All-in-one computer tripping circuit breaker

[OnionRings]

Hey guys my sister has a bit of a weird issue where I gave her one of my mom's old all-in-one computers and whenever she turns it on and starts playing games on it it trips the circuit breaker in their house they tried moving circuits and everything but it still seems to be tripping it before the introduction of the all-in-one the only thing they had on the circuit was a PS4 ATV a laptop a phone charger and whatever ceiling fans and lights were currently on and there were no problems but now with the all-in-one it is tripping the breaker and I'm trying to figure out why the hell and all-in-one is pulling enough power to trip a breaker sorry for the lack of punctuation I am using speech to text on my phone

[Chronified]

Crappy surge protector? Do they have electric heat?

[SenKa]

7 minutes ago, OnionRings said:

Hey guys my sister has a bit of a weird issue where I gave her one of my mom's old all-in-one computers and whenever she turns it on and starts playing games on it it trips the circuit breaker in their house they tried moving circuits and everything but it still seems to be tripping it before the introduction of the all-in-one the only thing they had on the circuit was a PS4 ATV a laptop a phone charger and whatever ceiling fans and lights were currently on and there were no problems but now with the all-in-one it is tripping the breaker and I'm trying to figure out why the hell and all-in-one is pulling enough power to trip a breaker sorry for the lack of punctuation I am using speech to text on my phone

I would imagine the circuits are being used near capacity already, and the extra wattage from the AIO is just putting it over the edge. Did it have this behavior at your house?

[TempestCatto]

That seems like a lot for one circuit. You're receptacles, appliances, and lights should all be on their own circuits respectively. If they can't find a receptacle that doesn't trip, then the house/building may be wired wrong. I live in a trailer home from 1980, even I have separate circuits for everything. You typically will have multiple receptacles from one, sometimes two rooms on the same circuit breaker, which is normal. So check to make sure you're not sharing a circuit with receptacles that have loads of high draw stuff plugged in from another room. That AIO probably pulls 200 watts at the most, now imagine if you gave her a high end gaming pc. What room are they plugging the computer into, and what other rooms have they tried? Have they tried plugging it in on the complete opposite side of the house, far away from that room? Maybe even try some odd ball rooms like the kitchen, just to give it a shot.  

[OnionRings]

On 2/15/2019 at 8:23 PM, Chronified said:

Crappy surge protector? Do they have electric heat?

Not in surge. Yes.

 

On 2/15/2019 at 8:24 PM, SenpaiKaplan said:

I would imagine the circuits are being used near capacity already, and the extra wattage from the AIO is just putting it over the edge. Did it have this behavior at your house?

No, we had it in our living room as my moms main PC, no trips.

 

On 2/15/2019 at 8:29 PM, TempestCatto said:

That seems like a lot for one circuit. You're receptacles, appliances, and lights should all be on their own circuits respectively. If they can't find a receptacle that doesn't trip, then the house/building may be wired wrong. I live in a trailer home from 1980, even I have separate circuits for everything. You typically will have multiple receptacles from one, sometimes two rooms on the same circuit breaker, which is normal. So check to make sure you're not sharing a circuit with receptacles that have loads of high draw stuff plugged in from another room. That AIO probably pulls 200 watts at the most, now imagine if you gave her a high end gaming pc. What room are they plugging the computer into, and what other rooms have they tried? Have they tried plugging it in on the complete opposite side of the house, far away from that room? Maybe even try some odd ball rooms like the kitchen, just to give it a shot.  

They might have to move it into the kitchen/dining area like before, no issues there. It seems to be that there house is 2 rooms and 1 bathroom on 1 circuit, then the other 2 and other bath on the other, then kitchen I assume is on its own.

[Chronified]

Seems the electric heat + other objects in that area of the house are reaching the 15amp/1500watt max that most "stock" residential breakers use.

 

However, if the breaker is 10+ years old and has tripped many times, the "trip" will wear out that 15amp/1500w breaker and it'll be closer to around 1000-1200w,  I had a bad kitchen breaker that a 1100w microwave kept tripping if I had the 80w ceiling light on and the fridge plugged in at the same time. Try finding an older 1500w heater and see if that trips the same breaker.

 

If it does; find a buddy who can replace the 15A breaker with a 25A one. Super cheap, any hardware store / walmart carries them.

Youtube is great, but it's also dangerous. So find someone who know's what they're doing if you can, however shutting of the main power to the house is the easiest way to do this safely DIY-guide style (I had to upgrade my office to 25A, I'm not an electrician but I'm confident in my skills).

 

Best of luck!

[TempestCatto]

5 hours ago, Chronified said:

If it does; find a buddy who can replace the 15A breaker with a 25A one. Super cheap, any hardware store / walmart carries them.

Youtube is great, but it's also dangerous. So find someone who know's what they're doing if you can, however shutting of the main power to the house is the easiest way to do this safely DIY-guide style (I had to upgrade my office to 25A, I'm not an electrician but I'm confident in my skills).

While that's not a bad idea, you need to be careful. You need to ensure your wiring can also handle 25A. Older buildings and homes may not have strong enough wiring, and therefore you'd need to upgrade that as well.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

7 hours ago, Chronified said:

...find a buddy who can replace the 15A breaker with a 25A one. Super cheap, any hardware store / walmart carries them...

That is really BAD advice! Do not EVER do this! It is extremely unlikely (as in never) that the wiring on the circuit will be rated for any more current than the orignal breaker. Allowing more current through is likely to to start a fire. So, again, DON'T DO IT!

[Chronified]

Yeah, I wouldn't go purposely loading that circuit with 2000w+ of electronics (or more than you have now for that matter), but to get it to stop popping when you go load up a game on the AIO it should be fine. 

But yeah, agreed, as mentioned above, if you have an older house I'd be wary of loading that circuit with more than you have now IF you upgrade to 25a.

[TempestCatto]

3 hours ago, Chronified said:

Yeah, I wouldn't go purposely loading that circuit with 2000w+ of electronics (or more than you have now for that matter), but to get it to stop popping when you go load up a game on the AIO it should be fine. 

But yeah, agreed, as mentioned above, if you have an older house I'd be wary of loading that circuit with more than you have now IF you upgrade to 25a.

Not only would you need to upgrade the wiring to 25A, you'd also need to upgrade the receptacle(s) to 25A as well. All in all, seems like a lot of trouble for just one measly computer. I'd much rather move it to another room myself.

[OnionRings]

On 2/18/2019 at 2:52 AM, Chronified said:

Seems the electric heat + other objects in that area of the house are reaching the 15amp/1500watt max that most "stock" residential breakers use.

 

However, if the breaker is 10+ years old and has tripped many times, the "trip" will wear out that 15amp/1500w breaker and it'll be closer to around 1000-1200w,  I had a bad kitchen breaker that a 1100w microwave kept tripping if I had the 80w ceiling light on and the fridge plugged in at the same time. Try finding an older 1500w heater and see if that trips the same breaker.

 

If it does; find a buddy who can replace the 15A breaker with a 25A one. Super cheap, any hardware store / walmart carries them.

Youtube is great, but it's also dangerous. So find someone who know's what they're doing if you can, however shutting of the main power to the house is the easiest way to do this safely DIY-guide style (I had to upgrade my office to 25A, I'm not an electrician but I'm confident in my skills).

 

Best of luck!

Sadly they rent so I doubt they can go messing with that.