Anyway to identify dodgy appliance, trip switch?

Glaucus

Glaucus

Glaucus

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Joined
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Trip switch keeps going off, anything from once a fortnight to several times a week. Unfortunately rented house that has been added to and redecorated so many times. When the trip switch goes, it's for the entire upstairs and kitchen.
Is there some easy way to find what's causing it?

Also how long would one of the sub £100 ups on this site last, with a 300w draw?
 
[TW]Sponge;21288063 said:
Always the toaster.
Click to expand...

That would only trip it when on surly?
And that's used maybe twice a year.

Should say there doesn't seem to be an obviuse link.
Like trips when washing machine is turned on, or kettle or well anything.
 
hire a PAT tester, and plug each thing one by one, and see what give s abad reading,

usual culprits: toasters, washing machines, 4 gangs overloaded...etc

although this sounds like you may have passed the limit of the ring, you say extensions and alike.

print off an ampage sheet for houshold appliances, found of the net, then go round and count them all up roughly on the ring in question.

if you have rooms say with 3 x 4 gangs loaded with lamps and cd players,then you might just have to reduce the load :)
 
How would you use pat tester and would it def find a dodgy appliance?
What's the rating for a circuit 30A? Would one of those clamp on devices measure total ampages and track usage?

There is a lot on the circuit.

Two circuits, one has lounge, dining room and bathroom, everything else on the other.
 
A picture pointing out which switch is tripping would be most useful. Need to determine if it is overcurrent tripping or earth leakage.
 
Ah yes, if I bother to read labels. It's the rcd.

Big pic do you can read it.
It's the main switch which goes.

1329503443613.jpg
 
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Right thats a good start. If it's an RCCB (Residual Circuit Current breaker) then chances are it is detecting earth leakage.

As has been said previosuly, unplug all your aplliances and then plug them back in one by one.

Turn off all the other MCB's (the "smaller switches as you so put it - these are MCB's by the way for future reference) barring the kitchen MCB (I'm assuming it's correctly identified at consumer unit and labelled).

This avoids any transient fault current going across the neutral of other circuits. Now, after plugging each item in, load it (turn it on). For example the kettle or washing machine.

If it trips and kills the juice then an aplliance is the culprit. If this isn't the case come back here and I will try to further advise you. Hope that helps.
 
Ah so it's the RCD tripping (main switch of the green labelled circuits)?

In that case you have an earth leakage problem. Favourite appliances are ones with heating elements, but can also be water ingress or rodent damage to wiring. I see the garage is one there? Been raining a lot lately? Got any external lights full of water? Mice chewing cables?
 
Trouble is it doesn't trip all the time, it can be upto a fortnight between trips.


Liampope said:
Ah so it's the RCD tripping (main switch of the green labelled circuits)?
Click to expand...

Yep.

Been going on for a long time, just annoying the hell out of me know and want to get to the end of it.

Its been dry this week
I did see a mouse the other day, first time. But this has been going on for months probably a year.
So could be a mouse issue.
 
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