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Our house (built in 2017) has per code a large percentage of combination GFCI/AFCI breakers. We have a waffle maker that regularly trips the breaker just as its heating up cycle is about to complete. We initially got the appliance replaced by the manufacturer, but the problem continued. The symptoms apply on multiple circuits and persisted even after I replaced one of the breakers in question, so both defective breakers and wiring seem unlikely.

The breakers are Square D QO (and PON, though that shouldn't matter) 20A CAFCI breakers. The breakers have diagnostics capability, so I'm able to say confidently that the type of trip is AFCI (not GFCI or over amperage). I know there are a lot of complaints about AFCI breakers, but none of the suggested solutions have worked in my case. For example, using a surge protector doesn't seem to help.

Edit: The waffle maker is a Cuisinart WAF-F20 double waffle maker.

Edit 2: I also tried replacing all of the receptacles on this circuit, so the only thing not new in the home run to the panel.

jcoleman
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2 Answers2

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While doing some more troubleshooting (repeated cycles on multiple circuits to verify how consistently the problem occurred) I noticed that it worked one time on a different circuit. I noticed that that circuit happened to have a few other things plugged into it, and I figured I should eliminate that as a variable. After unplugging everything, the appliance tripped that circuit also.

Intrigued by that behavior, I plugged a 60w lamp into the original offending circuit, and voilà, the waffle maker finished its heating cycle successfully. I've subsequently repeated the experiment several times for reproducibility, and I'm now reasonably confident that the DSP algorithm used by this particular circuit breaker must treat cycling from ~0 amps as a baseline (i.e., the waffle maker cycling on/off its heating element as it seems to do frequently as it approaches the set temperature) differently from the same cycling occurring from a non-zero amps baseline circuit current.

In summary, in some cases the solution to AFCI nuisance tripping is to add a small additional load to the circuit.

jcoleman
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Try setting the waffle maker on the lowest setting until its ready, then try adjusting to a higher setting. I was having the same issues with my All-Clad waffle maker.

Waffle Man
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