Electric Fireplace Issue...

[Sgtstriker]

On my 2022 Astoria 2533RDF the fireplace continually blew the circuit breaker, but only when the fireplace AND the electric side of the hot water heater were both on. I had a private electrician take a look and he said the the fireplace was drawing about 2300 watts when the heating element came on. So, I made a warranty repair appointment and they replaced the fireplace, but, the problem remained. The RV tech went and checked other similar 5th wheels and said that the others had a 20 amp fuse for the fireplace but mine had a 15 amp fuse. He replaced the 15 amp fuse with a 20 amp fuse and the problem has not reoccurred - yet... The fireplace and the water heater are on the same double breaker with the fireplace now on the 20 amp side of the breaker.


Do you have a fireplace, and if so, is it on a 15 or 20 amp breaker? Is upping the breaker rating the proper way to fix this problem, or am I risking a further issue down the road?


Thanks... And Merry Christmas....

[persistent]

Possibly the space heater and the fire place were both wired to the same 15 amp branch breaker and the electrician split the two circuits into separate breakers. That would be the correct thing to do. It would correct the problem.

Main and sub panel circuit breakers are sized to protect the wire in the circuit, not the appliance. Hopefully the electrician checked the wire size was adequate. If wire size is 12 gauge or higher, it was the correct thing to do.

A 20 amp circuit requires 12 gauge or larger wire.
A 15 amp circuit requires 14 gauge or larger wire.

A 20 amp breaker with 12 gauge wire can safely support 2400 watts.
A 15 amp breaker with 14 gauge wire can safely support 1500 watts.

A water heater and a space heater (Electric Fire Place) on the same circuit and running at the same time can exceed the circuit breaker capacity and trip a breaker.
Typical water heater 1400 watts.
Typical space heater 1800 watts.
Total 3200 watts.

For this reason, two heating devices are rarely wired to the same branch circuit breaker.

Compact branch breakers used in RV's are often built with two circuits together in the same plastic housing. They still work the same as separate breakers and are not electrically or mechanically connected.

So you have two branch circuits. One has a 15 amp breaker on it and the other has a 20 amp breaker on it.

[Sgtstriker]

"Persistent"... Thank you for that detailed response. I did ask the tech if the wiring was sufficient to up the breaker amperage, and he assured me that it was... But you know how these RV techs can be. Some know what they are talking about while others are clueless.


I left the two appliances on for about 30 hours when I got home, and no breaker trips, no excessive heat buildup in the box, and no smell of burning wires. So, I hope I'm good...


I'm still curious about others having a similar problem or what capacity breakers are in their systems for a fireplace....


Have a Safe, Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous New Year.....