Water heater breaker gets hot and occasionally trips

Question

In our new MH I noticed the water heater breaker was tripping. The coach is 30A and usually we have the AC on. But this seems odd. The dealership is telling to manage my power better. They claim they left it on for an hour and it never tripped. But I've owned several RV's - some 30A some 50A and this has never happened. I've never bothered to feel the breaker in a previous RV but in this one I have it gets hot which could be too much resistance right? I don't think it's normal for a beaker to get so hot. Could it be the element? Could it be bad wiring, or is it really power management like the dealership is telling me?

ken56 · Answer

Contact the maker of the WH. Tell their tech support what the issue is. (hopefully they have tech support). It is not a power management issue in my opinion. Bad element or bad breaker possibly but who knows, it could be damaged wiring during the build process but if there was a short of sorts then the breaker would just trip when the power was turned on.

bb_tx · Answer

With power off, check the tightness of all wiring in your power center including hots, neutrals, +12, and grounds.  It is not uncommon to find screws not properly tightened. And a loose or poor connection can cause heat, especially on a high current circuit. You can also replace the breaker with a new one of same type and amperage. They can go bad. I had one on an air conditioner that would trip occasionally. Replaced it and no more tripping. Inexpensive and easy to change if you are a DIY type.

urbex · Answer

If your load is close to the eating of the breaker, such as pulling 14 amps through a 15 amp breaker, it could get a bit warm

However, the much more common reason this happens is because people use the breaker as a switch, which it isn't intended to do. Repeated cycling of the breaker causes it to wear out pretty quick, which will increase internal resistance, which causes heat and premature tripping.

wa8yxm · Answer

SUSPECT #1 takes a #2 Square or Phillips bit.. it is the screw that holds the wire to the breaker... TURN OFF the breaker. And make sure it's tight.

Same for all the other screws in that box.. unplug from shore first and use either DC lights (normal RV lighting is DC) or a flashlight (Also DC)

way2roll · Answer

Thanks for all the suggestions and answers. I had planned on checking the wires and connections, as well as the element itself. The only reason I didn't is because it was in for warranty for work for a few other small things and I asked them to do it. I feel like all they did was turn it on, it didn't trip and closed the ticket. I feel certain they didn't check any connections.

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Water heater breaker gets hot and occasionally trips

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