I find that flipping it back on does nothing. Maintenance comes and flips the adjacent breaker (controls all of upstairs) and it causes both upstairs and the kitchen to come back on.
Maintenance leaves and both upstairs and the kitchen start flickering and there's a distinct burning smell. I try to flick the breakers back on, and there's the sound of crackling electricity and the smell comes back as the lights flicker on and finally off.
Maintenance comes back and swaps out the 20 amp breaker controlling upstairs for a 30 amp one.
So to me, this seems like an irresponsible solution. But then again, I said I know nothing of wiring, and I don't.
My questions are as follows:
My power bill is higher than what I believe to be normal for a place this size with the amount that I use the air condition.
1. Could I somehow be losing trace amounts of power due to poor wiring, causing my bill to go up?
This seems like a health risk, but obviously having it corrected would be costly and my landlord would certainly be reluctant to do so for that reason. (We had sewage overflowing from the ground off and on for nearly a year outside within inches of our kitchen because they were too cheap to rerun like 24 feet of old sewage pipe.)
2. Is there some way to have this inspected by an outside authority (professional electrician or building inspectors) that would then put our landlord in the position of being legally obligated to correct the issue?
3. If I were to go through the trouble of having this corrected, would it even be worth it considering that our neighbors' apartments probably have the same safety risks; so even if they re-wire our pad, theirs could easily still go up in flames?
4. Should I ignore the problem and get renter's insurance, hoping (not to die) and for a payout on the items I was going to try to sell next year anyway?
In the state of Mississippi if it matters.
ManonvonSuperock on
0
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Short version: Breakers trip under load to prevent wiring from catching fire. Putting in a larger breaker but not heavier gauge wiring increases the chance said wiring will catch fire.
The fact that it was tripping so often means it was regularly under too much load for the wiring, so changing it to a 30 amp breaker means the wiring will at almost all times be under too much load. Call a building inspector, or heck, call the city, they love fining the crap out of buildings that aren't up to code. Just know that it may result in you having to move out of the apartment for the wiring to be replaced.
Oh dear Lord in heaven lime'd for truth.
Swapping a 30A breaker for a 20A breaker is terrible. Mat named the problem right on the head. No it's definitely not okay, and yes it can potentially lead to a deadly situation (fire).
Depending on how old the building is, those circuits may have originally been 15A. Think about that for a bit.
That shit is skeezy.
If something with a constant draw (Like your fridge) Is tripping a breaker, either the fridge has some sort of overload condition, or the wiring is leaking electricity somewhere through a ground path. Any person qualified should know this. While it COULD have been a shitty breaker, and he COULD have been trying to simply replace that, going up 10 amps is terribly stupid.
A) Your fridge has some fault that is drawing far more load than it should
C) The breaker was crap
A fridge tripping a 20amp breaker on its own is pretty unlikely but it can happen... chances are your fridge wouldn't work if it was doing this as compressors burn out easily if they are drawing too much of a load... You did say the breaker has tripped with less and less of a load on it so it's probably not C. That leaves us with option B. I'd be in contact with the City - they do have a safety inspector and they usually respond pretty quickly to concerns like this, just give him the history.
Good luck, and be careful - make sure you smoke detector is up to snuff.
I had a similar problem in my old apartment....I still expect to see it on the news every night that the place has gone up in flames.
If the city does nothing, you *may* be able to have an inspector come in and take a quick look around, however they won't be able to rip out walls or do anything else without the landlord's permission. But they can at least give you some insight into what the problem appears to be.
It won't necessarily get anything fixed, but it's documentation and ammunition to go to you landlord and present the problem. If he refuses to fix it then you have documentation of the problem and his refusal (get it in writing) - and YES - get yourself some renter's insurance ASAP!