My sister has a problem with a house she just bought. The circuit breakers trip every day and she will only have one appliance running in the whole house, usually a small tv.
Is she at risk for electrical fire?
2007-03-15 05:31:13 · 12 answers · asked by octo75 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Not wanting to diminish the importance of making sure your wiring is upto snuff, but, circuit breakers, like all man-made mechanical devices, have a tendency to wear-put. For a cheap-fix before doing anything else, I would spend money for a new circuit breaker and replace the one that trips all the time.
If, that doesn't work than yes, it's time to check the wiring, if the house is fairly new, you might have a mouse that has decided to use the house wiring as dental floss and chewed through it. If it's old (like mine) it's time to upgrade.
DK
2007-03-15 05:54:50 · answer #1 · answered by M_DragonKnight 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You said circuit breakers. If more then one breaker is tripping you should call an electrician. If just one is tripping and you can turn off the main breaker, take the wire off the breaker and put it on another one. If it trips that one too, you have a short somewhere and should get help. If it doesn't trip that breaker then the you have a bad breaker. If you haven't worked with electricity before, don't even take the cover off the breaker box. Call someone that has.
2007-03-15 06:22:28 · answer #2 · answered by robert b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Risk is probably high. While it could be as simple as a bad breaker which wouldn't be a fire hazard, it's always safer to get an electrician.
Think about it, what if something happens while asleep or away. Do they even own a decent capacity fire extinguisher to deal with a problem should it arise while occupied? Hopefully there are working smoke detectors?
2007-03-15 05:46:46 · answer #3 · answered by KirksWorld 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as the breaker trips out , you should be reasonably, safe, a couple of things to check!! , try to work out whether the breaker is a lighting breaker or a power point breaker , they might be marked in the power box,pluging another electrical device into the same powerpoint and see if its trips again, if trip again it could be the power point , if not it probably the tv, plug the tv into another power point , check whether it trips , if its trips real good chance of being tv causing problem, Hope this helps
2007-03-17 18:14:51 · answer #4 · answered by Noddy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of her breakers are over loaded. No risk of fire unless the appliance she's running as a damaged power suply or cord. However very annoying. $150.00 visit from the local electrician should solve the problem. You need to upgrade a few circuits to a higher ampage.
2007-03-15 05:35:47 · answer #5 · answered by Bear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would definately get an electrician in there soon. It could be something simple like a weakened circuit breaker or a short in the wiring which could cause a fire.
2007-03-15 06:10:33 · answer #6 · answered by c m 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Circuit breakers do wear out. Replace the breaker and see if the problem persists. If the problem persists, then you will have to hire an electrician to look into the problem.
2007-03-19 01:41:00 · answer #7 · answered by joshnya68 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it sounds like she has a short somewhere thats why your fuses keep tripping or popping. About the electrical fire you wont have a fire as long as your fuses keep blowing because thats whats protecting you. If you give some more info I could help you fix it.
2007-03-15 10:21:18 · answer #8 · answered by PENATRATOR 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How old is the house? It looks like the wiring is outdated to me. It can certainly cause a fire. Circuits break because there is something wrong.
2007-03-15 05:35:44 · answer #9 · answered by James Dean 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
leave the circuit(s) off and have a qualified electrician check it out. it may be a simple problem but not worth the risk of a fire and it will not fix itself
2007-03-15 06:29:07 · answer #10 · answered by RUSSELLL 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋