re: How long should breakers last?

quote:

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Arc fault is more moving pieces than traditional and more wear and tear.

Is it the same 3 or 3 fifteenth ones?

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No breaker should have any moving parts other than the handle which is used to open the circuit. They do not move UNLESS there is a an overcurrent situation or, in the case of arc fault, if there is a "bad" arc LOL. There is an arc every time any electrical device is connected to a circuit...including every time a light switch is turned on. The AFCI is supposed to be able to distinguish between these "good" arcs and "bad" arcs which the industry has a hard time defining beause they do not actually exist. They are GARBAGE and everyone who has them in their home is going to have problems with them sooner or later. The technology is bad to begin with but the disease they are supposed to address simply does not exist on any kind of scale in the United States or any developed country....they are a fix looking for a problem that came about because a major manufacturer missed out on a similar device years ago and has been looking for a way to correct that ever since. They are a windfall for electrical contractors because they require service calls which are almost unheard of in the electrical industry when compared to plumbing or HVAC. The NEC is written by contractors, engineers who work for contractors, and manufacturers who sell electrical products like AFCI breakers. They have a vested interest in coming up with all manner of snake oil like AFCI breakers and as long as the public allows it who can blame them.