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lack of charging adaptors?

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Afci. Has there been a single documented case of it helping in the field?

Oh yes. Fires due to arc faults do happen, usually because someone has stretched an appliance and the plug is just barely in the outlet, or a cord has previously been stretched to the point where conductors have been practically torn.

But requiring all 120V/15- and 20-amp circuits to require AFCI is a bit overboard, IMO.
 
... But requiring all 120V/15- and 20-amp circuits to require AFCI is a bit overboard, IMO.
Especially since I have yet to find a vacuum cleaner that will work on the AFCI circuits the builder put in my bedrooms (the only rooms that require it by code). I find myself stretching the cord from hallways and bathrooms to clean my bedrooms. I gave up and changed the breaker for my tower office simply because there was no way short of dragging a long extension cord into the house to vacuum it. I told myself it wasn't a bedroom anyway since the space has no closet, no door. and no privacy.
 
Especially since I have yet to find a vacuum cleaner that will work on the AFCI circuits the builder put in my bedrooms (the only rooms that require it by code). I find myself stretching the cord from hallways and bathrooms to clean my bedrooms. I gave up and changed the breaker for my tower office simply because there was no way short of dragging a long extension cord into the house to vacuum it. I told myself it wasn't a bedroom anyway since the space has no closet, no door. and no privacy.

Use a surge protector with EMI filtering between the outlet and the vacuum, and that should stop the AFCI's from tripping with your vacuum.

NEC 2014 (due to be adopted this year by most jurisdictions) requires all 120V circuits with receptacles to have them, unfortunately. NEC 2011 just required in bedrooms.

From 210.12:
(A) Dwelling Units. All 120-volt, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets or devices installed in dwelling unit kitchens, family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, laundry areas, or similar rooms or areas shall be protected [...]

...basically anywhere a GFCI isn't required.
 
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Hmmm, so tack on another $150 after a house is built to swap out all those new fancy AFCIs with regular breakers...

Of course, if the newest regs get accepted by everyone, soon there won't be any regular 120V breakers made anymore...
 
Hmmm, so tack on another $150 after a house is built to swap out all those new fancy AFCIs with regular breakers...

Of course, if the newest regs get accepted by everyone, soon there won't be any regular 120V breakers made anymore...

There will be - commercial installations (non-dwelling units) don't require them. You just may have to get them from an electrical supply store. :)

Eventually, market forces will kick in and they'll be just as cheap. I remember the days when even basic breakers were rather expensive.
 
It isn't how expensive AFCI breakers are, it is that they nuisance trip all the friggin time. About half the time an incandescent light bulb burns out, it trips.

What brand are yours, and how new?

My home was built in 1991, and I haven't done any expansion that would require them, so I don't live with them on a daily basis.

That said, as you might expect, I do deal with them because of the 2011 requirement. Especially on the older breakers, noisy appliances that generate a lot of EMI will cause tripping, so can improper wiring. Older AFCI's would trip with light bulbs burning out, but in some cases I've even seen regular breakers trip when a light bulb burns out (filament drops and shorts base wires with just enough short-circuit current to open the breaker).

The worst is when extending an existing circuit; NEC requires that if you extend a circuit (even adding one outlet or light), you are required to retrofit the AFCI capability into the circuit; in some cases, this is where we find the original electricians on the house have joined neutrals, or have swiped a ground in the switchbox for lighted switches, or something else that triggers AFCI/GFCI tripping. Then you have to tear everything apart to figure out why it's doing that.

I know why they're now requiring them, and it's good intention - the problem is the high cost right now. The code panels are hoping that by making them a requirement they will create a market imbalance that will improve them rapidly (the devices from the early 2000's were HORRIBLE) and drive the cost down.

(I think we've come a long way from this thread's topic of charging adapters, though... :) )
 
FlasherZ, in your opinion, if NEC is going to require that we install AFCIs on all circuits, might we as well go all the way and install GFCIs so that there is some shock protection in place at the breaker no matter how stupid a thing people do at the plug?
 
Use a surge protector with EMI filtering between the outlet and the vacuum, and that should stop the AFCI's from tripping with your vacuum. ...
Interesting. I would have never known to try that. I would prefer to put the breaker I changed back the way it's supposed to be, so if I can get it to work that would be great. I wonder if I can find something small enough to just live at the end of the cord. I'd hate to have to haul a plugstrip around the house. Maybe as second choice several I could leave in the problem plugs I intend to use.

Maybe something like this little puppy:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=&cs=04&sku=A7020831&dgc=SS&cid=285153&lid=5448006&acd=12309209227460810
 
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FlasherZ, in your opinion, if NEC is going to require that we install AFCIs on all circuits, might we as well go all the way and install GFCIs so that there is some shock protection in place at the breaker no matter how stupid a thing people do at the plug?

There are some manufacturers (Eaton is one) that manufactures a combination AF/GF circuit breaker.

Years ago, because of nuisance tripping, NEC didn't require GFCI where there was a potential of it happening (refrigerators, sump pumps, medical devices, etc.) There is enough of a track record now that the code-making panels have determined they are now stable enough to build up the requirement. I believe within a couple of code cycles we will find that requirement, at least for all 120V outlet circuits (light and receptacle). It's also likely that the very NEMA 14-50's we use will require GFCI protection in the breaker as EV's continue to be more popular, if the voting comments from code-making panel 12 (the one including article 625, requirements for EV charging) are any indication.

- - - Updated - - -

Interesting. I would have never known to try that. I would prefer to put the breaker I changed back the way it's supposed to be, so if I can get it to work that would be great. I wonder if I can find something small enough to just live at the end of the cord. I'd hate to have to haul a plugstrip around the house. Maybe as second choice several I could leave in the problem plugs I intend to use.

Maybe something like this little puppy:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=&cs=04&sku=A7020831&dgc=SS&cid=285153&lid=5448006&acd=12309209227460810

Yes, that should work, and it's good to 15A. Perhaps glue one to the end of the vacuum plug. :)
 
Especially since I have yet to find a vacuum cleaner that will work on the AFCI circuits the builder put in my bedrooms (the only rooms that require it by code). I find myself stretching the cord from hallways and bathrooms to clean my bedrooms. I gave up and changed the breaker for my tower office simply because there was no way short of dragging a long extension cord into the house to vacuum it. I told myself it wasn't a bedroom anyway since the space has no closet, no door. and no privacy.

It isn't how expensive AFCI breakers are, it is that they nuisance trip all the friggin time. About half the time an incandescent light bulb burns out, it trips.
I'm a little surprised to hear this - I didn't know they were such a problem. My house was built in 2004, and each bedroom is fed by a dedicated GE AFCI breaker. I've never had any AFCI nuisance trips (or any trips, for that matter). Never a problem with a 25 year old Hoover, burning out incandescents, and lots of electronic gear in the office bedroom (PC's, tube guitar amps, power supplies, ham radio gear, oscilloscope, etc).
 
I'm a little surprised to hear this - I didn't know they were such a problem. My house was built in 2004, and each bedroom is fed by a dedicated GE AFCI breaker. I've never had any AFCI nuisance trips (or any trips, for that matter). Never a problem with a 25 year old Hoover, burning out incandescents, and lots of electronic gear in the office bedroom (PC's, tube guitar amps, power supplies, ham radio gear, oscilloscope, etc).

Early Square-D were horrible with nuisance trips. GE's have been some of the better ones. It really depends on the era they were installed, however -- the 1999 code was the first to require them in bedrooms. The early ones really, really sucked, to the point where even the most safety-minded code panel participants were screaming against it. Since then, things have universally come around as the manufacturers were put on the spot to fine tune them.