Electrical Myth
While searching through the forums recently, I came across two posts in which an old electrical myth is repeated- "Circuit breakers will trip at 80% of their rating." For any breaker which has not deg...
Forum Discussion
I am a simple person. Lets take the 80% it will trip. THAT means in a 30 amp RV (which is what a LOT of RV's have), according to those that state 80% continual load it will trip, That means a 30 amp RV in the summer will ONLY have 24 amps available, and the 30 amp breaker in the RV will trip at 24 to 25 amps BECAUSE of that continual load with AC running and all the other appliances. Well, I am a simple man and do NOT have a Masters in electricity or Engineering but do have 34 years working on RV electrical systems and problems. I have NEVER seen a 30 amp breaker(not defective) trip below its 30 amp rating, especially at 24 amps. I HAVE seen them not trip until it gets to its 10% to 20% rating(33 to 36 amps). IF they trip at continuous at 80% (24 amps), how come I see so many 30 amp shore ends all burnt and pitted from overloading? SAME on 50 amp RV's the 50 to 30 adapter is all burnt and pitted from overloading? That breaker at the pole (30 amp) should have tripped way before the overload heat built up. Doug
