Safe, sensible to turn off BRANCH circuit breaker for range, every day when house is empty

safety

After one oven turned itself on middle night, everyone in my family is now scared stiff silly of ranges!!! We always turn off all Branch Circuit Breakers ("BCB") except for fridge, before we leave condo to vacation. We livein Toronto Canada. Certified ON technician found nothing wrong.

Still we want turn off BCB for range EVERY TIME WE LEAVE HOUSE – ALMOST EVERY DAY – this is how much we distrust ovens! But this website discourages it.

golden23 Mar 2017

You are right, katiekate. They are not for regular flipping. A switch installed by an electrician would be better or remove all the knobs before you leave the house.

Katiekate Mar 2017

I would not be flipping the circuit breaker off and on. They are not designed to act like a light switch…they will not stand up to the wear involved.

As you request I picture my Circuit Breakers and range details.

enter image description here
enter image description here
enter image description here

Best Answer

I can’t quite make out the brand of breaker or the age. If you are using the circuit breaker like a switch it should be switch rated “SWD” stamped on the breaker or the breaker is listed for switch duty. Many modern breakers are listed for switch duty but not stamped. The one advantage you have is the oven s not on when you throw the breaker off or on, this helps but constantly flipping the breaker not rated for switch duty damages the hammers and can cause early failure.