heat strip

[allenr]

I switched on the heat strip in our AC unit this morning and the breaker on the outlet kicked out. I then reset it, it runs fine on fan only and all three AC settings.

I'm not so bad at repairing something I can see but with electricity a little advice would be welcome. Any ideas what it might be?

Again, on fan only and all three AC settings it runs fine, on heat setting it will trip the breaker on the wall outlet. Thank you, allenr.

 

[Wrascal]

The heatstrip is drawing more current than the breaker can handle.

The breaker may be doing its job properly - indicating another problem (too big a heatstrip) or the breaker may be weak and tripping early. Has it ever worked or has this become a problem since the element was installed?

If you have any additional loads on that circuit turn them off before trying the heater.

 

[allenr]

This is the first time it has not worked, a weak breaker would be a good guess and a good place to start. Thanks

 

[Wrascal]

Don't forget to check the heating element, it may have shifted from vibrations/movement. It would blow fuses if it was now grounded. Perhaps even just a dirt problem; stranger things have happened.

 

[charlie b-HILO]

Is it tripping a breaker or the ground fault interrupter? when you say breaker on the outlet it makes me wonder. GFI outlets go bad but moisture can also cause them to trip. I doubt the heater draws more power than the AC so my guess is there may be a ground fault. Hard to say from sunny and cold southeast Ohio

 

[allenr]

It could have been water or dirt, or lack of use. It's about a year since I've used the heat strip. Anyway, I worked the breaker a few times tried it a couple more times and it started working.

Thank you Charlie b and Wrascal for your help.

 

[charlie b-HILO]

I would replace that breaker ASAP. It is bound to fail completely at the least opportune moment