Blowing a fuse over circuit breaker issue

Q: I live in a small apartment, and often when I cook using the microwave the circuit breaker will turn off to the kitchen. It’s easy enough to switch back on, but I really am getting annoyed at having to do this repeatedly. How do I resolve this? — Gladys C., Swampscott, Mass.

A: What’s happening is that your microwave oven — or a combination of electrical appliances on the same circuit — is drawing too much electricity for either the circuit or the fuse (or both) to handle. Repeatedly tripping the circuit can also indicate a larger problem and a possible fire risk.

Small apartments often have a limited number of circuits available in comparison to a newer, larger house. Twenty years ago, having only three or four circuits and a small circuit box (about 60 amps) was sufficient to run a few electric appliances, like a toaster oven, a blender and a single small television.

Today, electricity demands are much higher. The microwave oven draws more power; there is often more than one television in the apartment and at least one computer, with all its auxiliaries running; the cordless telephone draws electricity to stay charged, as does the wireless phone in its charging stand. And then there’s the cable box, the can opener, the smoothie machine, the coffee grinder, the espresso maker, all the clock radios and the plug-in air fresheners. All competing for juice from a supply that has an absolute limit.

If you have a limited number of circuits, and you’re unwittingly connecting all the high-wattage appliances into just one circuit, you will be dealing with frequent outages when the circuit load passes its limit and shuts off for safety reasons.

Find out how many circuits lead to the kitchen, and which outlets are distributed to which circuits. Turn off all of the apartment circuits, then plug in a small radio to each kitchen outlet and switch one circuit on at a time until the radio turns on. Label each circuit as you find its range (for example, write “kitchen area 1” on a small strip of masking tape and place it beside the breaker switch). In fact, do this for the entire apartment — the labels save valuable time if you need to switch off a particular circuit.

Once you’ve found where each circuit leads and which outlets are connected to them, you may find that the microwave is sharing a circuit with another big appliance, and all you need to do is plug it in to an outlet on a different circuit.

If this doesn’t resolve the problem, contact your apartment manager or maintenance person. There could be other, unseen problems occurring with the electrical system — such as wiring or circuit-box issues — that should be dealt with by the owners.

HOME TIP: To make finding circuits easier, plug a small radio into the outlets being tested and turn up the volume. You’ll hear when electricity is flowing to that circuit, which saves a lot of walking back and forth.