Do circuit breakers wear out with age?

Answer 1

If you mean you have a breaker that keeps tripping and you think it may be bad, no. It's functioning just as it should. You need to find whats causing it to trip and either remove that appliance or move it to another circuit. Repeated tripping can make a breaker go bad, and in that case, it will just refuse to reset anymore. Age can also take a toll on the breakers. With age and constant exposure to heat, the plastic housing and components become brittle and can crack and break. I just replaced a breaker a few weeks ago that worked perfectly, but was so old, when the breaker tripped, the toggle broke off, making it impossible to reset. So, although mechanically it worked fine, age and brittle plastic made it useless.

Answer 2

Yes , they DO wear and this is due to the fact that the process of cycles of engaging or disengaging involves a small arc of electricity which eventually contributes to the "burning" of the small contactor surfaces made sometimes of platinum alloys or copper alloys.

Answer 3

Everything wears out with age. Even without cycling them open and closed, their environment (heat, corrosion etc.) will eventually cause them to cease to function as designed.

Answer 4

ya the world aint perfect