Breakers tripping

[shcisamax]

Does anyone else have their breakers tripping repeatedly?

[mulligan]

Which breakers, and what's plugged in ??

[njbchbum]

I though the title meant spring breakers! silly me! ;)

[DandyGirl]

Is it in your living room?

[shcisamax]

For me it is the kitchen. For others it is different rooms. Apparently this generation of breakers have issues. I am just wondering how many others are dealing with the issue of ELECTRICAL BREAKERS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH SPRING BREAKERS...that was funny.

[graciegirl]

You still under warranty? If so call them immediately. Or find someone in the neighborhood to take a look at your electrical stuff who knows what he is doing.

[shcisamax]

We are so far beyond that Gracie. TV is well aware. Apparently there are several issues on of which is if there is any ham radio within x amount of distance, houses have problems. The company that makes the breakers is trying to figure out what to do - they actually flew down from Pittsburg a couple weeks ago but they haven't been able to come up with a solution. It is a mess but we have electric people at our houses two to six times a week. It just goes on and on and I am getting very tired of it. I was trying to determine how many other people are finding the same irritation.

[graciegirl]

We are so far beyond that Gracie. TV is well aware. Apparently there are several issues on of which is if there is any ham radio within x amount of distance, houses have problems. The company that makes the breakers is trying to figure out what to do - they actually flew down from Pittsburg a couple weeks ago but they haven't been able to come up with a solution. It is a mess but we have electric people at our houses two to six times a week. It just goes on and on and I am getting very tired of it. I was trying to determine how many other people are finding the same irritation.

O. Sounds like a conspiracy. Hmmm.:shocked:

[CaptJohn]

Why not just replace them with another brand that doesn't have problems?
That is a very unusual problem.

[keithwand]

We have not tripped our breakers but did lose power sometime after going to bed both Monday and Tuesday nights.
We live S. of 466A.

[JC and John]

Does anyone else have their breakers tripping repeatedly?

Our breakers trip in our new home when I try to use my older vacum cleaner and the lanai GFI trips when hubby tries to use the shop vac, yet he can plug into indoor outlet with no problems. Used older vacum cleaner in rental home in Hadley with no problems. Found out the breakers used in new housing are very sensitive to surge. We are considering having the breakers replaced with another brand.

[shcisamax]

Conspiracy? Doubtful. They can't replace them with another type because of some national safety regulation. This is the third generation because there were problems with the second which tripped with hairdryers and vacuums. I really don't understand arcs and electrical terms...and this really wasn't meant to be a whining thread. I just wanted to hear if others are experiencing similar issues. Apparently it is localized.

[rubicon]

Conspiracy? Doubtful. They can't replace them with another type because of some national safety regulation. This is the third generation because there were problems with the second which tripped with hairdryers and vacuums. I really don't understand arcs and electrical terms...and this really wasn't meant to be a whining thread. I just wanted to hear if others are experiencing similar issues. Apparently it is localized.

schisamax: You said type and the suggestion was brand. It would seem that a different brand for this 3rd generation GFI exists somewhere?

[shcisamax]

My understanding is TV must use this brand Eton.

[rubicon]

My understanding is TV must use this brand Eton.

That is just wrong. So sorry for your dilemma....Hmmmm wonder why?

an all out points bulletin for an electrician to explain this catch 22

[Number 6]

Our breakers trip in our new home when I try to use my older vacum cleaner and the lanai GFI trips when hubby tries to use the shop vac, yet he can plug into indoor outlet with no problems. Used older vacum cleaner in rental home in Hadley with no problems. Found out the breakers used in new housing are very sensitive to surge. We are considering having the breakers replaced with another brand.

Same with us on certain outlets. We had this looked at under warrenty and were told that it is normal in new homes (Village of Hemmingway). We found a work around.

[janmcn]

Same with us on certain outlets. We had this looked at under warrenty and were told that it is normal in new homes (Village of Hemmingway). We found a work around.

I've had two new homes in The Villages and never had a breaker tripping problem, so disagree that it is normal in new homes.

[graciegirl]

Our house just grew out of warranty and the only problem was when we plugged too many Christmas lights onto one outlet on the porch.

If your house is under warranty, I feel they will fix it someHOW.I would have to think that they require all suppliers to guarantee the products they buy from them. The have huge buying power and can call all the shots..

I was kidding about it being a conspiracy.

[Opulence]

Conspiracy? Doubtful. They can't replace them with another type because of some national safety regulation. This is the third generation because there were problems with the second which tripped with hairdryers and vacuums. I really don't understand arcs and electrical terms...and this really wasn't meant to be a whining thread. I just wanted to hear if others are experiencing similar issues. Apparently it is localized.

" Apparently it is localized" - If it is localized, which area (Village) are you in?

Betty

[billethkid]

in warranty or not if you have breakers tripping for no known reason you need to get an electrician to determine why.

We had a problem in the bedroom and kitchen when our home was 3+ years old...obviously out of warranty.

Had an electrician come in and the problem turned out to be wires loosening and making intermitent contact every once in a while. Yes if the wire nuts in the switches or plugs connection boxes are not tightened maybe as much as they COULD be the humming and flow of electricity can move the.

Whether that is your problem or not you need to determine what it is BEFORE it becomes a more serious problem.

btk

[angiefox10]

Conspiracy? Doubtful. They can't replace them with another type because of some national safety regulation. This is the third generation because there were problems with the second which tripped with hairdryers and vacuums. I really don't understand arcs and electrical terms...and this really wasn't meant to be a whining thread. I just wanted to hear if others are experiencing similar issues. Apparently it is localized.


Many of us had breakers tripping here.... We called The Villages and a gentleman came out and said it was supposed to trip... It was our vacuum causing the problem. Others said they went to Ace and bought something that helped.

We just had our one year inspection and showed it to the gentleman who inspected our home. He put it in the report. The same man who told us it was supposed to trip came out and installed a new breaker... All fixed!

Hope this helps!

[DDoug]

If you have breakers tripping and you are using an electrical motor of any type that could trip your breaker. The new type of breaker and may I say it's not the fault of The Villages is called an Arc fault breaker not a ground fault breaker. There are new breakers that will support a motor but don't replace an arc fault breaker or(afci)with a standard breaker because if you go to sell your house and have an inspection you will probably fail the inspection. Best talk to a smart electrician on this one. And if you already know this then disregard all of the above.

[JC and John]

Many of us had breakers tripping here.... We called The Villages and a gentleman came out and said it was supposed to trip... It was our vacuum causing the problem. Others said they went to Ace and bought something that helped.

We just had our one year inspection and showed it to the gentleman who inspected our home. He put it in the report. The same man who told us it was supposed to trip came out and installed a new breaker... All fixed!

Hope this helps!

We are close to our 1 year insp. and will bring this up to the inspector so the issue is on record and go from there. Thus far we have worked around the issue in our home which is in Sanibel. By the way, we had our older vacum serviced by an authorized service center and they found our vacum is in perfect working order. But we bought a new Dyson and no issues with the same outlets. It's a mystery to me.

[shcisamax]

I use a Dyson battery operated. They have yet to figure out what is causing the tripping. They even had an electrician in the attic checking the wires to see if a staple perhaps had pierced a wire. I was told today by someone we should go to Home Depot and replace them with the old fashion kind and when you have an inspection swap them back so they pass inspection. It is ridiculous. TV is well aware of the issue but legally they have to use these breakers for new builds.

[mulligan]

it's a nationwide problem...new code

[memason]

Recently, I had an AFCI breaker tripping every time I had the outside lights on and then turned on the guest bathroom light. I had replaced the outside light, in the front door foyer with a CFL bulb. Once I removed the CFL and went back to a regular light bulb, problem went away.

Mystery to me, but everything is fine for now....

[raynan]

Loads of tripping breakers in Pennecamp. All our neighbors have called The Villages to complain when we were in warranty, still calling out of warranty.

[shcisamax]

So what does tv say when you have been dealing with this over one year? What have they said is "the solution" ?

[justjim]

What OP stated is true. Apparently, these breakers were put into new homes because of a change in electrical codes. I had two breakers replaced while under warranty----so far problem solved. An electrician told me that the change that was made was totally unnecessary. In addition, the breakers are very expensive when compared to the breakers of previous code. Like another who posted on this thread said---"this is a mess.".

[raynan]

We have one neighbor that has documented all calls to The Villages from the whole neighborhood, breaker manufacturer has been out, adapters were given in some instances, some breakers replaced. Explanation is that new breakers are very sensitive. No one is satisfied. In our house it is our master bath. Cannot use hair dryer while shower light and fan are on. Fan in shower was replaced. Still happens. I adjusted usage. Vacuum cannot be used in all plugs, just some.

[Virtual Geezer]

I am aware of issues where certain breakers have been tripped but I do not know all the details. I also know that Eaton, the manufacturer of the boxes and breakers, sent two guys from Pittsburgh here to run some tests. They spent over 4 hours running tests and measurements on a home south of 466a. It is going to take some time for the results to be known.

This cause here may or may not be the cause in your situation so a fix on one may not correct your issue.

VG

[Topspinmo]

"I've had two new homes in The Villages and never had a breaker tripping problem, so disagree that it is normal in new homes"

evidently your homes didn't have the new code breakers.

Fault breakers detect surges or shorts to ground to prevent you from getting shocked. These new sensitive breakers detect surges that put on there circuits. Vacuum sweepers, hair dryers, toasters, Micowaves, ect. pull alot of amps. The surge of amps when the motor fires up or several lights coming on all at once may pull enough amps to trip the new sensitive breakers.... Probably another fine American product made in China, india, Mx, or Bangladesh....

[2 Oldcrabs]

The "ARC" breakers are designed to trip with any arcing. If you remember the old drill motors or saws you could see a little "blue arc" where the the brushes meet the armature. Some vacuum's do the same thing. This will cause the ARC beakers to trip. Another problem is "Back Stabbing" of outlets on 15 amp circuits ( It is legal to do). They just push the wires in the back of outlets instead of wrapping the connection around the screws. I tested voltatage at a 15A outlet to be 123volts, plug an Iron in and the voltage dropped to 114 volts. That is more than a 5%. Plug the Iron in a 20amp circuit and the the voltage drop is 2 volts. Some the the voltage drop on 15 amp circuit is the smaller wire allowed. IMHO "Back Stabbing" of outlets should be outlawed. It is a terrible connection and can lead to arcing in the outlet. I will be changing all of them in my home in the near future. One thing you can do is buy a $4 single surge suppressor from Home Depot and move it around where you want to plug a motor into. :blahblahblah:

[2 Oldcrabs]

We are so far beyond that Gracie. TV is well aware. Apparently there are several issues on of which is if there is any ham radio within x amount of distance, houses have problems. The company that makes the breakers is trying to figure out what to do - they actually flew down from Pittsburg a couple weeks ago but they haven't been able to come up with a solution. It is a mess but we have electric people at our houses two to six times a week. It just goes on and on and I am getting very tired of it. I was trying to determine how many other people are finding the same irritation.

I live in Sanibel also. I am very close to the Ham Radio. IMHO The grounding system they use in Florida is not good. I installed another ground rod at 12 homes around the Ham Radio ( 2 seperate rods at the Ham Radio home). As far as I know, no more problems. When I moved in 1 year ago, I installed 2 extra rods, and have never tripped a breaker. You may want to ask TV to install and extra rod at least 5' from the foundation.( Sould be 10' but that might put it neighbors yard). Also have them check all connection in the panel box, I found a couple of "loose" ones.:(

[shcisamax]

2 Oldcrabs: YOu clearly know something about electricity. Wow. Well, it was our house that the guys flew down from Eton came to along with another two. What is so annoying for us is the breaker that goes is affecting the computer.
Actually, my neighbor who has suffered this tripping problem told me his computer totally died yesterday. He is an engineer by profession so has a little more pertinent knowledge than I and he is wondering if this constant tripping was involved as he has had no issues with it prior and it is relatively new. He is off to purchase a new one and get all his tax info that was almost complete taken off the old one. I think he is unhappy :)
Well, I am glad I posed the question because I now know that this is a widespread issue not just localized and that TV will just continue to go through the motions of working on it but they already know there really isn't an answer. Their hands are tied. I now understand why they say that Eton is working on it but it isn't really going to be fixed. It is inherent in the design and I now understand why certain things, especially ham radios with their frequency arcs will set them off at an alarming rate.

And as someone suggested yesterday, this was some idea of some greedy dumb guy looking to jack up the price for personal profit and got DC to pass regulation saying all the world must use these to make our lives safer so they could 10 fold the price...HAHAH. There we go Gracie.. you were right...it's a conspiracy !!!

So I gather from this thread, we are on our own on this issue so we should replace them all with the old type after the warranty period is up? which TV cannot suggest and then if we sell the house, put in the original ones? Is that what you mean 2 OldCrabs?

[shcisamax]

2 OldCrabs: I have no idea what you are talking about but you definitely have me convinced you know what you are talking about. I will ask TV to do that with installing rods. Thank you for taking the time to write this for those of us who have had this problem and those that will be experiencing it in the future. I wish you a really really really wonderful day.

[shcisamax]

We have one neighbor that has documented all calls to The Villages from the whole neighborhood, breaker manufacturer has been out, adapters were given in some instances, some breakers replaced. Explanation is that new breakers are very sensitive. No one is satisfied. In our house it is our master bath. Cannot use hair dryer while shower light and fan are on. Fan in shower was replaced. Still happens. I adjusted usage. Vacuum cannot be used in all plugs, just some.

By any chance do you have a ham radio operator in your area? If you do not know, can you ask Galaxy or Pike or...who do you use anyway? if there is a ham radio in your area. Thanks.

[buzzy]

Initially, the AFCI in the master bath was tripping intermittently. The Warantee Dept. sent an electrician. He said that AFCIs were too sensitive for the cheap arcing motors in the bathroom exhaust fans. I urged him to change out the one that was tripping, although he said that it would not make any difference. He had to put in an exact replacement. That was about a year ago, and the replacement has not tripped. So, maybe there are manufacturing tolerances from piece to piece.

[getdul981]

Someone mentioned switching to a different brand of breaker. That can't be done since each manufacturer of breaker panels design them so you can only use their brand of breaker. When we purchased our home in Pennecamp, we had the problem of the vacuum tripping the Arc Fault breakers. I called Warranty Dept and they had the electrician bring me one of the little plug adapters to use on the vacuum and we have never had a problem since. It's a PITA to keep up with that little adapter, but it solves the problem.

[Virtual Geezer]

Some more information.

There are two types of breakers that are now being used by code. One is called a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters - GFCI. GFCI circuit-breakers operate by sensing unbalanced currents in the hot and neutral conductors of an ac circuit. An imbalance indicates the presence of a fault somewhere in the circuit, creating a shock hazard. The breaker then trips (opens) to remove the shock hazard.

An Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter - AFCI circuit breaker is similar in that it monitors current to watch for a fault condition. Instead of current imbalances, the AFCI detects patterns of current that indicate an arc – one of the leading causes of home fires. The AFCI is not supposed to trip because of “normal” arcs that occur when a switch is opened or a plug is removed.

Under current codes, GFCI protection is required for all basement outlets, outdoor outlets, and for outlets in kitchens and bathrooms. AFCI protection required for all circuits that supply bedrooms.

The problem is not only one here in TV but appearing across the country. Older homes nave no problems but that can't be said for new homes.

VG

[CraigC]

If you are having a problem with breakers tripping due to a radio transmitter in your proximity, Eaton is currently having electricians replace their current revision AFCI breaker with the prior revision breaker. I have been told that they are currently developing a breaker that will solve both the radio transmitter and motor problems.

I know of a total of 13 breakers, installed in the panels of 3 separate homes (all located within 100 feet of the radio) that were replaced by the prior version of the Eaton AFCI breaker, and the problem was eliminated in every case. I don't know, and seriously doubt that this corrected the problems caused by vacuum cleaners, paper shredders, exhaust fans, some older PC power supplies, flourescent lights, etc.

I believe that the current version of the Eaton AFCI began being installed in Villages homes in approximately Jan 2012. I'm sure that this may have varied by several months depending upon the electrical company. Both the old and new version of the AFCI breakers meet the electrical code. The newest version can be identified by a white "Test" button on the breaker in the panel. The prior version breaker had a yellowish "Test" button.

[Dick and Lin]

Had the problem with the 20 amp breakers. Seams that the new type are very sensitive to wires heating up. While hot the resistance in the wires drops and the breaker senses this and trips. The ceiling lights in the kitchen get very hot and heat up the adjoining wires.


The solution is to replace them with a previous generation. They replaced mine but I need to upgrade them once the new generation is fixed because of the new code.

[mulligan]

Or, replace the can lights with LED's....no heat, and the big boxes have plug in units to replace the big bulbs.

[BobnBev]

If it is, in fact, caused by RFI (radio frequency interference), then the FCC will step in and have a word with the "ham". There is a ham club in TV that might help, also. You might have to run extra ground rods from your main electrical box.

[KeepingItReal]

Initially, the AFCI in the master bath was tripping intermittently. The Warantee Dept. sent an electrician. He said that AFCIs were too sensitive for the cheap arcing motors in the bathroom exhaust fans. I urged him to change out the one that was tripping, although he said that it would not make any difference. He had to put in an exact replacement. That was about a year ago, and the replacement has not tripped. So, maybe there are manufacturing tolerances from piece to piece.

Since the neutral on a 120 circuit is ALSO tied to the ARC breaker in the panel box and not the ground/neutral bar of the box it is important the the ground conductor and the neutral not be touching in any of the outlets. On a regular breaker only the black (HOT) wire from the ROMEX is tied to the breaker. We had the tripping problem and found this to be the problem in one single outlet box. After this was corrected we haven't had a single tripped breaker. Usually the ground conductor and the neutral are tied to the same bar in the panel box and this was never a problem. The information in bold below describes this problem but it is an easy fix. The circuit would appear normal until you plugged basically anything into on of the outlets on the breaker and then it would trip the ARC breaker every time before we found this problem.


What About Nuisance Tripping of AFCI's

Nuisance tripping refers to a circuit breaker or an AFCI that trips off, turning off electrical power when there was no apparent reason to do so. Some sources assert that what appears to be "nuisance tripping" of AFCI's actually occurs due to wiring practices of some electricians more than for any other reason. These include

Reversed hot and neutral wires - reversed polarity - which is an unsafe condition
Shared neutral wiring on single pole circuit breaker circuits: this is already an existing problem with GFCI's on multiwire branch circuits.
Incorrect or accidental connections between the ground and neutral wire: this is also an unsafe condition which can permit live current to flow on a ground wire that should normally never carry current. We've personally seen this condition lead to an electric shock.

- See more at: AFCI guide to arc fault interrupters for home owners and home inspectors: how to buy, install, test, & inspect AFCIs (http://inspectapedia.com/electric/AFCI-CPSC.htm#AFCINuisance)

[LB2848]

We had the problem with the vacuum causing the ARC fault breakers to trip. We had the circuits checked by an electrician and all was good. Now we leave a small surge protector plug on the vacuum cord and that solved the problem.

[Happinow]

We are so far beyond that Gracie. TV is well aware. Apparently there are several issues on of which is if there is any ham radio within x amount of distance, houses have problems. The company that makes the breakers is trying to figure out what to do - they actually flew down from Pittsburg a couple weeks ago but they haven't been able to come up with a solution. It is a mess but we have electric people at our houses two to six times a week. It just goes on and on and I am getting very tired of it. I was trying to determine how many other people are finding the same irritation.

Our breaker in our living room trips when we plug the vacuum into it. We've already had one outlet rewired because WhenI turned it on it Had a sizzling sound. I have a feeling there is more of this to come.....

[andercat]

We owned a home with arc fault breakers in the bedrooms. (I think that is code in most locations now.) Only when I used my Kenmore vacuum would I trip the breakers in the bedrooms. Arc faults can be touchy. I had to get a new vacuum.

[2 Oldcrabs]

By any chance do you have a ham radio operator in your area? If you do not know, can you ask Galaxy or Pike or...who do you use anyway? if there is a ham radio in your area. Thanks.

I had a conversion with the Galaxy foreman about the grounding method in TV. He told me the the Eaton engineer would contact me when they were coming. I guess they lost my information. I would have liked to talk to them. We have the 3rd generation Arc breakers. Myself & the neighbors with the extra ground rods are not having problems. When it comes to electricity, " grounding & connections" are most important.:confused:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

At our place in Ahia, we had an AFCI-tripping issue from Day One in the master bedroom of our home (new build in '08). Every time we'd switch on the ceiling fan......BAM! The breaker would trip. I spoke with the electrician who wired the house - he said it could be a number of things (as others have pointed out already in this thread) but said it was most likely the ceiling fan motor. I didn't feel like shelling out money to replace the fan on the supposition that it MIGHT be the culprit so I tried to isolate the problem. I checked all the wiring connections at the breaker and at the wall switch - everything was tight. I swapped out the AFCI breaker with one from another bedroom - same tripping problem. So it was likely not the breaker itself since the ceiling fan in the other bedroom was the same as the one in the master (though in reality it still could have been that particular fan). Next, I removed the existing wall switch and put in just a standard off-on toggle switch for the fan as a test....................no more tripping! So our problem was with the wall switch.

Our wall switch is a multi-function device - toggle to turn on the fan lights, a slide switch along one side of the toggle to brighten/dim the lights, and another slide switch along the other side of the toggle to control the fan off/on and variable speed. I ultimately swapped the original wall switch for an identical one in the den (which was not controlled by an AFCI) and all has been fine ever since with both circuits.

The thing that seems odd to me in TV is that the contractors are using AFCIs for so many types of circuits on the newest homes - lighting circuits, non-bedroom wall receptacle circuits, etc. Our patio villa (built in '07) only has them for the bedrooms wall receptacle circuits. That's the same as what we see on newer homes back in OH.

Bill :)

[mulligan]

The other part of the problem comes from the fact that there is no requirement to have a licensed electrician on the jobsite when the homes are being wired. They only have to have a licensed person (usually in the office) to sign permit applications. Most of the time it's not a problem, but if your home was wired by someone that was laying sod the week before, it could be an issue.

[shcisamax]

The other part of the problem comes from the fact that there is no requirement to have a licensed electrician on the jobsite when the homes are being wired. They only have to have a licensed person (usually in the office) to sign permit applications. Most of the time it's not a problem, but if your home was wired by someone that was laying sod the week before, it could be an issue.

Oh my.

[JeffAVEWS]

You are all having a problem with "ELI the ICE" man, this is not an easy fix for circuit protectors that "fast blow-trip" and it's going to take a engineer to figure it out and come up with a fix. IMHO

[doran]

Does anyone else have their breakers tripping repeatedly?

we do and I noticed a letter from the electric company offering $25.00 to set up and an additional $5.00 per month for the service to provide additional
services so that this does not happen!!! My question why did they put bad service to begin with?????????

[getdul981]

we do and I noticed a letter from the electric company offering $25.00 to set up and an additional $5.00 per month for the service to provide additional
services so that this does not happen!!! My question why did they put bad service to begin with?????????

I believe what you are referring to is surge protection. Usually from lightning strikes near your home. Entirely different animal.

[graciegirl]

///

[raynan]

By any chance do you have a ham radio operator in your area? If you do not know, can you ask Galaxy or Pike or...who do you use anyway? if there is a ham radio in your area. Thanks.

Don't know if there is a ham radio in the area. Will check with Pike.

[Steve Nagy]

I was having this problem in my living room. I replaced the expensive, hi-tech, overly sensitive breaker that came with the house with one of the regular old $5 breakers from HD. Problem solved.

[graciegirl]

The other part of the problem comes from the fact that there is no requirement to have a licensed electrician on the jobsite when the homes are being wired. They only have to have a licensed person (usually in the office) to sign permit applications. Most of the time it's not a problem, but if your home was wired by someone that was laying sod the week before, it could be an issue.

The electrical crew is not EVER the same as the sod crew here!

There is a separate isolated bunch who does each part of the building process. Dozens of crews who do the same thing each time.

It appears to be the new breakers required by CODE aren't working properly.

[getdul981]

The electrical crew is not EVER the same as the sod crew here!



They all look alike.

[mulligan]

You are 100% correct, Gracie, but the point is, the people doing the electrical work in the homes don't have to be licensed, and some of the possible issues would not be addressed during inspections.

[graciegirl]

You are 100% correct, Gracie, but the point is, the people doing the electrical work in the homes don't have to be licensed, and some of the possible issues would not be addressed during inspections.

I know you must be right because you always are and I respect you very much, but an official inspection is required by either county or state after those things are installed in each home, before they can put up the dry wall. Or is that what you meant?

I truly would never argue with you Mulligan. You are always correct and I mean that from my heart.

[eremite06]

The "ARC" breakers are designed to trip with any arcing. If you remember the old drill motors or saws you could see a little "blue arc" where the the brushes meet the armature. Some vacuum's do the same thing. This will cause the ARC beakers to trip. Another problem is "Back Stabbing" of outlets on 15 amp circuits ( It is legal to do). They just push the wires in the back of outlets instead of wrapping the connection around the screws. I tested voltatage at a 15A outlet to be 123volts, plug an Iron in and the voltage dropped to 114 volts. That is more than a 5%. Plug the Iron in a 20amp circuit and the the voltage drop is 2 volts. Some the the voltage drop on 15 amp circuit is the smaller wire allowed. IMHO "Back Stabbing" of outlets should be outlawed. It is a terrible connection and can lead to arcing in the outlet. I will be changing all of them in my home in the near future. One thing you can do is buy a $4 single surge suppressor from Home Depot and move it around where you want to plug a motor into. :blahblahblah:
That's what I was thinking...."back stabbing" is the same as quick wiring. The speed at which these homes are built lends to this oversight and if it's code, it will be done. Unfortunately.

[mulligan]

I was referring to some of the finer points such as overstripping wires or loose connections that may fail. The inspector does not take off cover plates to check, so you must rely on the skill/training of the "electrician".

[2 Oldcrabs]

Most inspectors were never electrician. They go by the book they "read". They even had to "color code" the romex wire because they could not tell the wire size by looking at it and faster to do the inspection. They do not check connection, only check "polarity" at outlets. :ohdear:

[KeepingItReal]

Reference: AFCI guide to arc fault interrupters for home owners and home inspectors: how to buy, install, test, & inspect AFCIs

http://inspectapedia.com/electric/AFCI-CPSC.htm#AFCINuisance

[eremite06]

There was a whole development in Miami where condos blew right off their mono slabs during hurricane Andrew (Naranja Lakes). No rebar at all in the CBS walls. Inspectors were bought off by the developer.

Think it could happen here?

[mulligan]

Probably not. Take a look at a block house under construction, and you will see the patches at the bottom of the walls where the wall steel is tied to the slab dowels. I'll bet they don't miss many, if any.

[mulligan]

The situation in Miami may have been caused by an inexperienced inspector. The inspectors in large developments are actually hired by the builder, and the county just signs off on the inspector's report without actually doing an inspection. The inspectors in TV are TV employees, and the county accepts their reports. This is called a threshold inspection, because the inspector from the county doesn't have to cross it (the threshold).