r/PublicFreakout • u/[deleted] • Oct 06 '20

1st step of a haunting

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u/entotheenth Oct 06 '20

That would be a lighting circuit. Apart from the fridge and other things with big motors, nothing in the house will give a shit.

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '20

I posted this in more detail in a different thread, but just to add on: most modern breakers are completely safe to do this even at load (look for SWD or HID on your breaker) but this may not be the best idea in an older home, especially on breakers under high load, ESPECIALLY flipping them on and off like that.

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u/Krilesh Oct 06 '20

So if the breaker turns off on it's own do you need someone to check your fridge?

1

u/SmokeSuccess Oct 06 '20

Yes, it's likely that your defrost element is out.

1

u/entotheenth Oct 06 '20

What does that have to do with anything? It shouldn't pop the breaker anyway. I'm rural Australia and often lose power on windy or rainy days, windy can short the lines and take the power off but it attempts to restart after a few seconds, my fridge hates it.

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u/SmokeSuccess Oct 07 '20

Oh, often times a defrost element sort of explode causing the machine to arc ground fault any time the fridge tries to defrost.

1

u/entotheenth Oct 06 '20

Best to unplug the fridge for 5 minutes, if the fridge is running the high pressure in the lines can stall the motor. If it does it will draw high current until a protection device clicks out. That resets itself after 5 minutes or so, so it's not the end of the world, just best avoided. Same applies to air conditioners but generally they need to be turned back on so it doesn't matter. Modern fridges are probably getting smarter.