[SeanFitz]

Originally Posted by Monochron

Very little heat is going to be transferred through air to the breaker. So no, as long as your breaker is thermally isolated you won't see any difference.

To your question about the 40 seconds being cumulative, that number is an estimate based on continuous stall conditions. If you stall for 20 seconds, then wait for a minute and stall for another 20 seconds, it likely won't trip but it is absolutely possible. Giving the breaker time to cool down will help, but each breaker is going to be manufactured with slight differences. Doing your best to avoid stall conditions (ie. ensure that you wheels will slip on the carpet instead of freezing) is the best thing you can do to avoid tripping.

As for your second question, I don't believe there have been experiments to track the propensity for earlier tripping after a breaker has tripped once. I believe, though, that anecdotal evidence suggests that they DO trip quicker after tripping once.

So if the breaker trips, would I be better off letting it cool and then continuing on or should I try and replace it? The answer to this would factor into the placement of the electronics (I.E. how hard it is to get to each part)