We bought an 18 cubic foot refrigerator to replace a 10 cubic foot one about two weeks ago. Tonight while running the dishwasher (which we have done daily with this new refrigerator, with no problems before), the refrigerator, dishwasher, ceiling lights in the kitchen, and 2 lamps in the living room all shut off. One other LR lamp in a different outlet stayed on, as did the TV.
We flicked the circuit breaker off/on and all came back on. About 5 minutes later, the same thing happened. We turned off the 2 lamps, flicked the circuit breaker, and all came back on, except we kept the lamps off. Why would this happen now when there's been no problem in the past, including the past 2 weeks with the slightly bigger (Energy Star) refrigerator? Do we need to check this out further with an electrician, or only if it happens again?
By Barbara R
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This happens in my house because there are too many things on one circuit. I have the fridge, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, TV & all its assorted accessories, and my Roomba all connected to 4 different outlets, but only one breaker. It is obviously not a good wiring configuration, but I suppose there were not quite so many electrical things when the house was wired back in the seventies.
In the morning, when the coffeemaker is working, I cannot microwave anything and make toast at the same time. Later, when the coffee is just keeping warm, I can. If the TV is on, I can only run one of the three in the kitchen. The other day, I had unexpected circuit breaking, and realized that the Roomba was charging when I was trying to do two things in the kitchen, and that was enough to throw the breaker.
I expect that your new dishwasher has more of a draw than the old one did, and so you will just have adjust. There is no harm in the breaker flipping - you would have to worry if you had overloaded circuits and the breaker didn't flip. Leave the lights off when the dishwasher is running; problem solved.
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