First World Problems

Hoss

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Palum_sl said:
Holy shit, how did I miss this gem. This is wrong on almost every conceivable level. You are confusing overdrawing current (coincidentally what circuit breakers and fuses control which would ideally be EVERY outlet) and ground faults (what a GFCI protects against). Microwaves do NOT just light on fire if they are not protected by a GFCI, JTFC.
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You're a powerful pack of stupid. I didn't say microwaves light on fire if they aren't protected by a GFCI. I actually said pretty much the opposite. Microwaves should NOT be on GFCI circuits. If they are, they are liable to start a fire in your walls. I'm basing that on what the electrician told me when I lived it. We had one plugged into a regular counter circuit. He said the GFCI circuit masked the over current being caused by the microwave and other appliances and allowed the wires to heat up too much for long periods of time. Eventually, they got too melty and failed spectacularly. He said he'd seen the same thing happen before and burn the house down. We were lucky and probably saved by the house only being a few years old.

It's possible the real problem was simply that it wasn't a dedicated circuit, but I figure there's a reason that builders put in non GFCI circuits above the stove for microwaves. Either way, my point stands that you should not simply plug the microwave into another circuit.

Oh and I was wrong that it's not only Microwave circuits. Apparently Fridges, dishwashers, stoves, and ovens can be on dedicated non GFCI circuits too if the manufacturer calls for it or calls for a dedicated circuit.


aaron_sl said:
I won? I feel so special!
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Not so fast. We need pics first to prove your story.
 
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Hoss_sl said:
You're a powerful pack of stupid. I didn't say microwaves light on fire if they aren't protected by a GFCI. I actually said pretty much the opposite. Microwaves should NOT be on GFCI circuits. If they are, they are liable to start a fire in your walls. I'm basing that on what the electrician told me when I lived it. We had one plugged into a regular counter circuit. He said the GFCI circuit masked the over current being caused by the microwave and other appliances and allowed the wires to heat up too much for long periods of time. Eventually, they got too melty and failed spectacularly. He said he'd seen the same thing happen before and burn the house down. We were lucky and probably saved by the house only being a few years old.

It's possible the real problem was simply that it wasn't a dedicated circuit, but I figure there's a reason that builders put in non GFCI circuits above the stove for microwaves. Either way, my point stands that you should not simply plug the microwave into another circuit.

Oh and I was wrong that it's not only Microwave circuits. Apparently Fridges, dishwashers, stoves, and ovens can be on dedicated non GFCI circuits too if the manufacturer calls for it or calls for a dedicated circuit.




Not so fast. We need pics first to prove your story.
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The gfci is independent of the circuit breaker which is what trips if you overdraw a circuit. Gfci or not a typical 20A breaker will trip if you have too many things on one circuit.

The reason a lot of built in microwaves require dedicated circuits is safety, why not wire it that way if you can? But there are countertop microwaves and these can be plugged in to gfci or normal outlets no problem.
 
Aamry

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I was going to say, I run an electric leaf blower on a lot of jobsites, and the older houses that don't have GFCI's on the exterior, I end up blowing the breaker a lot. With the GFCI, I can always reset it myself without bothering the homeowner. Unless the house is wired weird.
 
Hoss

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Sounds like you have a problem with your leaf blower aamry. A GFCI is only supposed to trip when the 2 legs have different currents. If you are tripping both circuit breakers and GFCIs, it sounds like you have a pretty big ground fault in your device. It's probably something that happens after it gets heated up, otherwise you wouldn't be able to run it for any length of time and would have thrown it away by now. It makes sense the GFCI would trip first since it's more sensitive on ground faults.
 
Sylas

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Watched the first 4 episodes of GoT Season 5, now i gotta wait another month for a new episode
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iannis

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Cad_sl said:
The gfci is independent of the circuit breaker which is what trips if you overdraw a circuit. Gfci or not a typical 20A breaker will trip if you have too many things on one circuit.

The reason a lot of built in microwaves require dedicated circuits is safety, why not wire it that way if you can? But there are countertop microwaves and these can be plugged in to gfci or normal outlets no problem.
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I know that I can't run my microwave and another power hungry appliance at the same time without tripping the circuit. I never thought I might burn my house down if I kept trying. The "the circuit breaker tripped" was a big enough disincentive.
 
Aamry

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Hoss_sl said:
Sounds like you have a problem with your leaf blower aamry. A GFCI is only supposed to trip when the 2 legs have different currents. If you are tripping both circuit breakers and GFCIs, it sounds like you have a pretty big ground fault in your device. It's probably something that happens after it gets heated up, otherwise you wouldn't be able to run it for any length of time and would have thrown it away by now. It makes sense the GFCI would trip first since it's more sensitive on ground faults.
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More than likely, I have to buy a new one every 6 months or so because they tend to fall off roofs.
 
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Iannis_sl said:
I know that I can't run my microwave and another power hungry appliance at the same time without tripping the circuit. I never thought I might burn my house down if I kept trying. The "the circuit breaker tripped" was a big enough disincentive.
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You wouldn't burn your house down if you kept trying assuming every circuit is wired on a breaker and appropriate breakers were used for the type of wiring on each circuit. You'd just keep tripping the breaker.
 
Hoss

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Eventually the connections will start corroding though. That's when the real risk of fire happens.
 
Tarrant

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I know there are 3 episodes of GoT that are leaked that ?I haven't seen yet but I have to force myself not to watch them because I don't want to wait a month for another new episode.
 
Joeboo

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So, up until a couple years ago at my office, if you needed to print an envelope to mail something to someone, you just brought up their account, right-clicked on their name, clicked on "envelope" and an envelope spat out of the printer with their name and address printed on it. Easy enough.

Since then, we have "upgraded" to a new printer, and a new software suite for handling client accounts. Now, to mail someone an envelope, I bring up their account, right-click on their name, click on "envelope", this now opens Microsoft Word to an envelope template that is completely blank. I have to click "edit" to enter editting mode so I can type, then manually type the persons name and address. Then when I print, I have to get up, go to the printer, manually feed an envelope into it, and then I'm done.

And I'm in an insurance office, we mail out a LOT of stuff, I have to do this probably a dozen times a day. I used to be able to sit at my desk and print 10 different envelopes for 10 different people, now I have to get up and walk to the printer for each individual one, to feed it an envelops. Takes 10x as long.

Great "upgrade" IT department. Worthless bastards. But hey, we're using IE 11 now, instead of the IE 7 we were using up until about 2 years ago.
 
Ronaan

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Printing envelopes is so... I always hated it.
Get with the rest of the business world and use windowed envelopes?
 
Joeboo

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Ronaan_sl said:
Printing envelopes is so... I always hated it.
Get with the rest of the business world and use windowed envelopes?
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That's another thing...

I work in an insurance office, so we mail out TONS of proof of insurance cards, seems like most people never open their mail so they don't get their proof of insurance when our corporate office mails them out every 6 months, they call us when they need one and we print it and mail it to them. Up until this update, the proof of insurance card had the customers name & address on it, that fit perfectly into a windowed envelope when folded. Easy enough.

Now, for "privacy & security" reasons*, a customers address is not printed on proof of insurance cards anymore, so there's no point in using windowed envelopes anymore, there wouldn't be an address to show. So we have to print normal envelopes through the idiotic method I listed above.

EVERYTHING IS GETTING LESS EFFICIENT!!! AAARGH!!!!

* I guess the theory is that you don't want paperwork with your home address on it in your glove box if your car gets stolen. Because now the thief knows where you live and probably has a garage door opener to enter your home to boot, so I guess that makes sense.
 
Ronaan

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joeboo_sl said:
* I guess the theory is that you don't want paperwork with your home address on it in your glove box if your car gets stolen. Because now the thief knows where you live and probably has a garage door opener to enter your home to boot, so I guess that makes sense.
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Well that makes sense, sort of.
Or you could put a letter into the envelope with the card that has the address, or have a tear-off thing if you know what I mean. I know I'd choose that version if I'd have to deal with printers & envelopes. Always hated that shit, never put the envelope in the printer right side up the first time, maybe I'm just stoopid though.
 
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Then again, does the automobile registration, which is required to be kept in the automobile in some states, have your address on it in the glove box.
 
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