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Lorna Doone
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17-09-2019, 08:24 AM
1

RCD keeps tripping

Hey Judd,

We've been having problems with power cuts overnight and discovered we needed a new timer on our heating system and thought that was probably the reason the rcd was tripping, it is very sensitive and will trip even when a light bulb goes.
Anyway, we decided to have a quote for a new boiler and when the bloke tried to test the electrics, as soon as he plugged it in the trip switch went, he told us we'd have to get the system tested.
We have a gas/electric contract with the gas board so we called an electrician out. I could hardly understand a word he said cos he mumbled and had a strong regional accent. His conclusion was that it was a faulty rcd and the part was no longer available and we would need a whole new fuse box costing about £400.
Since we had the new clock on the boiler the trip hadn't gone but we found it had happened again yesterday. Been looking around on the net and it was said that through a process of elimination we should discover which appliance was causing the problem but that it was often the computer. When it happened yesterday w found the computer was red hot, have turned it off and no problem this morning.
It always happens through the night, is it just the computer's gone, or do we get some electrical surge at night, or do we need a new rcd / complete fuse box?
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LongDriver
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17-09-2019, 08:37 AM
2

Re: RCD keeps tripping

How old is your home's electrical installation?
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17-09-2019, 08:50 AM
3

Re: RCD keeps tripping

you can easily check the sockets yourself if you get one of these



link

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Martindale-...AaAumNEALw_wcB

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Martindale-...c=1&th=1&psc=1


may not be the solution to the problem but at least you know your wall sockets are wired properly
Lorna Doone
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17-09-2019, 11:01 AM
4

Re: RCD keeps tripping

Thanks for your replies, the house was built 30 years ago Longdriver.
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17-09-2019, 11:14 AM
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Re: RCD keeps tripping

When I moved into my present house I had the electrics checked out and was informed the fuse board was of the old type (1972) and a new RCD consumer unit should be fitted. The surveyor had also mentioned this so a new one was installed, which included checking the electric circuits, so I knew it was all safe.

The qualified electrician who fitted the unit mentioned that he had set the RCD to a certain level which should be OK for what devices I had in the house. I have no idea but from that it would seem the unit I had installed is adjustable to avoid unnecessary cutting out. I haven't had any problems with it since it was installed 12 years' ago.
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17-09-2019, 12:12 PM
6

Re: RCD keeps tripping

Hi Lorna,

Can we confirm that the device that is tripping is an RCD and not an MCB? RCDs (the big main switch with a test button on it) is for earth-leakage protection, i.e. electrical faults shorting to earth. An MCB is a small switch that is used for short-circuit and overload protection.

If it's the RCD, the first thing you must do is go round and unplug all appliances, not just switched off at the socket, but unplugged altogether. The main culprits are washing machines, dishwashers, immersion heaters (switch these off if installed), electric ovens. Make sure you aren't using too many anti-surge extension leads - the type used to protect TVs and computers etc. These leads have a built-in leak to earth and if too many are used, the leakage could exceed the 30mA trip current of the RCD and if there is already a fault on an appliance, one of these extensions can just add to any fault current from a faulty appliance. I find it strange the an RCD would trip out if a lightbulb pops, this is usually a problem with an MCB.

I would be wary of anyone quoting for a new consumer unit without first having the wiring tested - if there is a fault, the new consumer unit with an RCD would still trip. What did he plug in? The boiler? If that tripped the RCD, I would suspect the boiler straight away, that could explain the RCD tripping and why it knocks off occasionally - the boiler tries to fire up at the times selected by the clock.

If it's an MCB that just trips, it could be, as you say, the computer - the transformer and or the cooling fan could have an internal short. Go round and unplug everything as I've suggested, switch the RCD back on and then go round and begin to plug in each appliance one at a time to see if the RCD trips. Leave the PC off for the time being to see if the problem is cured.

BTW.

If the property is only thirty years old, the wiring would be under the 15th Edition Regulations, hence an RCD (usually just one) and MCPs in the consumer unit. Any older than that and there would be rewireable fuses fitted. Do you know what make it is?


To be continued..........
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17-09-2019, 12:15 PM
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Re: RCD keeps tripping

Originally Posted by Baz46 ->
When I moved into my present house I had the electrics checked out and was informed the fuse board was of the old type (1972) and a new RCD consumer unit should be fitted. The surveyor had also mentioned this so a new one was installed, which included checking the electric circuits, so I knew it was all safe.

The qualified electrician who fitted the unit mentioned that he had set the RCD to a certain level which should be OK for what devices I had in the house. I have no idea but from that it would seem the unit I had installed is adjustable to avoid unnecessary cutting out. I haven't had any problems with it since it was installed 12 years' ago.
Sorry to say that there's no such thing. RCDs installed in domestic properties are always 30mA.
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17-09-2019, 03:42 PM
8

Re: RCD keeps tripping

Originally Posted by Judd ->
Sorry to say that there's no such thing. RCDs installed in domestic properties are always 30mA.
Thanks for your information Judd, I bow to your superior knowledge as I know nothing about them, as stated. At the time my son-in-law, a qualified electrician, would not have been able to install the new consumer unit, test the electric circuits and issue a certificate for having done this so suggested I find a company that could do both. It was this company's electrician who said to him something about it being at a certain level, so should be OK for all the devices in the house.

To show my lack of knowledge in that area I have always used one of those individual RCDs that plug into a 13 amp socket, then the device is plugged into that. Usually I do this out of habit when using an extension lead for the strimmer. Apparently, so I am told, there is no point in that as the RCD consumer unit cuts out quicker than one of those?

Usually I would check out anything I wanted to know on a website such as on the link below, which seems to explain quite a lot about this area of electrics:

http://www.tradesmentricks.com/2017/...ing-need-know/
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17-09-2019, 04:44 PM
9

Re: RCD keeps tripping

Originally Posted by Baz46 ->
Thanks for your information Judd, I bow to your superior knowledge as I know nothing about them, as stated. At the time my son-in-law, a qualified electrician, would not have been able to install the new consumer unit, test the electric circuits and issue a certificate for having done this so suggested I find a company that could do both. It was this company's electrician who said to him something about it being at a certain level, so should be OK for all the devices in the house.

To show my lack of knowledge in that area I have always used one of those individual RCDs that plug into a 13 amp socket, then the device is plugged into that. Usually I do this out of habit when using an extension lead for the strimmer. Apparently, so I am told, there is no point in that as the RCD consumer unit cuts out quicker than one of those?

Usually I would check out anything I wanted to know on a website such as on the link below, which seems to explain quite a lot about this area of electrics:

http://www.tradesmentricks.com/2017/...ing-need-know/
By and large yes, but do you test the main RCD regularly? Failure to do so could end up making them stick in the On position. Doesn't hurt to have a back-up. The sort I use for my electrical gardening equipment is a non-latching type. If the electricity supply is cut off for some reason, the RCD trips off and doesn't come back on again until a reset switch is pressed whereas an RCD in a consumer unit will restore the power as soon as it comes back on.

Don't rely too much on an RCD tripping out if you manage to cut a lawnmower/hedge-trimmer flex. That'll be a live-neutral short and the RCD is usually unaffected. If you do cut a cable, unplug it immediately before you do anything else - don't be tempted to pick up the cut end to look at it, it could kill you.
Lorna Doone
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17-09-2019, 07:44 PM
10

Re: RCD keeps tripping

Hi Judd,

Thanks for taking the time.

From what I can see the name on it is Wylex Cat type NNES SL
Definitely the RCD switch that trips. When the salesman for a new boiler came he used a tester for the earth in several different sockets but each time the RCD tripped immediately.
Then when the electrician came he went out to the electricity meter and confirmed the earth into House was OK but said the RCD was faulty and a new part was not available but he didn't try to identify which if any appliance was causing the problem.

The thing is it seems mainly to happen overnight although when I think about it, it often happens when I'm ironing, so maybe it doesn't like that. How can I identify which appliance when the fault is intermitant.

I'm ashamed to say that having got up to see what make it is, I read that we should test it quarterly and reset it. It was last tested in 1993 presumably by the gas board.
 
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