alan wrote: > > The one piece of kitchen equiptment that has caused me the most problems > is a toaster. I used to blow fuses at my old house all the time and 95% > of the time it was the toaster that pushed it over the edge. > > With that high of a load, I wonder if the breakers work at all. > Toasters tend to be a high-draw appliance, but they do not produce the startup spike that a microwave or a motor produces. Now, when it comes to breakers, there are many different types. The most common types in the U.S. are the thermal over-current and the magnetic short-circuit types. The better types, like the Square-D QO line have both in one package. The magnetic trip is great for protecting against short-circuits, but do not do well against overloads. The thermal trip types are great against over-current, but are very slow to react to a short-circuit. One of the worst examples of this were the old FPE breakers. You could vaporize anywhere between 1/4" to 1/2" of screwdriver before one would trip. On the other hand, the did offer fair overload protection. (I can remember a 60 amp QO breaker feeding a temporary panel trip before a 20 amp FPE breaker that was the only load, when someone dropped a beam on a cord plugged into the outlet. I was surprised that the breaker tripped before the cord burned clear of the beam.) Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!
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