Hi!

[Cynthia Page]

Hi I am Cynthia, a home owner in Colorado. I have joined because I have questions about electrical circuits and installation of new circuits. I will be getting central air, but mean while will need to run my portable ac and I am having trouble tripping the circuit when I run this unit. Can you please advice me on what forum I should post these questions too?

Thanks!!!

 

[havasu]

How many amps is the portable A/C unit, and what breaker do currently have?

 

[Cynthia Page]

HI!, Thanks, the breaker is 15 and the unit draws 11.4 Amps, I have run it successfully on this breaker before. This year when I plugged it in all went well, until I turned the unit off. Once I did that it still ran! I pressed the off button and it still ran.

I can't remember the exact sequence of events after that, but I think what happened is I tripped the switch at the plug and the unit stopped. I tried to reset the unit at the plug but it wouldn't start. So I went to the circuit breaker and found that it was tripped, I reset it and went back to turn the unit on, but just had the same problem.

 

[bud16415]

The switch at the plug sounds like a GFCI outlet.


11.4 amps on a 15 amp circuit is a lot of load but it shouldn’t trip the breaker all on its own. The trouble most likely is that when a house is wired many outlets are on the same circuit and it is not as simple as all the outlets in a single room are together as sometime they put some in different rooms together. If your AC is on and someone turns something on that same circuit drawing 4 amps or there are two things running drawing 2 amps each etc. You will trip the breaker.


I would suggest pulling the plug on the AC reset the GFCI and do the test reset it again then plug something like a lamp in and make sure it works. Try it again and pay attention what other thing goes off when the AC does.

 

[Cynthia Page]

Thank you for your response. I am cutting it close, I also have a modem/router (.75 Amps combined) and a computer laptop monitor that is 2.45 on that circuit. I cannot find any amp for the laptop itself! It must be less than 1 orelse the laptop monitor is on another circuit? I have used it while the AC is on. All last summer I had this same set up going with out any trouble. I wonder if it is something to do with the GFCI, I assume this is what I have been referring to the test/reset button which is on the plug for the ac unit, the outlet does not have a GFCI on it. The other uncertainty I have is that the circuit at the breaker box for this wall is different than all but one of the other breakers. These two breakers each have a reset buttons on the breaker itself. I have a picture if that would help. I have not felt comfortable with the ac unit and the current circuit. I would prefer it was a 30 Amp. I do need another circuit for central ac, what size would that be? It might make sense to have a 30 and what ever else is needed for central AC done at the same time.

 

[havasu]

My central A/C unit runs on a 240v 60 amp. This is not a DIY project, and before you proceed, I'd recommend bringing in an electrician and paying him for his expert advice.

 

[Cynthia Page]

Good to know, and absolutely I would bring in an electrician! I have respect for electricity. Can you tell me the criteria used to select a quality electrician? Thanks again

 

[havasu]

Using neighbors is my advice for finding great, local electricians. Don't waste your time with Angie's List, because the more they pay, the better reference they get, whether good or bad.

 

[mabloodhound]

"The other uncertainty I have is that the circuit at the breaker box for this wall is different than all but one of the other breakers. These two breakers each have a reset buttons on the breaker itself. I have a picture if that would help. I have not felt comfortable with the ac unit and the current circuit."

Cynthia....those are GFCI circuit breakers. The entire circuit is protected. Those breakers can become sensitive to stray current and keep tripping over time. I have one on my pool motor outlet which worked fine for 10 years but now trips on occasion. You really should have a 20amp for the A/C
Dave Mason

 

[hornetd]

Cynthia

You have a panel GFCI protecting a circuit that has a cord set GFI plugged into it. When you pushed the test button on the cord set GFI it connected a resister between the hot and the neutral. The resister is selected to allow ~6 milliamperes to bypass the sensing mechanism of the cord set GFI. Since that is also enough leakage current to trip the panel GFCI both devices tripped on the simulated ground fault current. The cord set GFI will not reset without power present at the plug it is plugged into. You have to reset the panel GFCI prior to resetting the cord set GFI. Once the panel GFCI is reset you should then be able to reset the cord set GFI and turn the air conditioner back on. The cord set GFI is not designed to serve as an on/off switch for the air conditioner. It is not switch rated. In the future use only the air conditioner's built in controls for that purpose.

--
Tom Horne