The breaker keeps tripping but only when I run the microwave AND the toaster at the same time, like clockwork every time. Is my house wiring dying? It's an older house... Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Breaker Tripping
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Nothing's dying, you're just overloading one circuit. Older houses especially kitchens often only have one 15-20A circuit for counter outlets, and microwave + toaster together is easily 15-20A on its own before anything else is running.
Breaker tripping is it doing its job, not a warning sign of failure. Fix is either don't run them together, or have an electrician add a dedicated circuit for one of them (cheap compared to a full rewire). Do NOT just put in a bigger breaker to stop the tripping — that's how you get a fire, the breaker size has to match the wire gauge. If you don't know the wire gauge, don't touch it, call someone.
Otherwise could you move the toaster to a different wall or counter? Perhaps another area of the kitchen (or perhaps in a pantry, etc.) are on a separate breaker?


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