what causes electrical outlets to become hot to the touch and trip circuit breakers..kitchen area?

Question

this is remodel work and several outlets have been added and now they are overheating with use...even if only one outlet is being used. If more than one counter top appliance is being used it will trip a circuit breaker. The outlets are very hot to the touch..we have stopped using all of them until we come up with a solution to prevent a fire hazard......circuit testers show wiring ok (the yellow ones with the lights.

Answer 1

they are shorting out, or you are placing too much of a load on the circuit.

What the heck are you running on the outlet that exceeds 10 or 15 amps?

Answer 2

Without knowing more specifics, I would guess that a heavy enough gage wire was not used when the outlets were put in. It also sounds like you don't have a high enough amperage breaker on the circuit.

If you are running high wattage appliances, like a toaster oven or a waffle iron, you are going to get some heating on the outlet. If you are using too many wats, you will trip your circuit breakers.

Check your circuit breakers and make sure they are rated at the proper amperage. Check with the person who did the remodelling and find out what type and guage of wire was used and make sure that the wire was heavy enough to handle the new electircal load.

You may want to contact an electrician and have him inspect and/or rewire your remodeled electrical work.

By the way, all a circuit tester will show you is whether or not you have power at the outlet.

Answer 3

Check the quality and rating of the wire. If you have an impedance/resistance mismatch, that will probably cause overheating. And if the wiring is not the best material or conductor for the amount of load you are putting on the circuits, that too could cause overheating.

Also, the outlets might have a problem. The wiring inside the outlets might not match your circuits. I say check with several electricians immediately. Make sure you get independent second and third opinions.

Here's a few useful links:

http://www.askthebuilder.com/392_Common_Electrical_Mistakes_.shtml


http://www.esfi.org/ws/isub.php?l0=ws&l1=faq

http://www.aps.com/aps_services/residential/safetytips/ResSafetyTips_1.html

"One of the biggest dangers is using the wrong sized wire for a circuit. Electrical wire comes in different gauges or thicknesses. The thicker the wire, the more electrical current it can safely handle. If you use too small a wire on a given circuit, the wire can overheat and short out before the fuse of circuit breaker trips or activates. Keep in mind that circuit breakers and fuses are meant to protect the wires in the circuit, not you. You must match wire sizes with the fuse or the circuit breakers."


Best wishes!

-Leon S

Answer 4

Loose wire.unplug and don't use.The wire could be loose at the plug or in between the plug and the plug in front or,behind it.Also about 5 or 6 years ago they started using the next size down of Romex.You could have an older plug with too thin of a wire into it.And then theres these "production"electricians that simply use the quick connect on the rear of the plug instead of the side screws and these are famous for working loose and burning up plugs,walls and sometimes the whole house because they are improperly installed. Electricans are A DIME A DOZEN!!Pay the money and find a good old not,a cheap one!!

Answer 5

The heat and breaker tripping is due to excessive current flow. If your are certain you do not have a bad outlet that may be shorting, you need to call an electrician. This is obviously something that will not disappear on its own. I know if may not be the cost option you wanted to hear, but think of how much it will cost to replace everything that was lost in the fire.

Answer 6

Sounds like there may be too much load on one circuit. Or you have a dead short in something on that line. You need to take a meter in the electric box and one by one plug in the things on that circuit. If you exceed the amps then you need to move those things to another circuit. Make sure your kitchen appliances are cleaned very well to run effectively

Answer 7

you can only run a specific amout of electricity through a circut before it is overloaded. there are too many things drawing power from the circut. you need to have an expert look at it and he'll tell you the same thing. as for a fire hazard......if your outlets are hot then the wires behind them are way hotter. fire hazard....sorry, you've already got that.

Answer 8

call an electrician, really.

how many outlets are now on that circuit, and what appliances are on that circuit?

and what size wire are you using? it should be minimum 14 solid wire, 12 is best

sounds like you are overloading the circuit, and you need to run new circuits (don't forget to balance the panel)

Answer 9

.....and all the outlets go to only 1 circuit breaker?

all the new wires need to go to more than one circuit breaker and the old circuit wires need to be checked individually.

Answer 10

the circuit testers may show that the outlets are wired correctly, but they may not show if they are wired in such a way that causes your problem. things can have the correct parameters individually but not as a group. calll a COMPETENT electrician.