OT: Problem with breakers blowing

bjk7382

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I have an off topic question, but still related to electricity, so I thought someone here might know.

I have a Robot Coupe MP450 power mixer from where I work that started blowing the breaker there every time it is plugged in (sometimes it won't blow the breaker until the power switch is hit) So I brought it home with the intent on fixing the cord that is coming apart at the stress relief. I took it home inspected the wires, and none of the wires are damaged just the outside cord insulation that holds the wires together has twisted off. So I taped it up and plugged it in at my house

It works fine at my house??? I can't get it to blow the breaker at any plug in my apartment. WTF is going on that it would blow ANY breaker at work, but won't blow any at my house?

All other devices work fine in the plugs at work (knife sharpener, radio, bag sealer) But the power mixer blows the breakers non-stop.

I am pretty sure it is a problem with the mixer, but confuses me as to why it works at my house. I think it might be a problem with the safety mechanism that prevents it from turning on, with the power switch locked on, while plugging it in.
 

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blows the breakers

how many devices are on the circuit at work? could be theres a lot on that circuit and when you plug another device in, the breaker does its job.

if it works at home, then theres nothing wrong with the robot thing.

could be the outlet at work is wired wrong too. get one of those little testers that tell you whats wrong with the outlet, when you plug it in. could be you've detected a potential problem at work which could cause a fire.
 
I have an off topic question, but still related to electricity, so I thought someone here might know.

I have a Robot Coupe MP450 power mixer from where I work that started blowing the breaker there every time it is plugged in (sometimes it won't blow the breaker until the power switch is hit) So I brought it home with the intent on fixing the cord that is coming apart at the stress relief. I took it home inspected the wires, and none of the wires are damaged just the outside cord insulation that holds the wires together has twisted off. So I taped it up and plugged it in at my house

It works fine at my house??? I can't get it to blow the breaker at any plug in my apartment. WTF is going on that it would blow ANY breaker at work, but won't blow any at my house?

All other devices work fine in the plugs at work (knife sharpener, radio, bag sealer) But the power mixer blows the breakers non-stop.

I am pretty sure it is a problem with the mixer, but confuses me as to why it works at my house. I think it might be a problem with the safety mechanism that prevents it from turning on, with the power switch locked on, while plugging it in.


could speak to the condition of the breaker at work , or you have problems with the brushes and have 20 amp breakers at home and 15's or a mix of 20's and 15s at work. Splats , its ac power , it dont matter which is wired , works either way
 
The confusing thing is that this thing has worked well at work for years, and is just now doing this. All the same crap has been plugged in before and after it started doing this. And I did try other plugs at work, some with only one other thing plugged in and it still blows that specific breaker. I ran around in a hurry last night trying to make picante ranch with this piece of shit and blew 3 breakers while going around the restaurant. Which made me think that it has to be a problem with the mixer, but then it works fine at home??

I hate to tell them to buy a new one at $500+ when there isn't a problem with it.

Also I did check the plug at work looks fine with 123v between hot and neutral, and hot and ground. Nothing between neutral and ground.
 
i'm gonna guess the breaker at work is a gfci breaker, and the one at home isn't. Try it in your bathroom at home. If it trips that breaker, its a mixer problem, otherwise, its most likely the gfci breaker at work is bad.
 
i'm gonna guess the breaker at work is a gfci breaker, and the one at home isn't. Try it in your bathroom at home. If it trips that breaker, its a mixer problem, otherwise, its most likely the gfci breaker at work is bad.

I do beleive the actual breakers at work are gfci. They don't have the gfci plugs you see at home, but the circuit breakers in the panel have a "test" button on them. And that is only for the plugs that I was using.

And I do have a gfci plug in my bathroom which the mixer does not blow.

So the 3 main breakers that power all the general use plugs in the kitchen at work would be suspect then?
 
its hard to say for sure - but it almost sounds like the ground bar in the panel box might not be hooked up, or something miswired - was any work done recently? If your gfi at your house functions properly and the mixer works ok, its most likely a wiring issue at work. Since the only connection between the 3 circuits in the kitchen are in the panel box, that'd be where i'd suspect the problem was. At this point, i'd try one of those outlet testers, and see if the outlets are wired properly. Could even be the ground and neutrals swapped in the panel box, or an outlet. that can cause a gfi to trip.
It almost sounds like that you really need to have an electrician look at whats going on.
 
It almost sounds like that you really need to have an electrician look at whats going on.
I planed on doing this anyway, but wanted to rule out the mixer as the problem. Because an electrician comes in and you say the the breakers only blow when I plug this in, he is going to put the mixer at fault. And plus it costs us 175 bucks just to have them walk in the door. Now I can tell him to test the plugs and breakers and replace them if neccessary.

I'm still not sure if the mixer is at fault or not, since it went from working friday, to blowing breakers on saturday with nothing else being different.
 
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