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Ok rewired whole shebang with new 8/3 got rid of old frayed

 

Customer Question

Ok rewired whole shebang with new 8/3 got rid of old frayed cloth insulated aluminium garbage..dryer fired right up but now main breaker in house that controls this subpanel trips every five to ten minutes of dryer run time.vent is clear..four feet to exterior..ect..why this breaker and not breaker outlet recieves power from two feet above?? Is main breaker bad??is thermal sensor in tgis brand new maytag bad??why the random delay till trip? There was a vertical bus and another smaller vertical bus behind it where existing ground for hw unit ties in..i tied in my white neutral to this rearward vertacle bus,,not the one in front..does this matter?

Submitted: 348 days and 21 hours ago.
Category: Electrical
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  Hotwire2012 replied 348 days and 20 hours ago.


Hotwire2012 :

Hello my name is XXXXXX, X will be glad to assist you, In the 8/3 you ran new to this unit, you should have 4 wires, black and red for hots, neutral and ground, the ground and neutral should be isolated from each other in a sub Panel meaning the ground should have its own independent bar with only ground tied to it with a connection to the box itself. the neutral should be connected to the buss on either side of the panel, front or back buss will not matter for the neutral, it is important that ground wires and neutral wires are seperated on to different buss bars. (let me know if this makes sense) Now the most likely cause for the main feed breaker tripping would be a loose connection you may want to begin in the sub panel checking to be sure all the main feed wire connections are tight (with main feed breaker off of course) you may also want to be sure all other connections are tight in this panel as well while you have power off. Then check at the breaker feeding the sub panel, check for loose connections here as well at neutral and grounds that feed the sub panel, you may also want to remove the breaker and check for damage, arcing or burning evidence. ( if breaker shows signs of damage also check buss bar on the panel for damage, and you would also need to replace breaker) Be sure sub panel feed breaker fits tight into the panel as well. Once you have checked these likely causes, we will continue if this does not resolve the problem. The delayed tripping is caused likely by a build up of heat, when you have a loose connection it will arc causing this heat build up and thus causing the breaker to trip, especially under a big load like a dryer.

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 12 hours ago.

You are corresponding with JOSEPH (The Electrical Doctor) - Your "Personal On-Line Electrical Professional Consultant".


In order to properly help you with this question, there are a few things we need to know:

What size is the main breaker?
Who told you that you needed to run 8ga wire and not the 10ga typically run for dryers? Have you checked the connections in the panel?
Have you done any other kind of trouble shooting and if so what? The more your able to tell us, the more we will be able to assist with this problem.

Customer replied 348 days and 11 hours ago.

100 amp main breaker..8 gauge was smaller than what I was replacing and available at debox store by linear foot..smallest size by foot. Tightened all connections..still popped after five minutes.pulled main panel breaker in question,fits a little looser than others..but definitely on the bus tabs.30 amp unremarkable maybe slight heat scale mini arc burns on one bus clip of breaker(tab socket).???replace it???help

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 11 hours ago.

I am a little confused. Are you saying you ran the dryer off of 8ga wire? Or your running the subpanel on 8ga wire?

Customer replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

Dryer had massive 6 or 4/3 going from subpanel to old dryer Outlet..the eight gauge that replaced that goes to new three wire dryeroutlet from subpanel breaker. Subpanel is fed by old 4/3 stuff same size that comes into house to main breaker
Ng ?

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

So what keeps tripping? The 100amp breaker feeding the subpanel, or the main breaker on the main electrical panel?

Customer replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

Ok thinking main is 100 amp service first breaker at top right of main panel is marked "main" and is 100 amp breaker.below that is a 30 amp marked "dryer". That goes to the subpanel in question.nothing trips at subpanel..but trips at main panels 30 amp breaker marked "dryer". Pulled it and to my non expert eyes..looks ok.??

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

So from reading what you just wrote, the 30amp breaker is feeding the subpanel, and your dryer is fed from that? I am just trying to understand the flow of how this is hooked up. Thanks.

Customer replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

Yes should that be a fifty amp? Also hot Water Heater has breaker in same subpanel.20 amp.plus a twenty at main panel labeled HW..??One 6/3 or 4/3 feeds the subpanel..HW unit goes from tank to subpanel 20amp in a clear as day four foot run..it has just a black wire and a white going into said breaker terminals and its bare copper goes to neutral bus ..

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 10 hours ago.

Can you please call me? Here is my contact information:

Customer replied 348 days and 6 hours ago.

Switched main panel 30 amp out for 50 and still running forty minutes now

Accepted Answer

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Expert:  Inactive replied 348 days and 6 hours ago.

Good deal, that seems to have fixed your problem then. Just be sure to make all your connections nice and tight. Also double check all connections in the subpanel so you dont have any overheating issues.

Let me know if you need anything further. Good luck to you sir.

Expert TypeMaster Electrician
Category: Electrical
Pos. Feedback: 98.1 %
Accepts: 3961
Answered: 5/10/2012

Experience: Electrical Contractor

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