Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 960
Well
9/10/2018 at 10:15 AM
My guess is that the element he disconnected either burned out and drooped on to the next element or on to a metal part of the furnace, causing a short or overload. In either case, it would pull way more than it's rated current and could trip the breaker. I would replace the disconnect element with one of equal wattage if you can still get one. If not, even a bit smaller wattage element should work. Not bigger.
If your furnace had four elements, it may still produce enough heat with just three, but it will probably have to run longer to maintain the temperature setting.