We have a double Thermador oven in our house. We've owned the house for around two years, and the oven has worked fine up until the last few weeks. Now, using either of the ovens trips the circuit breaker after around 5 minutes.
The circuit breaker is a 50 amp breaker labeled "Internal Common Trip". You can see it circled here in this unfortunately grainy picture. Note, the one to its right and the pair below are also labeled "Internal Common Trip". No others in the panel are labeled this way:
And also, the bottom half of it here:
I can add more images when I get home from work.
Anyway, I'm trying to determine what's more likely the cause of the tripping. My wife says she smells a faint burning smell from the panel when it trips. I have a home warranty which will cover (with a $100 copay) repair, but I have to pay a separate copay for the appliance repair shop and then another if it turns out to need an electrician (assuming the appliance shop can't do the electrical work itself).
What would be more likely in this case? A bad breaker or a bad oven? Are there any steps I can take to narrow down the cause?
Thanks!
Best Answer
It doesn't sound like a short. It happens after five minutes... each time. To me it also sounds like loose wiring or a bad breaker. I would turn the circuit off and than I would visually inspect the back of the receptacle first. Are the screws tight? Any burnt looking wires anywhere in the box? Than if that is good I would switch that breaker out for a breaker that works. If it holds, you know your breaker needs to be replaced.
You must have confidence in knowing you know how to turn off circuits to do this. If you are uncomfortable, just call an electrician. I am sure it won't take them that long to figure it out. You could even have a breaker at home for them ready (and return it to a store- if they will let you- if he does not need it.)