Yeeesh....power problems continue

[WeirdWiredWolf]

So my last grow just barely made it because of what we thought was a dodgy outlet in my bedroom. I've had my tent packed away for two months, and it just happened again. The most recent blowout about 15 minutes ago came when my mom was using the garbage disposal in the kitchen (my computer was on, but that combo has not caused a problem before). We've determined that my bedroom and half of the kitchen are on the same circuit (why...?), but not what exactly causes it to trip. It has to be load-related somehow. We brought this up to our super, and the explanation he gave didn't make a lot of sense (the breakers are old and sometimes they just trip...erm, while that is how they're designed to work, that's still bad if we don't know what's causing it). I'd love to get a peek at the wiring diagrams for this place just so I can see if our breaker panel could possibly be affected by other apartments (either by design or some new problem), but that's not likely.

So I'm not sure what the next steps are here; I was planning another small grow this season, but if my grow light keeps blowing the breaker (way more likely given that this is happening with the tent taken out of the equation entirely)... I was momentarily considering something like a battery backup, but that would cause havoc for sure :doubtful:

Ideas? I am trying to keep track of the electricity usage in my room, but that's prone to major error (the only appliance that I know the exact draw of is the floor lamp, and the outlet that the rest of my stuff is plugged into is now unreachable).

 

[Catfish22]

Try plugging the light in on a different circuit. Some panel breakers are actually GFCI breakers now.
It could be a problem with the circuitry in your light and the breaker is just doing what it's supposed to do. Also breakers can become weak over time and will trip more often. That however is also a breaker yelling "replace me"!

 

[Puglover1]

Is there a better outlet in another area that you can run a heavy duty extension cord to? I have weird issues: three GFI outlets in my kitchen, one is only mostly reliable, others are worthless, always flipping. I was told it needs a bigger (30 amp) circuit? downstairs in the breaker box, by a stranger, an electrician found no problem. One time half of my house had power: some dark rooms, some dim, some normal, and in some rooms the outlets/lights worked and some of them didn't. Seems my house is connected to a transformer on my street and to one in a subdivision east of my ravine, took a year for an answer on that one. I'm a girl who never did well in science classes. Good luck!

 

[dphipps1020]

Hire an electrician yourself and give him the bill. It could be just an old breaker needing to be replaced, or something more serious that could potentially cause a fire. Either way I'd say it's not something he should be taking lightly.

 

[Rwise]

(the breakers are old and sometimes they just trip.

What he means is those old breakers cost a lot to replace, and he is not replacing it even though it is a bad breaker.
This breaker will continue to trip, and with less load until it will not reset, at that time he must replace it.
I agree with calling an electrician.

 

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I'd been thinking that myself, I'll bring it up. Right now we're a bit financially strapped, but if this is affecting more than just my grow and has the potential to get way worse (if it fails in the middle of winter that would be doubleplus ungood squared) we can make it work. Either way I'm not going to set my tent up until it's actually fixed. I don't really want to start running extension cords in here for numerous reasons.

The power company was here last month doing 'testing' (not enough obviously). There has been construction going on in the complex since we moved in; different 'building' entirely, but something must have got fucked up. These problems started January 5 or so IIRC. My mom just told me that the entire living room tripped about two weeks ago...but that may not be related as I just found out she plugged the TV and all its accessories into the one outlet that is controlled by a wall switch in the front hall.

 

[Catfish22]

Or call the local fire marshal. Those dudes don't mess around with known electrical problems. Especially in multi unit housing. If yours are like that...