I'm remolding my new NC house (8 year old off frame modular). It has a 200 Amp main, where the neutral and ground buses are not bonded, so I've made sure to only connect ground wires to the ground bus, and neutral to the neutral bus on the new lines I've run. I've recently noted that original GFI breakers in the box are warm to the touch. Not hot, but warm. Is this normal? I completely rewired my existing house back in '93, was tutored by a licensed electrician bud, and passed all inspections first time, but the warm GFI breakers have me a little concerned and second guessing myself.
Question for Electricians
- Thread starter Argus17
- Start date
I wouldn't worry about it too much... yet. You could have a high amp draw on one of them (AC or fridge) or a loose connection (it's not uncommon for one to make the one next to it a little warm). The beauty about GFI breakers is that they're designed to trip in the event of an overload. You can try plugging something into another outlet to "shed the load." Keep an eye on it but don't lose any sleep.
What are the brand of the breakers? There's one company, Federal Pacific, that are notorious for not tripping when they need to.
What are the brand of the breakers? There's one company, Federal Pacific, that are notorious for not tripping when they need to.
King Kill 33
BoM Dec '13
He speaks the truth about Federal breakers! And yes, because they are GFI breakers, you have much less to worry about than if it was an ordinary breaker. However, because it is getting warm it may be due to it starting to 'wear out' where it may trip sooner than it should. If the loads connected are non-essential, keep an eye on it. If it starts nuisance tripping, try to see if that circuit can be protected by a GFI receptacle as they are less expensive. Of course provided that this meets the electrical code for the load you are trying to protect.
Thanks guys, I'll have to check out the brand next time I'm down. Here's the weird thing. Kitchen, baths, laundry and exterior are protected by GFI outlets. These GFI breakers are on the lighting and outlet circuits for the bedrooms, LR, DR and family room. So in reality all 15 & 20 amp circuits in the entire house have some sort of GFI protection.
I'll tell you one thing. The electric in this house scares me a bit. The whole place had those RV type self contained outlets and switches. Multiple ones had loose connections or sparked and snapped. I've been pulling them out, dropping in old work boxes, and installing proper outlets and switches. I found a live wire in one of the walls that I guess someone forgot to run to an outlet. Live and just laying in the stud bay. The kitchen circuits are not to code. I found 14 wire connected to the end of a 20 amp circuit. Also, doesn't code require a light switch at every entrance to a room? I have 3 entrances to the kitchen, and only one light switch. Same for the living room, laundry, dinningroom, etc. In fact there is not a single 3-way switch in the entire house. Something else I'm in the middle of rectifying.
I'll tell you one thing. The electric in this house scares me a bit. The whole place had those RV type self contained outlets and switches. Multiple ones had loose connections or sparked and snapped. I've been pulling them out, dropping in old work boxes, and installing proper outlets and switches. I found a live wire in one of the walls that I guess someone forgot to run to an outlet. Live and just laying in the stud bay. The kitchen circuits are not to code. I found 14 wire connected to the end of a 20 amp circuit. Also, doesn't code require a light switch at every entrance to a room? I have 3 entrances to the kitchen, and only one light switch. Same for the living room, laundry, dinningroom, etc. In fact there is not a single 3-way switch in the entire house. Something else I'm in the middle of rectifying.
Dave, they very well may be arc fault breakers in stead of gfi breakers. Some arc faults get warm due to the solid state circuits inside then. If you are taking 100 to 110 degrees warm you got nothing to worry about. If you are taking 200 degrees you might have an issue. Feel free to pm me if you have any direct questions. Been an electrician for 15 years.
Thanks for the reply. I never heard of an AFCI breaker, so I just looked them up. Sure looks like what is in the box, complete with the yellow stripe and yellow test button. I was wondering why they would have GFI breakers protecting non-wet locations, but the AFCI breaker makes sense. And yes, they are only warm, so I guess that's how they're suppose to be. Thanks again.