Got a call last month from a woman in Cashmere who said her kitchen breaker kept tripping every time she used the kettle and toaster at the same time. She'd been living with it for weeks, unplugging one thing before using the other. When we got there and opened up her switchboard, the breaker was this old ceramic thing from probably the 1960s. It was worn out, overheating, and honestly dangerous. Replaced it with a modern breaker rated properly for her kitchen circuit and she called back the next day just to say thank you cause she could finally make toast and tea at the same time again.
Thats the thing about breakers - when theyre working right, you dont think about them at all. But when they start failing, it becomes this annoying thing you work around until it gets bad enough that you cant ignore it anymore.
Why Breakers Trip and When You Need Replacement
A breaker trips cause its doing its job - protecting your wiring from too much current. If you plug in too many things on one circuit, the breaker cuts the power before the wires get hot enough to start a fire. Thats how its supposed to work.
But sometimes breakers trip for the wrong reasons. An old breaker gets weak inside. The mechanism wears out. It starts tripping at lower currents than it should, or worse, it stops tripping when it needs to. Both situations are problems.
Had a house in Redwood where the owner said a breaker wouldnt stay on no matter what. He'd flip it back up and it would trip again immediately. Didnt matter if everything was unplugged - it just wouldnt stay. Thats usually a bad breaker or a short circuit somewhere. In his case it was both - the breaker was shot and there was a nail through a wire in the wall from when someone hung a picture years ago. Fixed both issues and everythings been fine since.
If your breaker trips once in a blue moon cause you ran the heater and vacuum at the same time, thats probably normal. If it trips regularly, or if you have to reset it more than once a week, somethings wrong and you should get it checked out.
Signs Your Breaker Needs Replacing
Breakers dont usually just stop working out of nowhere. They give you signs that theyre on their way out.
The breaker trips all the time for no clear reason. The breaker wont stay on no matter what you do. The breaker feels hot to touch - and breakers should never be hot. You smell burning plastic near the switchboard. The breaker looks burnt or discolored. The breaker makes a buzzing or crackling sound.
Any of these things mean you need to call someone. Dont wait on this stuff cause a bad breaker is a fire risk.
We went to a rental property in Sydenham where the landlord said the tenant complained about losing power in one bedroom. The breaker was so old it had literally cracked in half inside. You could see the crack on the outside if you looked close. How it hadnt caused a fire yet, I dont know. Replaced that whole row of breakers cause if one was that bad, the others werent far behind.
The Breaker Replacement Process
Replacing a breaker isnt something you do yourself unless you really know what youre doing. Working inside a switchboard means working around live electricity that can kill you. This is one of those jobs where you call an electrician.
When we replace a breaker, first thing we do is turn off the main switch. That kills power to all the breakers but not to the main cables coming into the board - those are still live and dangerous. Then we disconnect the wires from the old breaker, pull it out, and install the new one. Connect the wires to the new breaker, make sure everythings tight, turn the main back on, test the new breaker.
Sounds simple but theres details that matter. Using the right size breaker for the wire gauge. Making sure the connections are proper and tight cause loose connections cause heat and fires. Testing that the breaker actually trips when its supposed to.
Most single breaker replacements take 30-45 minutes including testing. If we're replacing multiple breakers or upgrading an old switchboard, thats a bigger job that might take a few hours.
Different Types of Breakers
Not all breakers are the same. You got your standard breakers that just trip when theres too much current. Then you got GFCI breakers (we call them RCD breakers here) that trip when they detect a ground fault - like if you drop a hairdryer in the sink. Those are required in bathrooms, kitchens, outdoors, anywhere water and electricity might meet.
Theres also AFCI breakers that detect arc faults - basically when electricity jumps across a gap it shouldnt, like in damaged wiring. These are becoming more common in bedrooms and living areas cause they prevent fires from bad wiring.
For most homes in Christchurch, youll have a mix of regular breakers and RCD protection. Newer homes have better protection systems built in. Older homes might just have basic breakers that need upgrading.
Had a customer in Halswell who wanted to add a hot tub. Her existing panel didnt have room for another breaker and the main breaker was undersized anyway. We upgraded her whole panel to 100 amps, installed a dedicated 40 amp breaker for the hot tub with GFCI protection, and added a few spare slots for future use. Cost more upfront but now shes got a system that can handle whatever she needs.
When You Need More Than Just a Breaker Replacement
Sometimes the problem isnt just one bad breaker. Sometimes its the whole panel.
If your panel is full and you need to add circuits, you need a panel upgrade. If you have an old fuse box instead of breakers, you should replace the whole thing. If your main breaker is too small for your homes electrical needs, thats a bigger job. If the panel itself is damaged or outdated, replacement makes more sense than patching it.
We see a lot of older homes in areas like Opawa and St Albans where the original panels are 50-60 years old. They still work but theyre not safe by todays standards. No ground fault protection, undersized mains, old wiring methods. When we get called for a simple breaker replacement and see one of these panels, we let the homeowner know what theyre working with. Sometimes they replace the whole thing right then, sometimes they wait. But at least they know.
Why Breaker Problems Happen in Christchurch Homes
Christchurch has some specific things that cause breaker problems. The earthquakes damaged a lot of electrical systems - wiring got stressed, connections came loose, panels shifted. Some of that damage wasnt obvious at first but shows up years later as breakers start failing.
Also a lot of homes here were built in the 60s and 70s when electrical standards were different. Homes used less power back then - no heat pumps, no dishwashers, no computers and phone chargers in every room. The old systems werent designed for how we use electricity now. So you get breakers that trip cause theyre overloaded by normal modern use.
Weather plays a part too. Moisture gets into older panels, specially if theyre in garages or outside areas. That causes corrosion which makes breakers fail faster. We replace a lot of breakers in winter cause people are using heaters more and that extra load finds the weak points in an old system.
Cost of Breaker Replacement
People always want to know what its gonna cost. For a single breaker replacement, usually between $150-300 depending on the type of breaker and how accessible your panel is. GFCI breakers cost more than standard breakers. If the panel is in a tight space or if there's other issues we find while we're in there, price goes up.
Full panel replacement is obviously more - anywhere from $1500-4000 depending on the size and complexity. But if your panel is old and youre already paying for one breaker replacement, sometimes it makes sense to do the whole thing and be done with it.
We give you a price before we start work so theres no surprises. And if we find something else thats wrong while were in your panel, we tell you about it but we dont fix it without asking first.
How Quick Can We Replace Your Breaker
For emergency situations - like a breaker that wont stay on and youve got no power to part of your house - we can usually get to you same day if you call in the morning. Evenings and weekends might take a bit longer but we try to help people out when they really need it.
The actual replacement doesnt take long. Most jobs are done in under an hour. Bigger jobs like panel upgrades we schedule ahead and those might take half a day.
We work in all areas around Christchurch - Riccarton, Fendalton, Merivale, Papanui, Redwood, Northwood, Shirley, Avonside, Linwood, Woolston, Sumner, New Brighton, Halswell, Hornby, Sockburn, Spreydon, Addington, Cashmere, Opawa, St Albans. Pretty much anywhere in the city we can get to you.
What Happens If You Ignore a Bad Breaker
People sometimes ask if they really need to fix a breaker thats acting up, or if they can just keep resetting it when it trips. The answer is you really should get it fixed.
A breaker that keeps tripping is trying to tell you somethings wrong. Maybe its the breaker itself or maybe its a problem with the circuit. Either way, ignoring it means the problem gets worse. Wiring that gets hot cause a bad breaker isnt tripping when it should can start a fire. A short circuit that isnt getting caught can cause damage to your appliances.
Had a customer in Northwood who ignored a tripping breaker for months. Kept resetting it, got used to it. Then one day he smelled smoke. By the time we got there, the wiring behind the wall was melted and burnt. Lucky it didnt turn into a real fire. Cost him way more to fix than if he'd just called when the breaker first started acting up.
Bottom line - if your breakers giving you trouble, get it looked at. Its cheaper and safer to fix it now than to wait til something bad happens.
Modern Safety Features You Should Have
If your home is older, you might not have some of the safety features that are standard now. RCD protection is a big one - these devices can save your life if you get shocked cause they cut power in milliseconds. Every home should have them specially in wet areas.
Surge protection is another thing worth having. We get power surges from lightning strikes and grid problems. A whole-house surge protector installed at your panel protects all your expensive electronics and appliances. Way cheaper than replacing a fried heat pump or computer.
When we replace breakers, we can add these safety features if you dont have them. Makes your home safer and brings your electrical system up to modern standards.
Questions People Ask About Breaker Replacement
Can I just replace a breaker myself? Technically yes if you know what youre doing, but its dangerous and if you do it wrong you can hurt yourself or damage your whole electrical system. Also might void your insurance if something goes wrong. Better to call someone who does this for a living.
How long do breakers last? Usually 25-40 years but it depends on quality and how much use they get. Breakers that trip a lot wear out faster.
Will replacing one breaker affect the rest of my panel? No, each breaker works independently. We can replace one without touching the others.
Do I need to upgrade my whole panel if one breaker is bad? Usually no. But if your panel is really old or if we find multiple problems, upgrading might be the smarter choice.
How do I know what size breaker I need? Thats based on the wire size in that circuit. We figure that out when we look at your system - you shouldnt guess on this cause using the wrong size breaker is dangerous.