A circuit on my electrical panel has flipped a couple times and it appears to be the dehumidifier pump, which spiked to 9000W and then turned off. When I looked at Power Quality, it was within normal range but it looked like a lot more variation than usual. Any suggestions on whether to call an electrician or just get a new pump?
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If you have a (presumably 15A or 20A 120v) circuit that’s tripping breakers and drawing 9kW, then yes, something is wrong. Is this circuit feeding a dedicated device or a receptacle?
Your power quality graph indicates a heavy load on one leg of your electric service, combined with a potentially weak neutral connection. This could be explained by a 120v device that’s shorting out or drawing excessive amounts of power.
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The circuit is controlling multiple outlets in my basement, one of which had the dehumidifier and the pump plugged into it. I’m thinking the pump must be shorting out because it went on, made a strange noise, and then the circuit flipped off.
If you unplug the dehumidifier and pump, does that make the problem stop?
Yes, so far. I unplugged them late yesterday and the circuit hasn’t flipped again.
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Appears if the motor “locked” and is not spinning at all. This essentially causes short circuit condition and you would typically see 3-5 times normal power consumption which appears to be what is happening here.
A motor stall is where the motor tries to spin but can’t or can’t get up to speed usually the result of a failed capacitor.
If the pump itself is replaceable that would be your best route.
Thank you @obscuredtrip and @pswired – your comments are super helpful. Looks like all we need to do is replace the pump.
Did this also show up under the Motor Stalls section of Labs?
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Nope @qrnef no motor stalls in the past 30 days according to Sense Labs. But Sense did detect the motor. I hadn’t named it but I can tell it’s the pump because it was very consistent since June and then it dropped off after I unplugged it. In Power Meter view I can see that it was turning on for about 3 seconds and then turning off again repeatedly. So maybe it was trying to turn on over and over again.
I’m seeing a big change in the power quality though with a lot less variation overall but a couple of dips.
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