Electrical Problem WE are BAFFLED?? Mobile Home Owner.?

Question

WE have checked the circuit panel all the breakers are on the "on" position. We have one GFI switch. Which is the smaller of the two bathrooms we have, but it is the main bath. WE had a situation where a vacumn cleaner was plugged into an outlet right by the front door. The other was a hair dryer plugged into , the second bath , this one does not have a GFI switch. One person plugged in the vacumn, and switched it on,. the other , in the second bath , plugged in her hair dryer. Each with out the other Knowledge. Well guess, what it tripped the circuit breaker , Which we since have checked it and , it in the on position . WE replaced the GFI switch with a totally new one from Home Depot. Any one out there have any ideas as to why we have only 1/2 the power in our Mobile Home??. We had our Electric Company out they said the current from the meter is reading strong. Please any professional , and or personal experience responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

Circuit breakers do fail sometimes. It might look like it is on, but it isn't making contact inside. Turn it off and then back on, if that doesn't fix it, you might need a new breaker. Take the old one with you to Home Cheapo. Do you have an electric stove? Is it working properly? If not, the main breaker might be half working.

Answer 2

I'd first check the appliances to see how many amps each draws, then the breakers. I live in a mobile, and have decent breakers, but if a breaker is rated at 10 amps and the vac and hair dryer use 20 amps on the same circuit, at the same time, it's likely the breaker will trip... GFI or not.

Additionally, I put GFI receptacles throughout the home, and certainly they can fail, as can a breaker in the main box, but I bet that the two appliances and their amp draw is the problem.

Rev. Steven

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Mobile homes are infamous for having to many items on one circuit. Probably there was more running than vacuum and blowdryer, although blodryers pull 2000-3000 watts at a time I believe, I could be a little off. The items were just pulling way to many amps for a 15 or 20 amp breaker to handle, but do not increase your breaker size as that may be a fire hazard. Consider running a new circuit to bathroom for relief to other room. Probably only one or two outlets and a light to re wire that way.

Answer 5

Highly unlikely you will be able to run a hair dryer and vacuum on the same circuit. Broad 1 has it right. Hair dryer is 10.9 amps or higher. My vacuum is 7.5 amps if I remember right. 10.9 + 7.5 is 18.4 amps, using the 80% stated by broad 1 you are surely gonna trip a 15 amp breaker and most likely the 20. I have 20 amp circuits and mine will trip in this situation.

Do not put a higher amperage breaker on that circuit. It is the amperage that's installed for a reason. You risk fire and all the bad things that can happen with it.

Answer 6

Are there any other outlets or light fixtures that aren't working?

Starting from the inside panel, turn off all the breakers, one by one, including the main. Then go outside, and turn off any breakers out there, including the main. Then turn them back on, starting from outside.

It does sound like maybe you lost a 'leg' of power from one of the mains. Not uncommon for mobile homes because the main is on an outside panel.

Answer 7

heres a simple test,1)plug the vacuum cleaner first in one plug and switch if it does not trip try it in the other socket and do the same and if it does not trip do the same exercise with the hair dryer and if alls ok plug both in and switch on and if it trips the
fault is with the trip or your are overloading it.To calculate the current drawn by each appliance do the following,Read the wattage on the manufactures label and devide by the voltage supply this will give you amperage.add the amperages together and this should not exceed 80% of the trip rating,eg Hair dryer is1200watt/110 volt=10.9 amp or 1200watt/220volt=5.45amp

Answer 8

Hello,
You emailed me, and I can help you track down this problem, but my response could not be forwarded to you, because you have not confirmed your email with Yahoo! Answers. As I recall, that has to do with replying to a link they send you. Feel free to contact me by email, if you wish... [e-mail]

Ive spent a lot of time crawling under, in, and on, mobile homes, lol.. and have done a fair amount of tracking down electrical problems that had others baffled.

A few questions I will ask right off....
Is this a single or doublewide home?
Are all the non-working circuits on the same side of the home?
How is the home skirted? Is it closed up, or open to animals? (Some of the wiring is run under the home, particularly in doublewides)
What brand of home, and year was it manufactured? (if necessary, we can contact the manufacturer for a wiring schematic)

I'll be happy to help, email me if you wish, with your return email, so we can solve this for you.

Answer 9

It is very common for there to be a wire crossed in Manufactured Housing. And it is dangerous. Get a hold of your mobile home manufacturer or someone who is familiar with manufactured housing. These homes are put together so fast that their eyes cross every once in awhile and the wires!

If it is an older mobile home, you can still contact the manufacturer and ask them for a service call, they may charge a little more, but there service men and women deal with these problems weekly.

Good Luck

Answer 10

It sounds like your need a knew breaker. It is a common problem if you have a mulimeter you could check how much voltige the breaker is putting out. If not get one the next time your out and ask them how to use it. Its pretty simple.