Ring main trips for no reason

dave50 | 10:55 Tue 12th Jul 2011 | Home & Garden

3 Answers

It only happens perhaps every few weeks, usually in the middle of the night. There are no faulty appliances left plugged in. Would a surge from the mains cause this to happen? It is so infrequent that I cant think what it could be.
Any ideas anyone?

My Bosch Fridge...

Leylandii

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johnk

Are you sure nothing is plugged in, kettles are the usual culprits whether switched on or not. What trips, is it a circuit breaker or the reidual current (Earth leakage) breaker.

dave50

Question Author

Actually I think it is the earth leakage breaker.

The Builder

"Nuisance tripping", Dave............. usually caused by appliances that leak a small current to earth as they operate. Cookers and freezers are often responsible. Individually, these current are below the 30mA needed to operate an RCD............ but added up, they can be a real problem.

I dealt with this recently by renewing the RCD........... still a 30mA one, but the previous one had "gone a bit sensitive".

An Electrician can change one in five minutes............ or, he could perform a "ramp test" on it . This gradually increases the current until it trips .............. possibly at only 15 or 20 mA.

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