Recently did an inspection on a home with 3 bedrooms with the electric outlets on AFCI breakers. The breakers would trip when hitting the test button on the breaker but when trying to trip the breaker from the outlet none would trip…I have seen this in the past with maybe one or 2 outlets not tripping the breaker but I thought it odd that all the outlets in all 3 bedrooms wouldn’t trip the breaker. My tester is working as I was tripping GFCI outlets with it…Any thoughts…
If I remember right according to Paul Abernathy in his electrical class (for a mere $100)…I hope I am right, please others chime in if I am wrong. But the only acceptable way to test is the use of the button on the actually outlet/breaker, itself. Using a tester is not proper or even totally correct according to the NEC.
I believe all above are correct. What I found confusing is in the past the gfci outlet tester has tripped an afci breaker.
Maybe the tester is arcing? ;)
Manufacturers say this, not the NEC. This is stated for both AFCI testing and GFCI testing.
There are AFCI testers available, just as there are GFCI testers available. You cannot rely 100% on the testing instruments we use as inspectors, and by the same token, you cannot rely 100% on the built-in test buttons for the devices. But you should never expect to get accurate information when testing AFCI operation with a GFCI test, and vice versa.
lol…$100.00 bucks well spent. Again the NEC does not say this but the manufacturer of the GFCI or AFCI will say this. The “TOOLS” are nice but they do leave a increased level of assumption that we simply can’t rely on. At the end of the day, test with the button on the GFCI itself and walk away knowing you have done what the manufacturers intended on you doing.
lol…and stop name dropping…theheheehhehe
Come on…but doesn’t manufacture directives trump all?
They Do…they say test “Their” GFCI or AFCI by “Their” test button.
That damn Paul knows what he is talking about. If you have time and a spare measly $100. I highly recommend the Paul Abernathy Electrical Inspection Video. Or you can save the whopping $100 and miss a few electrical issues. Its not like electricity can cause serious damage, death or anything 