lawn mower cut neighbours electric off?

It's not going to be an earth fault (as mentioned above) as that mower is Class II equipment so it has no earth path and it's unlikely to be inrush current either as that would cause overload, this sounds like leakage.
Would be handy to see pics of both fuseboxes (and what exactly is tripping their side) & the earth terminals/incoming service, I'm guessing by the age of the property the earthing system is TN-C-S so that might have something to do with it although how you're drawing power upstream of their RCD on either the L or N I don't know.
Their RCD might just be close to tripping anyway, they're designed to trip at 30ma but in practice they're around 25ma, so they could already be leaking 23-24ma and somehow you're just tipping it over, a decent sparky can ramp test RCDs to find what they trip at by the way & how much leakage is already going on.
I wouldn't bother with speaking to the manufacturer, if the mower had a genuine fault your RCD would trip too :)

Edit: This is all assuming you have RCDs of course, they weren't a legal requirement for new installs until 2008 so the builders might not have bothered with them.
 
Last edited:
grumpysculler said:
Most lawnmowers are double insulated.
Click to expand...
IIRC it's one of the safety standards that they are double insulated these days.
Having said that I use a petrol mower (and strimmer, brushcutter, hedgetrimmer etc) as I hate electric appliances for gardening, the cables are a right royal pain:p so the only time I use one is when I fix the cable on a neighbours one:p
 
Nothing yet, he wasn't there all day yesterday which was a pain because I want to cut the grass. Hopefully will today and see for myself at least and encourage him to hurry up and get an electrician in.
 
Christ almighty, there's no need to be his little *****.

If you have grass to cut and the weather for it, then go ahead. He doesn't dictate when you can do this.

Should he really give a damn about the situation then he would have sorted it rather than inconveniencing you. I get on with my neighbours well, but this is just taking the mick now and you're being far too nice.

It's not you're problem, it's his, assist where you can but stop letting him walk all over you.
 
-Ad- said:
Christ almighty, there's no need to be his little *****.

If you have grass to cut and the weather for it, then go ahead. He doesn't dictate when you can do this.

Should he really give a damn about the situation then he would have sorted it rather than inconveniencing you. I get on with my neighbours well, but this is just taking the mick now and you're being far too nice.

It's not you're problem, it's his, assist where you can but stop letting him walk all over you.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have worded it as above, I'd have tried to be much more diplomatic and encouraging, however, the underlying sentiment is pretty much what I'd have posted too.

His suggestion that it's your problem is wrong, it isn't.

He has a suspicion that your lawn mower causes his electricity to cut out, which he has discussed with you and he has recognised that he needs an electrician to investigate at his house.
As he knows this, it's his responsibility to get it sorted.

If he chooses to leave it while your grass grows and the weather is ideal for cutting it, then you should cut your own grass if you want!
He's the one not making any attempt to rectify it, and that's no reason for you not to enjoy your garden in summer.
 
If you start cutting your grass it could force him to move it higher up the list of priorities, sounds as though he's raised the issue but hasn't committed to solving it.

Appreciate you've only been there two months and want to keep neighbours onside so perhaps the best approach is to agree a date and time to do some investigation, so rather than "yeah yeah we'll look at it on the weekend" actually have a agreed time when everyone is at home and not busy so you can test it out.
 
If he believes your mower is causing it, tell him you will use his, as long as he brings it round and take it away again after. Should motivate him to get a sparky in. Obviously you are entitled to just keep using yours, but its a good diplomatic solution...
 
Chris [BEANS];22544051 said:
I wouldn't have worded it as above, I'd have tried to be much more diplomatic and encouraging, however, the underlying sentiment is pretty much what I'd have posted too.
Click to expand...

I've tried to give the OP a kick up the backsy as he seems to be a bit down and worried about this, baseing his grass cutting decisions on the problem of the neighbour.

Don't get me wrong, I get on really well with all my neighbours and we have helped each other out in a number of ways, but this OP needs a shake :D

Certainly don't go in there all guns blazing as a conflict with neighbours is never good. But make sure he's aware of his situation, you'll be carrying on with life as normal and will help him out IF required.
 
It only occured to me today i've been using a 2-3meter extension lead with no surge protection. So I went and bought a 'Masterplug 4 Socket Cable Reel - 15m' from Argos with a Safety thermal cut out. Knocked on the neighbours door and told them that I'm cutting the lawn with it plugged in that to see if there's still an issue. I told him to let me know if it cuts off.
That was well over an hour ago I finished. Not heard a thing so I'll carry on as normal from now on.
 
If the mower was causing a problem all that would have done is cause your new extension cable to trip surely? The fact that it hasn't means it's as good as not there and I can't see how the situation has changed.
 
Sounds like he's looking for a scapegoat for his electrical problems to me. I'd try to be helpful but he needs to get his house safety checked regardless. What if the problem is more serious/dangerous?
 
Rodneypooleg said:
It only occured to me today i've been using a 2-3meter extension lead with no surge protection. So I went and bought a 'Masterplug 4 Socket Cable Reel - 15m' from Argos with a Safety thermal cut out. Knocked on the neighbours door and told them that I'm cutting the lawn with it plugged in that to see if there's still an issue. I told him to let me know if it cuts off.
That was well over an hour ago I finished. Not heard a thing so I'll carry on as normal from now on.
Click to expand...

Well you've just wasted a few quid on that extension lead I'm afraid, thermal overload has nothing to do with your (his) problem.
 
JohnnyG said:
Well you've just wasted a few quid on that extension lead I'm afraid, thermal overload has nothing to do with your (his) problem.
Click to expand...

No your prob right, was just an idea and I needed one anyway to get power up to shed when I need it. At least he knows I'm thinking about it, it's all up to him now though. I've done my bit (been to discuss it, tried something out, asked more info).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom