Home wiring. AC plugged into a 15 amp circuit keeps tripping breaker. Can breaker be changed to higher amp?

Question

Circuit is normal 10 gauge wire. Can breaker just be switched out to 30 amp without hazard?

Answer 1

if your sure its 10 gauge wire and it isn't powering anything else you can do it as long as the distance between the panel and the a/c is less than 35', the problem is that I doubt that the electrician wired your house with ten gauge if it was less than 35' it is likely 75'

Answer 2

your house should be wired for at least  200 amp you better cosult an expert on this before you burn the house down

Answer 3

VERY unlikely someone ran 10 gauge wire on a 15 amp breaker, how are you determining that?

More likely you have 14-gauge on that 15 amp circuit, so you cannot replace the breaker without running new wire, assuming you have some interest in keeping your house in a relatively non-charred condition.

But, what is the rated current draw of that air conditioner?  Most designed to plug into a regular circuit are under 15 amp.  What's the BTU rating?

If, say, the A/C is rated at 10A, then your problem is likely other things on that circuit adding up to over 15.  So you might scout around, find the 'pig', and perhaps relocate that to another circuit.

Like, if it's just someone using a hair drier on that circuit, tell them to go to another room when the A/C is on.

Ultimately, it is a good idea to run a separate circuit to an A/C for all these reasons.  Then I'd highly advise using 12 gauge to a 20 A breaker.  IF you are capable of doing such a thing, of course.

Answer 4

You need to find the reason for the breaker tripping, it's simply doing it's job and upping the size doesn't remove the fault condition.

If the circuit is rated to 15A and you fit a 30A breaker then you are overloading it by 100%.

Answer 5

normal circuits use 14 or 12 guage wire.10 guage is for a 30 amp circuit breaker and there are no outlets made to handle a 120 volt 30 amp line for a household. You can use a 20 amp breaker on 120 volt,,,but change the outlet for one that holds 20 amps.

Or better yet get an electrician,,because we have no idea what the h**l you are really doing.

Answer 6

Take a look at the current or wattage rating on the AC.  If it is less than15 amps, you can buy a new 15 amp circuit breaker with built-in time delay.  It is the starting current that trips the breaker.

If the rating is more than 15 amps, and the circuit was designed for 15, you should not replace the breaker with one with a higher rating.