Electric question

Cowboy

Cowboy

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Ok so my wife moved her office into a different room of the house. Twice since moving Saturday when she has printed something it has caused the breaker to flip. So while she has printed 100's of pages twice it has flipped for no apparent reason besides printing? I'm wondering if the breaker itself needs replaced or if the printer might be going bad.
 
Need to identify what else is on the same circuit as the receptacle the printer is plugged in to. There may be a higher usage on that circuit and the printer is the straw that causes it to pop while operating.

If the wire is heavy duty enough, you *might* be able to swap in a bigger breaker to handle the loads.
 
Is it an inkjet printer or laser printer? Laser printers use a lot more power than inkjet printers. As others have suggested, it would be a good idea to check what other appliances are connected to the same circuit.

Also, if the printer has wired or wireless network capabilities, you could place it in a room that uses a different circuit (assuming that room has an Ethernet drop or reliable WiFi signal).
 
laser printers take a ton of power. when I print on mine next to my desk, I always hear the UPS my pc and other stuff is plugged into (not the printer, they shouldnt be plugged into a ups) go “click” when the printer charges up indicating a big surge.
 
Have you checked the wire connection on the receptacle?
When was the house built?
Some older homes had alum wire.

Start basic and move up the ladder to more complicated things.
 
???


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Ok to answer a few questions. The house was built 2003. The only thing on the circuit is the computer, two monitors, printer. I had one breaker go bad about 6-7 months ago in a different part of the house using this same set up. Oh and yes it's a laser printer.
 
So, what else is out when the breaker trips? Anything in an adjacent room maybe? Try moving some stuff off that circuit to another?

As others have mentioned, it sounds like the circuit is already on the edge and the printer is putting it over, especially if it's a laser.
 
And the printer is plugged into a surge protector but I'm not sure if it works to protect surges both ways.
 
Only the room the office is in goes out.
georgel said:
So, what else is out when the breaker trips? Anything in an adjacent room maybe? Try moving some stuff off that circuit to another?

As others have mentioned, it sounds like the circuit is already on the edge and the printer is putting it over, especially if it's a laser.
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BlackGun said:
His house is newer. Most likely an arc fault breaker.
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This is a good suggestion if the room was built as a bedroom.

AFCI's can nuisance trip on random strange noise signatures. If you have a "filtered" power strip, try plugging it in to the power strip and see if it still happens. Doing so might just change the noise waveforms enough to not trip the breaker.

What brand breaker, by the way?
 
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Yep, AFCI (I think Eaton is Cutler-Hammer, isn't it?) .

Having been in the business of testing such breakers for a living (though not that particular brand) they can be quite sensitive to particular waveforms the equipment plugged into that branch, might inject back into the line. AFCI's have a microprocessor in them that is constantly digitizing the waveforms it sees on the wiring, and comparing what it sees to it's "library" of waveforms it believes to be an arc fault event.

This is *not* an exact science though.

What I would try is moving the printer to a non-bedroom outlet and see if it still happens. Most other residential outlets won't have the AFCI circuitry . BlackGun FTW!

It's a free test.
 
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You also mentioned the house being built in 2003. That was pretty near when arc fault breakers in bedrooms became standard (now required in a lot more places). The early ones were pretty bad in terms of nuisance trip, meaning a newer one may be better. The house we recently sold was 2003 and I think I ended up replacing one or two with standard breakers as @Scsmith42 suggested, but you might consider a newer arc fault one.

Edit to add: look at the wire, yellow or white. This will tell you if it's 12 or 14 gauge (20 or 15 amp). Don't oversize the breaker by putting a 20A on a 14 gauge wire. While it probably wouldn't be an issues, god forbid something should fail, it start a fire, and you not be covered because of something like this.
 
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Don't replace a 15A with a 20A. That's how houses burn down.

Move the printer to a non AFCI outlet and see what happens.
 
Cowboy said:
So would this be the proper replacement
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Read the stickers on the door of the box. It will be listed what type to buy.
 
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JohnFreeman said:
Don't replace a 15A with a 20A. That's how houses burn down.

Move the printer to a non AFCI outlet and see what happens.
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Well that's the problem this is my wife's office now. She will print 2 cases of paper every month or so and it would be super inconvenient to put in another room.
 
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Cowboy said:
Well that's the problem this is my wife's office now. She will print 2 cases of paper every month or so and it would be super inconvenient to put in another room.
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Is there an outlet on the wall in the room on the other side of the wall? If so, and if it’s a different circuit, perhaps a new outlet can be installed (piggybacking off the other room’s outlet).
 
Cowboy said:
Well that's the problem this is my wife's office now. She will print 2 cases of paper every month or so and it would be super inconvenient to put in another room.
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Run an extension cord to another room, or the hallway? I'm just suggesting this as a test to see if it's actually an AFCI issue.

How big is this printer??
 
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JohnFreeman said:
Run an extension cord to another room, or the hallway? I'm just suggesting this as a test to see if it's actually an AFCI issue.

How big is this printer??
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Just a small printer. She also has tried to make it happen again but it won't replicate the issue. So I will just wait and if it happens again I'll switch it out with another in the box.
 
Yeah, that should be no problem for a 15A branch circuit. At 2 cases of paper per month, I was beginning to envision a large office-sized job!!
 
JohnFreeman said:
Yeah, that should be no problem for a 15A branch circuit. At 2 cases of paper per month, I was beginning to envision a large office-sized job!!
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She could use a big ole printer. She prints 40-60 law suits multiple times a week. Sometimes several times if there are errors. She runs two different states now so I see a new printer within a few months. No way this one will hold up much longer.
 
She's printing 2 cases a month and it's on the floor? Wouldn't it be more convienent to put it up on a stand or table?
 
Based on all of the above my advice is to call an electrician. I know a good one who moonlights for bonus bucks. pm me for contact info if you want to go that route.
 
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