keep flipping the breaker..

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
ok i have a 1-65w,2-42w,1-40w,8 23w was, and a air conditioner, in a 1 bedroom apartment all that stuff is in the one bedroom...my problem is that last night the power went out...and when the power goes out i have to go downstairs to my nieghbor into thier basement to flip to switch back cause i live in a like a house that was made into two apartments...i currently have all my lights and a fan plugged into a surge protector which is then plug into a timer, and the timer is plugged into the wall..

What am i doing wrong...why does the breaker keep shutting off on me..i also run the AC to keep the heat down but thats plugged in a totally differnet socket but same room..

please if you can help please do..
 

g00sEgg

Well-Known Member
It's because you have all that stuff plugged in in one room i'm assuming. My buddy lived in a house like yours, and whenever they had too much stuff going on in the kitched, the whole half of the house would lose power.
 

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
i hope someone can help me...tell me what im doing wrong...i really hate going downstairs asking the nieghbor for access to their basement...i dont want them wondering what im doing up there...
 

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
It's because you have all that stuff plugged in in one room i'm assuming. My buddy lived in a house like yours, and whenever they had too much stuff going on in the kitched, the whole half of the house would lose power.

same problem im haveing.....:wall:
 

smokinmayne

Well-Known Member
The breaker switch can not be all the wAy in
Check the actual breaker switch u turn on and off and see if it is positioned like the other switches
could be overloading due to an old or weak breaker

lots of possibilites tho
 

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member
All the plugs in the room are wired on the same breaker. The A/C alone is probably maxing out the amperage. You could try running a heavy duty cord in from another room to power the lights, fans, etc. When the power goes off and comes back on, all the equipment is tryin to come on at once on the same circuit.
 

newb19547

Well-Known Member
I have the same problem. I have to run an extension cord from my 1st floor up to the second to run my A/C or it blows everything. Not to mention I have 12-15 CFLs, my PC which is always on, an xbox 360 (usually on) and various fan and whatnot.
 

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
All the plugs in the room are wired on the same breaker. The A/C alone is probably maxing out the amperage. You could try running a heavy duty cord in from another room to power the lights, fans, etc. When the power goes off and comes back on, all the equipment is tryin to come on at once on the same circuit.

i thought about that but i am liveing with my girlfriend and she wont let me haveing cords laying all around...she will let me grow but she just doesnt want cords alll over the apartment...im am gonna remove some of the lights..which is something i didnt want to do...thanks guys for the feedback...
 

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
and working on the circuit breaker wouldnt work cause i would have to get permission from the landlord...who i never met and havent even signed a lease..and i have been liveing here since feb 2009..go figure..
 

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member
i thought about that but i am liveing with my girlfriend and she wont let me haveing cords laying all around...she will let me grow but she just doesnt want cords alll over the apartment...im am gonna remove some of the lights..which is something i didnt want to do...thanks guys for the feedback...
If you are in a position to run a wire through the wall into the ceiling, you could just add a receptacle to your growroom, and have it tied into a plug somewhere else. Pretty simple, but if you don't mess with electricity alot I'd have someone else do it.
 

saynotothebs

Well-Known Member
If you are in a position to run a wire through the wall into the ceiling, you could just add a receptacle to your growroom, and have it tied into a plug somewhere else. Pretty simple, but if you don't mess with electricity alot I'd have someone else do it.

yea i have a friend thats a electrician but he is on vacation and wont be around until september 15...he also doesnt know that i grow either...so im not sure i want to get him involved...i just blacked out the room so no sun comes in and it stays cool...i figured if it gets too hot, i can shut off a couple of the lights to run the AC...no job so im always home anyway...:-(
 

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member
Look for a label on your lights, fans, ac, anything else in the room, and add up the amp draw for each. It'll give you a better idea how much you have to turn off to fix the problem. I hope you get it straightened out.
 

tmsculli

Well-Known Member
That is awesome. I am having some power scares currently with the breaker flipping or the GFI kicking off. It is a huge investment for later down the road but very very simple. It just takes one wall plug and you then have use of all of the outlets and receptacles etc?
 
you have like 400 watts of cfls and a a/c on one circuit.its prob a 15amp circuit,but it will be on the breaker.look for 15a or 20a somthing close to that.you cant pull more tan about 13 amps from a 15 amp circuit breaker without it flipping on you. and once it flipps,it seems to take less and less for them to flip as they get older.if its a 15a you could throw in a 20a breaker,but check the wire size at the breaker and check the local code first.i think standard 14 guage wire is ok for 20amps,but make sure.look it up online, its not that hard to change the breaker ,as long as your wire size is ok for use with the larger breaker.if your wire size isnt large enough or you have a 20 amp already,id change the breaker with the a new one of the same amperage rating as they tend to flip easier after they have been flipped a bunch.good luck to ya, and dont shock yourself.
 
ps, your lights are prob puling 5 amps or so, and the ac is prob pulling 7-8amps. watts= amps x voltage to figure the load on your circuit.old ac units will pull more,so this could also be the problem.
 
Top