Electric fireplace tripping breaker

[boatnut]

Howdy,
I have a three year old Sun Valley made by Evergreen (no longer in business) I store it in Florida 7 months out of the year and only use it during the winter.

I always used the electric fireplace for heat on chillier evenings here in north central Florida. This year, for whatever reason, the fireplace only runs for a few minutes before it trips the breaker. Even when on 750 watt setting with no other major items running. The unit has a cord and plug and is plugged into a 110v outlet in a cabinet next to it.

I don't know crap about electric. I went online to the manufacturers site but it tells you to go to a dealer for parts etc. When I search for dealers, nothing come up in my area.

Any suggestions?

[bikendan]

What else are you running on shore power?
Is your rig 50 amp or 30 amp?
Depending on your answers, you may be exceeding your power supply.

[Bama Rambler]

Since it runs a few minutes before it trips the breaker it's possible that the breaker has gotten weakened over time. Have you tried another breaker? That would be the first thing I'd do, unless you have (or have a friend that has) an amp meter that you could test the actual current draw.

It's also slightly possible that there's a short between coils of the element. That would cause a higher than normal current flow but not enough to trip the breaker immediately.