Hello all, I am very new to this forum, but it seems there are some knowledgeable folks here who can hopefully help me out. I just moved into a new apartment and, while I was vacuuming, I blew the main circuit breaker for the whole apartment. Because this main breaker is not located in my unit but is on a separate panel box in the basement electrical room, I had to wait for my landlady to come and flip it back on. Needless to say,this was not at all convenient for either of us. The thing is, I have just moved in and only some of my stuff at that. Aside from the vacuum I had three overhead lights on, a radio playing and a ceiling fan running. This does not seem to me enough to overload (normally) an entire apartment circuit.
The apartment seems to be wired a bit funny too, not that I know much about wiring, but I'm working on intuition here. The fridge is on one 15 amp circuit, electric stove on a "two peg" (if that's what you call it) 40 amp, baseboard heaters on a "two peg" 20 amp, and the smoke detector on a 15 amp (alone for safety I assume). This all seems pretty normal, but here's where it gets weird. There is one 15 amp circuit with 3 overhead lights, the bathroom fan and 5 outlets on it and another 15 amp with 2 overhead lights, ceiling fan and 6 outlets. Finally,there are two "two peg" 15 amp circuits which both only have one single electric outlet associated with them (?? ) These outlets are on either end of a counter top that separates the kitchen from the living room (open concept).
Now, if any one of those breakers had tripped, I might have assumed that I just overloaded one of those circuits with too much stuff. But because I blew the main circuit breaker for the whole apartment, does that mean I overloaded the whole apartment? And how does a vacuum, ceiling fan, a radio and three lights overload an entire apartment circuit? Does anyone know what could have gone wrong here, and should I be concerned about the apparent imbalance of fixtures on those circuit breakers? Thanks so much for any help, its much appreciated! Cheers!

Aside from the 2 peg outlets, it sounds like maybe no worse then a little under wired. On the other hand, blowing the main breaker suggests a serious under wiring. How old is the apartment? It could be that electrical use has slowly increased to where the circuit breaker trips every time too many things are turned on. It is possible the wiring is good for more, but maybe not.

Do you have many good alternatives to that apartment? Talk to some of the longer term tenants and ask if the power going off is common. Perhaps you could offer to not go to the city building department if the landlady lets you out of your lease. That is a real nuisance and low voltage and sudden outages are hard on electrical devices. Worse yet, electrical problems burn buildings down.

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Originally Posted by Ceilidthbear

Hello all, i am very new to this forum, but it seems there are some knowledgable folks here who can hopefully help me out. I just moved into a new apartment and, while i was vacuuming, i blew the main circuit breaker for the whole apartment. because this main breaker is not located in my unit but is on a separate panel box in the basement electrical room, i had to wait for my landlady to come and flip it back on. needless to say,this was not at all convenient for either of us. the thing is, i have just moved in and only some of my stuff at that. aside from the vacuum i had three overhead lights on, a radio playing and a ceiling fan running. this does not seem to me enough to overload (normally) an entire apartment circuit.
the apartment seems to be wired a bit funny too, not that i know much about wiring, but i'm working on intuition here. the fridge is on one 15 amp circuit, electric stove on a "two peg" (if that's what you call it) 40 amp, baseboard heaters on a "two peg" 20 amp, and the smoke detector on a 15 amp (alone for safety i assume). This all seems pretty normal, but here's where it gets weird. There is one 15 amp circuit with 3 overhead lights, the bathroom fan and 5 outlets on it and another 15 amp with 2 overhead lights, ceiling fan and 6 outlets. Finally,there are two "two peg" 15 amp circuits which both only have one single electric outlet associated with them (???) These outlets are on either end of a counter top that separates the kitchen from the living room (open concept).
Now, if any one of those breakers had tripped, i might have assumed that i just overloaded one of those circuits with too much stuff. but because i blew the main circuit breaker for the whole apartment, does that mean i overloaded the whole apartment? and how does a vacuum, ceiling fan, a radio and three lights overload an entire apartment circuit?? does anyone know what could have gone wrong here, and should i be concerned about the apparent imbalance of fixtures on those circuit breakers? thanks so much for any help, its much appreciated! cheers!

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... to determine what the main breaker rating is? It is possible that this breaker is on its last leg and assuming it has an adequate rating and trips when a slight load is applied, it sounds like it may need a decent burial and replacement with a new unit! Also try to ensure that the other breakers servicing you 'hood' are actually being fed by this main breaker and that the main breaker is not feeding the apartment alone. How did you ascertain the ampere rating of all the wiring in your apartment? Did you scope out the service panel? By 2-peg, do you mean 240VAC plugs?

I have no idea what the main breaker rating is... I know nothing at all about house wiring so I didn't know to ask. But I will find out and see if this is the problem. I sent my boyfriend over to the apartment again today and he's going to try vacuuming and turning on a couple of lights and stuff to see if this is going to be an ongoing problem with this main breaker tripping.

As for the ampere rating of the wiring in my apartment... I'm not sure if that is what I actually ascertained :confused:
The amp ratings I was referring to were from the circuit breakers in the panel box in my apartment.. they have the little numbers stamped on the switch. So I just turned off each circuit breaker one by one and went around my apartment with portable radio in hand to determine which lights and outlets are associated with each circuit breaker.

By 2-peg I was referring to those circuit breaker switches that are like two switches attached together.. double switches I guess :confused: I'm not sure what they are technically called.

I just hope that my whole apartment won't have to be rewired. I have no idea how many things you can have plugged into a 15 amp ciruit breaker before it trips, but I certainly don't want to have extension cords running all over my apartment so that I can have stuff plugged into the two outlets that are each on their own circuit breaker. That seems silly to me that only one outlet would have it's own circuit breaker. It's not like I have three fridges! :p
Thanks again for your input, cheers!
Claire

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Originally Posted by Ceilidthbear

I have no idea what the main breaker rating is...i know nothing at all about house wiring so i didn't know to ask. but i will find out and see if this is the problem. i sent my boyfriend over to the apartment again today and he's going to try vacuuming and turning on a couple of lights and stuff to see if this is going to be an ongoing problem with this main breaker tripping.

As for the ampere rating of the wiring in my apartment...i'm not sure if that is what i actually ascertained :confused:
the amp ratings i was referring to were from the circuit breakers in the panel box in my apartment..they have the little numbers stamped on the switch. so i just turned off each circuit breaker one by one and went around my apartment with portable radio in hand to determine which lights and outlets are associated with each circuit breaker.

by 2-peg i was referring to those circuit breaker switches that are like two switches attached together..double switches i guess :confused: i'm not sure what they are technically called.

i just hope that my whole apartment wont have to be rewired. i have no idea how many things you can have plugged into a 15 amp ciruit breaker before it trips, but i certainly don't want to have extension cords running all over my apartment so that i can have stuff plugged into the two outlets that are each on their own circuit breaker. that seems silly to me that only one outlet would have it's own circuit breaker. it's not like i have three fridges! :p
thanks again for your input, cheers!
Claire

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... on the breakers are also what the circuits are rated for. The 2-peggers are for switching 220VAC at once using 2 phases of the input line. This is used for hot water heaters, electric ranges and other large appliances using 220VAC. The rationale for one outlet on a single breaker is used for a refrigerator (as an example) and relates to other appliances accidentally tripping the breaker used for the fridge and then spoiling a load of good food (a possibility).