South Carolina BS thread under new MANAGEMENT and lives in SC

I didn't realize the breaker was also tripping. It could still be a damaged wire causing resistance and therefore a larger current draw. if i were the electrician, i'd swap the breaker (temporarily), remove the damaged portion of the wire, reconnect, and then measure the amperage. that will determine if there is an issue with the heater pulling too much power, or if it's pulling within it's spec, potentially the wiring is undersized. either way, that's a good process of elimination starting point. good luck and i hope it's a cheap fix!

 

Just judging by the Picture here. That's a 30amp 220v breaker with thin looking wires, looks like the same size as all those 20amp 110v breakers. Compare that to the 30amp 220v breaker with red and black wires above which looks to have larger 12ga/10ga wires, and the 25amp 220v breaker above that with probably 6ga wire and the breaker above that with 8ga/10ga wires. It just seems odd that they used soo many different size wires for seemingly the same rating breakers.

I'm not a licensed electrician but have studied electrical code for my area and have rewired the entire downstairs of my house and my garage.

*not neccesarily a definitive by code guide but just a visual

 

The builder is Eastwood. I'm gonna check and see if their warranty goes beyond a year for electrical. It's my gf's house btw and I wasn't involved in the purchase at all.

 

all of the larger new home builders have very similar warranties (i used to work for one). "mechanical" items generally have a 2 year warranty. that includes plumbing, electrical, HVAC, low voltage, etc. she likely got a package of information at some point during the build process or at closing that outlines the warranty. assuming she's within the warranty period, it'd be smart to hire a home inspector to come do a report on any items still under warranty, so she can file any warrantable claims before the timeframe runs out.

however, outside of a warranty period, which is set completely by the builder, if an item is not to code (code at the time of the build), i believe the builder is liable for 8 years beyond the installation date. so even if they say the parts aren't under warranty, if a non code compliant install caused the issue, you have a leg to stand on again.

 

It was wild to see what passed the home inspection of my 1985 as it was valid at the time of build. I've changed soo many things to make them safer.

 

at least it's beyond the date that asbestos insulation was used.

 

Definitely dodged a bullet on that, lead paint, even worse electrical, and todays wood

 

"character"

 

My wife loves when we have to buy wood bc she wants all the pieces no one else wants. I try to tell her there's a reason for that but she doesn't care "it's pretty"

 

Try a house built in 1957. Solid home overall but you only get hot and ground for every 110v circuit. And a Stab-Lok panel which everyone tells me is a fire risk. But as my retired electrician uncle says, if it hasn't had problems after all this time, you're good.

 

So the electrician came out and also couldn't really find a problem...maybe the screw was over tightened because after he got the breaker out the screw was non-functional, but the wire itself wasn't damaged at all. Gonna have to get a new breaker now though.

The wire is the appropriate 10ga size and amp draw was about 19 on a 30amp breaker. Who knows man.

 

the screws on breakers aren't exactly finely machined pieces of hardware. Screw probably got damaged at install and either could not tighten, or felt like it was tight when it was not, either way, creating a loose connection. Hopefully the new breaker solves the problem

 

Hate there wasn't a definitive cause. Must be an odd optical thing with the pic and wire size.

 

Eastwood builds substandard homes. Just ask the contractors who work for them. They would slap wet toilet paper up as siding if they could.

 

Good luck. Hope you get it fixed.

 

It could be worse, knob and tube

 

Out at overland south. It was cold last night.

Who’s all out here?

 

I am in spirit…

 

I might pop in Saturday depending on how I feel. But @colinb17 and @jayandersen5 should be out all ready . If you have GMRS radio get on channel 16 for OS and 17 for shanty town

 

i finishing up the roll cage still. hope to be out there in a few hours.