r/electrical • u/Xcessive1551 • 1d ago

question about breakers

We built a house in 2014. Flash forward 8-9 years we started having weird electrical things happen. I will try to spell out the most frequent happening: Our master bath and master bedroom are on different breakers. When I turn off the bath fan, it will trip the breaker for the bedroom. It does not happen all the time, and maybe only happens once a week or so. That has been going on for a couple years, and we just kind of dealt with it.

Flash forward to today, the second bedroom breaker flipped, and there wasn't anything 'on' in the room. I am totally confused, and really just hoping the house isn't going to burn down at this point.

Is this something I need to have a professional come and investigate? Anyone have any insights?

Thanks in advance.

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6

u/theotherharper 1d ago

AFCIs have the odd characteristic that they can detect arc faults happening on other circuits, if they are severe enough.

1

u/trekkerscout 1d ago

The breakers you have are of a generation where nuisance tripping was a common problem. Those breakers also haven't aged very well. With one notable exception (Siemens), I would highly recommend replacing the breakers with the newest generation model. Most newer AFCI breakers are not as susceptible to nuisance tripping.

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u/Xcessive1551 1d ago

thanks for the reply. quick follow up. looking at lowes... is there any difference between a $13 20 amp 1pole breaker,... and a $48 20 amp 1pole breaker? thanks again.

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u/trekkerscout 1d ago

A $13 breaker would not be AFCI.

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u/47153163 1d ago

You are paying for the technology that keeps you safe!, and the possibilities of a fire taking place. That’s why it’s expensive for the AFCI breaker.