Any electricians or DIYers -- I have a question

[Mill]

Anytime the power goes out, the break that my AC is on will trip. I can understand this, since I've got two AC units, and I will bet the breaker might be too small for them. I'm sure the initial draw is just too much for that little breaker and it just trips. However, today it tripped while I was gone (power didn't go out), but I can only assume it was due to excessive heat. It approached near 100 here today, so I'd imagine it was working overtime to maintain my frigid 64 degree temperature that I always like.

Is there a way to test how stable a breaker is? I should just be able to trip the main breaker, remove the old breaker, and wire in a new one, right? My Uncle is an electrician, so I could always get him to help, but I didn't want to call him tonight as it is 10pm.

 

[Rastus]

Have your uncle put a soft start switch in your A/C. It puts a delay between the compressor stages.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Rastus
Have your uncle put a soft start switch in your A/C. It puts a delay between the compressor stages.

Makes sense. Question, however, do you think the breaker might just be bad or not rated high enough? My parent's had dual AC's for years and never had a problem like this.

 

[dartworth]

Is each unit on it's own circuit?

 

[Rastus]

Are these window units?

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Rastus
Are these window units?

No, I have a full AC for each level of my house. I am not positive they are on the same breaker, so I will have to check. It has done this since I bought the house (bought it new), so I should have had the builder fix it.

 

[ktehmok]

Originally posted by: Mill
Anytime the power goes out, the break that my AC is on will trip. I can understand this, since I've got two AC units, and I will bet the breaker might be too small for them. I'm sure the initial draw is just too much for that little breaker and it just trips. However, today it tripped while I was gone (power didn't go out), but I can only assume it was due to excessive heat. It approached near 100 here today, so I'd imagine it was working overtime to maintain my frigid 64 degree temperature that I always like.

Is there a way to test how stable a breaker is? I should just be able to trip the main breaker, remove the old breaker, and wire in a new one, right? My Uncle is an electrician, so I could always get him to help, but I didn't want to call him tonight as it is 10pm.

Two units? As in two completely separate air conditioners? Or a condenser & an air handler (one is outside, the other is inside)?

Either way, you should have separate breakers for each individual component.

I have seen breakers fail, if the main panel is in direct sunlight for the better part of the day. It's not real common, but it happens. You're best bet is to have a qualified electrician test the draw with an amp meter & see what it's pulling at the worst possible time of day. Like when the sun is hitting it at 3-4pm.

Expecting 64 degree temps throughout the day isn't realistic, even for Alabama. And any residential HVAC will fail under those expectations eventually.

 

[dartworth]

each unit needs to be on it's own circuit...240V each

 

[Kelemvor]

You shoudl NOT have 2 AC units on the same breaker. That's jsut asking for trouble. Our AC unit is on its own 40 amp breaker all by itself. I'd definitely have you Uncle (if he's a licensed Electrician) look at it. Or most electricians will give you free estimates so just call someoen from the phone book and at least have a professional take a look at yoru setup. They will tell ou what needs to be done and then from there you can call around and see what people will charge you to get it fixed.

Don't mess with overloading breakers. It's far cheaper to have that fixed than to buy a new house becaus eyour oveloaded circuit caught fire and burnt your house down....

 

[sharkeeper]

If it only occurs when the power fails briefly this is due to your compressor drawing locked rotor amps since it cannot start against unequalised pressure. As previously noted a time delay relay (TDR) that prevents short cycle starting of the compressor will prevent this from happening.

 

[MemberSince97]

check the fuse on the ac unit is it the proper amperage . It may be shot out also

 

[Mill]

Thank you all for the help. I will look into all of this.