AFCI/GFCI breaker bad?

[mschoonmaker]

In my kitchen, I have 1 circuit with a total of 5 outlets (backsplash), and it appears to have a dedicated neutral which is connected to a Square D Homeline issue AE-70 20A combo AFCI/GFCI breaker in my panel.

I have a Miele espresso maker on this circuit. Occasionally but not always (maybe 5%-10% of the time), when the espresso maker's pump goes on, the circuit trips requiring a reset at the panel.

I've recently added a Breville countertop toaster oven to this circuit. Last night, when the toaster over was on a lower setting (300*F) after about 1-2 mins, the circuit would trip.

TODAY, I pulled the combo AFCI/GFCI breaker and put in a standard SqD Homeline issue DP-4075 20A (non-GFCI) breaker to get a sense if the device(s) were pulling too much current. I then ran my toaster over up to broil (500*F) and ran for 10 minutes straight, no issues. Of course, code says kitchen outlets need to be GFCI at least.

I'm wondering if simply replacing my combo AFCI/GFCI breaker will resolve this issue. As one might expect, the replacement combo breaker is 10x the cost of the standard breaker, which I don't mind paying IF this resolves the issue.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Marvo]

It's highly unlikely it's the GFCI unit that's faulty. Much more likely you've got several smaller leakage faults that are adding up to be sufficient to cause a trip. Unfortunately to test the GFCI or to test for the leakage faults both require special testers that aren't generally accessible to DIY'ers so you're probably better to get an electrician in to do the tests and point you in the right direction.

 

[mschoonmaker]

It's highly unlikely it's the GFCI unit that's faulty. Much more likely you've got several smaller leakage faults that are adding up to be sufficient to cause a trip. Unfortunately to test the GFCI or to test for the leakage faults both require special testers that aren't generally accessible to DIY'ers so you're probably better to get an electrician in to do the tests and point you in the right direction.

Thank you for your response.

Strangely enough, I moved the toaster oven to a totally different circuit (also on the same model combo AFCI/GFCI breaker, and it tripped there as well so it's not that specific circuit. And, as I had the tripping on the original circuit with both the toaster over AND a coffee maker, it's unlikely to be the toaster oven.

My home was built by a national builder and everyone in our community has been very surprised at the shortcuts taken. As such, we often don't find out about these kinds of things until we've passed our 1-year warranty!

At this point, I'm thinking I should assess what type of fault tripped it (found this nice guide), if I find it's arc fault it might be easy enough to replace with GFCI only.