[frantique]

Got a really stupid question ... what's a breaker? Is it the power cord switching into the wall socket? My r/c airconditioner manual says to turn off the breaker when the system is not in use and for the life of me I can't find anything to turn off. It's powered directly in the wall somehow (there aren't any cords).

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Got a really stupid question ... what's a breaker? Is it the power cord switching into the wall socket? My r/c airconditioner manual says to turn off the breaker when the system is not in use and for the life of me I can't find anything to turn off. It's powered directly in the wall somehow (there aren't any cords).

No Frantique, It has nothing to do with switching in wall sockets and there are NO stupid questions - the only stupid question is one that is NOT asked

A "Breaker" is short for a "Circuit Breaker" What it does is to kill the power if there are any electrical problems with any circuits in your house. It is supposed to "Trip" to protect the appliances or the electrical system - hopefully before a fire or any other bad things happen. They all reside in a box on the wall, and they all look like switches. Circuit Breakers were replacements for fuse boxes, and are much safer, because if too much power goes through the circuit, the breaker "trips" and power to that circuit is broken, and it snaps off - which means that you have to reset (turn the breaker back on) it to activate the circuit again.

Brian

[**Brian**]

Got a really stupid question ... what's a breaker? Is it the power cord switching into the wall socket? My r/c airconditioner manual says to turn off the breaker when the system is not in use and for the life of me I can't find anything to turn off. It's powered directly in the wall somehow (there aren't any cords).

No Frantique, It has nothing to do with switching in wall sockets and there are NO stupid questions - the only stupid question is one that is NOT asked

A "Breaker" is short for a "Circuit Breaker" What it does is to kill the power if there are any electrical problems with any circuits in your house. It is supposed to "Trip" to protect the appliances or the electrical system - hopefully before a fire or any other bad things happen. They all reside in a box on the wall, and they all look like switches. Circuit Breakers were replacements for fuse boxes, and are much safer, because if too much power goes through the circuit, the breaker "trips" and power to that circuit is broken, and it snaps off - which means that you have to reset (turn the breaker back on) it to activate the circuit again.

Brian

[frantique]

Of course! Yes, they're in the electrical box on the outside of my house - the circuit breakers. Dah!
Thank you Brian.

[dsenette]

i half expected it to be called something different in Australia...like a "zappy dumper" or some other ludicrous name

[frantique]

A "zappy dumper" ... that'd be a well dressed guy who breaks up with lots of girlfriends!